The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) says Namibia needs an audit to identify where the skills gaps are within the different ministries, agencies and offices of the State.
IPPR executive director Graham Hopwood said yesterday this will help in the development of the country.
“This would be crucial for developing educational and training opportunities within Namibia,” said Hopwood. He added that this will also assist in “deciding on priority areas for bursaries for people studying abroad”. “It would also enable the Ministry of Home Affairs to allocate work permits according to clear needs that the Namibian economy and society might have,” he added.
In 2010 the IPPR conducted a survey dealing with the country’s skills deficit.
At the time it was discovered that the issue of skills was an urgent and strategic concern across various sectors.
It was also discovered, among other things, that a lack of skills at chief executive, general manager, service manager and other management levels were a major concern.
Furthermore, the results indicated at the time that it appeared as though tertiary education and training was not meeting the needs of the various sectors of the economy.
Political commentator Phanuel Kaapama said yesterday that the country does not need a skills audit on its own, but that it should form part of government performance management systems.
“The State-Owned Enterprises Governance Council and the Act makes provision for the appointment of CEOs and managers based on a performance contract,” said Kaapama. He continued: “At specific intervals they come up for review on their performance. The Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) has a fully-fledged performance management system.” Kaapama added that when civil servants do not perform as expected, it is not necessarily due to a lack of skills, but rather an individual’s attitude. “Perhaps what one can say is that we come up with nice sounding policies and then we do not implement them. Maybe we need to put a mechanism in place to ensure that officials adhere to the policies.” Another commentator, Professor Nico Horn, is of the opinion that if such audit is done, it could lead to unhappiness and countless court battles. “What do you do if the audit shows that 20% to 30 % of the people do not qualify?” asked Horn.
He continued: “If people have been in those jobs for five to 10 years, there is not much government can do about them. They have been getting their certification at their annual review. They would wonder that if they were not good, why they were not informed before.”
Horn added that this would create a legal problem and political problems. “How does this affect government if they now want to cleanup [the public service]? It is very difficult to change now.”
Horn suggested that government should consider phasing out those employees who have reached retirement age, instead of conducting a skills audit which could lead to a dilemma.
IPPR executive director Graham Hopwood said yesterday this will help in the development of the country.
“This would be crucial for developing educational and training opportunities within Namibia,” said Hopwood. He added that this will also assist in “deciding on priority areas for bursaries for people studying abroad”. “It would also enable the Ministry of Home Affairs to allocate work permits according to clear needs that the Namibian economy and society might have,” he added.
In 2010 the IPPR conducted a survey dealing with the country’s skills deficit.
At the time it was discovered that the issue of skills was an urgent and strategic concern across various sectors.
It was also discovered, among other things, that a lack of skills at chief executive, general manager, service manager and other management levels were a major concern.
Furthermore, the results indicated at the time that it appeared as though tertiary education and training was not meeting the needs of the various sectors of the economy.
Political commentator Phanuel Kaapama said yesterday that the country does not need a skills audit on its own, but that it should form part of government performance management systems.
“The State-Owned Enterprises Governance Council and the Act makes provision for the appointment of CEOs and managers based on a performance contract,” said Kaapama. He continued: “At specific intervals they come up for review on their performance. The Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) has a fully-fledged performance management system.” Kaapama added that when civil servants do not perform as expected, it is not necessarily due to a lack of skills, but rather an individual’s attitude. “Perhaps what one can say is that we come up with nice sounding policies and then we do not implement them. Maybe we need to put a mechanism in place to ensure that officials adhere to the policies.” Another commentator, Professor Nico Horn, is of the opinion that if such audit is done, it could lead to unhappiness and countless court battles. “What do you do if the audit shows that 20% to 30 % of the people do not qualify?” asked Horn.
He continued: “If people have been in those jobs for five to 10 years, there is not much government can do about them. They have been getting their certification at their annual review. They would wonder that if they were not good, why they were not informed before.”
Horn added that this would create a legal problem and political problems. “How does this affect government if they now want to cleanup [the public service]? It is very difficult to change now.”
Horn suggested that government should consider phasing out those employees who have reached retirement age, instead of conducting a skills audit which could lead to a dilemma.
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