Poly celebrates 20 glorious years

The Polytechnic of Namibia had its 20th Career Fair on 11 and 12 March, at their Engineering Basement, where Ms Rosalia Martins-Hausiku, Chief Executive Officer, Motor Vehicle Accident Fund (MVA) was the guest speaker.

The theme for this year’s event was ‘Excellence in the 21st Century’, and the presentations focused on ‘Career Mapping’. The event drew government organisations, non-governmental organisations as well as the public and private sectors. Prof. Tjama Tjivikua, Rector, Polytechnic of Namibia (PoN) said that this moment is important because it provides many opportunities for all students and pupils present at the fair to develop their social skills that will open many doors. “This mega effort we have put together is meant to enable you to make decisions that will ensure you a bright future,” he said. “We are not only joined by learners from schools within Windhoek and the surrounding areas, but also schools from outside like, Rooi Duine Junior Secondary School, C //Oaseb, Mariental Senior Secondary School, Rehoboth Senior Secondary School, M&K Gertze Senior Secondary School and Rehoboth Private School from the Hardap Region,” added Tjivikua. He also added that the career fair also marked the 20th anniversary of the founding of PoN. “This year also marks the transformation of PoN to the Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST),” he empathised. He encouraged the learners and students to ask questions to exhibitors who were showcasing their products, programmes and innovative things in the hall.
“Please take time at these stalls to find out what exactly do these companies and organisations do, what subjects and qualifications will be needed for one to be employed in these organisations, and even ask them what makes them a good company,” advised Tjivikua. He concluded by giving the learners and students tips on how to get something useful out of a career fair, to devise a plan for the day, to dress like you would for an interview, to research the companies that will be there, not to ask questions that you can find answers to online, to remember that this is a networking opportunity, to listen to everyone around you and to be enthusiastic.
Martins-Hausiku, the guest speaker said that career fairs provide a platform where employers, recruiting agencies and information and job seekers meet to discuss issues relating to career opportunities and employment. She also drew the attention of the learners to the presentations on ‘Career Mapping’ and ‘Careers in Engineering’. “I would like to urge the girls in particular to attend the ‘Careers in Engineering’ presentation, because Namibia has great scarcity of skilled female engineers,” she said. She also said that as a young nation, Namibia currently has 46.7%  unemployed youth, with females the highest affected. Martins-Hausiku challenged PoN to create a platform for dialogue between government and industry to find solutions to the daunting challenge of unemployment facing the country.
“I hope that it will awaken all of us to the realisation that in partnership with the soon to be NUST, we need to be strong catalysts for economic and social change in our country, ” she said. She concluded by wishing the PoN community the best of luck in their transformation exercise and also in their anniversary celebrations.