Namibian corporates are throwing their weight to anchor the sustainable feet of the Namibia National Internship Programme (NNIP). The Namibia Institute of Pathology (NIP) is the latest to bolster the programme with an amount of N$300 000. This is a collaborative partnership which seek to aid the development of young Namibians and drive the country to become a knowledge-based economy.
NIP is the fifth corporate, joining the likes of Momentum Metropolitan, Old Mutual, Standard Bank Namibia, and MTC, in ensuring that the programme continue to grow as a national vehicle for internships.
MTC, as the custodian of the program, commits N$2million annually.
MTC’s Chief Human Capital, Marketing and Corporate Affairs, Tim Ekandjo, welcomes NIP’s support, stating that through collaboration, any national challenge can be easily addressed. “We are appreciative, and we welcome NIP’s support. This will significantly assist in upscaling the programme’s capacity. We thus urge for more corporates to come onboard and so collectively we can address the shortage of Work Integrated Learning opportunities in the country.”
NIP indicated that the decision to support the NNIP is in line with their Integrated Strategic Business Plan (ISBP) 2022 – 2027, where capacity development is one of their key strategic objectives. The main objective of the internship program will be to complement and steer NIP towards achieving much needed capacity development to support the full implementation of our people agenda going forward.
NIP’s Chief Human Capital, Oaitse Van Staden says that “the implementation of the internship training program for NIP through the NNIP in partnership with MTC, is a move in the right direction to not only support the success of the NIP’s strategic and operational deliverables but also addressing youth unemployment.” She further stated that “surely, this forms part of the NIP’s contribution to advance socio-economic agenda from a Corporate Social Investment (CSI) perspective. Therefore, granting an opportunity to young people requiring work related and developmental opportunities to enhance their careers can never be understated. NIP is pleased to be part of this collaboration with MTC.”
Annually, Namibia is reported to have over 48 000 students nationally that require to do Work Integrated Learning (WIL) as a requisite to graduate. In response to addressing this national challenge, MTC launched this National Internship Programme in 2019. Since then, the programme’s intake per annum has increased from 160 students to 300 students. With an ambitious and deliberate target capacity of 1600 students, a yearly capital injection of N$14 million can make this a reality for the worthy academics. A call therefore stands to corporate Namibia to aid the course with a minimum of N$200 000 to upscale the programme’s intake.
To date, NNIP has recorded a total of 990 students placed for Work Integrated Learning in different sectors.