As a Namibian-owned bank, Bank Windhoek deemed it necessary to sponsor the hosting of the second WorldSkills Africa Competition for the youth from across Africa to participate in a wide array of skills. Bank Windhoek's Executive Officer of Corporate and Institutional Banking, Lukas Nanyemba, said this after attending the official opening of the WorldSkills Africa in Swakopmund on Monday, 28 March 2022. As a gold sponsor of the WorldSkills Africa Swakopmund 2022 Skills Competition, Bank Windhoek has pledged one million Namibian Dollars to assist the Namibia Training Authority (NTA) toward the staging of the event. “As a connector of positive change, we see this international event as an opportunity to support the generation of knowledge, the sharing of experiences, benchmarking and innovation in skills development," said Nanyemba.
The WorldSkills Africa Swakopmund 2022 Skills Competition will see ten teams across Africa compete in sixteen skills, all aspiring to be prestigious title holders of African Champion. The competitors are also using this event to prepare for WorldSkills Shanghai, which will take place in China later this year.
In his remarks, WorldSkills International President from the United Kingdom, Chris Humphries, said supporting the African Union's Agenda 2063 is crucial for WorldSkills and all its members. "With sixty percent of the population of Africa under the ages of 25, now is the time to make skill development more accessible, agile, industrially relevant, and forward-looking. Together we must create more opportunities for young people and more diversity and competitiveness in our industries to build a stronger Africa and a sustainable planet," he said.
The participating countries are Namibia, South Africa, Zambia, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, Ghana, Madagascar, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and team Refugee. The skill competition categories are Construction and Building; Technology, Manufacturing, and Engineering; Technology, Social and Personal Services; Creative Arts and Fashion; Information and Communications, and Transportation and Logistics.
WorldSkills Africa Swakopmund 2022 takes place under the auspices of WorldSkills International and the African Union. Namibia was bestowed the right by WorldSkills International to host the second edition of WorldSkills Africa, following the inaugural event staged in Kigali, Rwanda, in 2018. Including an international conference and a careers exhibition, WorldSkills Africa Swakopmund 2022 will conclude on Saturday, 2 April 2022.
