This Rapid Skills Assessment was undertaken by the International Labour Organization (ILO), under the Skills Initiative for Africa (SIFA), a Programme of the African Union Commission (AUC), and the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD). The SIFA Programme is financed by the European Union and the German Government and is implemented under the technical leadership of the German Development Agency (GIZ).
The Namibia rapid skills assessment report is a culmination of collective effort from the
Survey Warehouse team, and the ILO technical backstopping team comprising of Terence Hogarth, Gideon Arulmani, Olga Strieska-Ilina, Cornelius Gregg, Bolormaa Tumurchudur-Klok and Naomy Kanyemba Lintini was instrumental in the successful finalisation and production of this report.
UNPRECEDENTED SCALE
The scale of economic and social effects of the COVID-19 pandemic has been unprecedented. The pandemic has caused massive labour market disruption and is reshaping the world of work and the way we socialise.
For Namibia, and many other countries, the impact of the pandemic has gone beyond health implications, affecting key economic sectors, and resulting in loss of employment and many economic hardships. The economic effects of lockdowns imposed by the country were immediate and devastating, particularly, for micro, small and medium-sized businesses and for the tourism sector whose operations came to a start still because of the suspension of air travel.
In this regard, the pandemic exacerbated an already existing unemployment challenge, and the youth unemployment challenge in particular. The development challenges facing women was also brought to the fore as they were among those most adversely affected by the socio-economic impact of the pandemic.
Against this background, the ILO developed a Guidance Note to assist Countries to rapidly assess the reskilling and upskilling needs arising from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on their labour markets. The rapid assessment methodology was then applied in Namibia under the Skills Initiative for Africa (SIFA), a Programme of the African Union Commission and the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD), which is financed by the European Union and German Government, and whose implementation is led by the German Development Agency (GIZ).
This report presents the findings of the rapid assessment, which, was conducted in the agriculture, blue economy, and tourism sectors.
The report provides practical and actionable recommendations that can assist the country to limit the career-scarring effects of the pandemic on workers through among other things, provision of skilling and reskilling supports. The report also provides skills related actionable recommendations for the economic recovery of the companies in the assessed sectors.
The report is concise, with a clear analysis, and with concrete recommendations for rapid implementation. The recommendations encourages implementation of interventions that make a difference at a minimal cost.