From 26^th March to 01^st April, Nelson Prada, Director of KAYEC (Katutura Youth Enterprise Centre) participated in a group visit to Germany themed ‘Dual Vocational Education and Training’. Specialists from different TVET stakeholders representing 19 countries from around the world came together to visit different players from the dual vocational education and training system in Bonn, Cologne, and Berlin. Examples of institutions visited included the Federal Foreign Office, the German Office for International Cooperation in Vocational Education and Training (GOVET), the Ministry of Education and Cultural Affairs and vocational training centres.

Mr. Prada said about the visit: “It was a packed program that gave the visitors an overview of how the Dual System works in Germany, where 70% of the training takes place in a vocational school and 30% in a company.

It was a wonderful experience to see how coordination between the government, Unions, Private Sector, and TVET providers ensures high levels of employability and relevance to employers' demands.

There is a lot that we can learn and adapt to our Namibian context from this experience. I already started sharing my observations with ProTVET, the Association of TVET Providers, and other stakeholders. At Organizational (KAYEC) we already started a pilot that includes the trainees going to the industry during the day and attending theory classes in the late afternoon, and evening.”

Background on the visitors programme.

The “Visitors Programme” of the Federal Republic of Germany is an important instrument of Germany’s foreign communication/relations. It enables important persons of the host country (multipliers) to participate in fact-finding trips to Germany, each with a specific theme.

Themed trips with guests from all over the world convey an authentic and multifaceted image of Germany and enable the formation of networks. Through the participants’ personal experience, they can forge long-term connections to Germany as well as to the other participants.