All set for Abu Dhabi worldskills prep
A Namibian delegation which included, Logistics, Procurement Coordinator, Alma Nghifindaka, WorldSkills Namibia Manager and Technical Delegate, Sens Shoolongo and the Competition Development Coordinator, Justina Itembu, met with representatives of the OSOC partner school, Sas-al-Nakhal in Abu Dhabi, in preparation for the 50 skill areas at this year’s 44th WorldSkills Competition (WSC) to be held in Abu Dhabi,from 14 to 17 October.
Namibia will compete in seven skill areas, namely: Bricklaying; Carpentry; Cooking; Electrical Installations; Joinery; Plumbing and Heating; as well as Wall and Floor Tiling.
The seven competitors in these skills were selected through the National Skills Competition, held at Ramatex in Windhoek, in September 2016.
As a tradition, a Competition Preparation Week (CPW) is held six months ahead of the bi-annual WSC for all member countries to come together and contribute to the preparations of the competition.
Namibia joined 75 other WorldSkills member countries and regions at the CPW which took place from 27 to 31 January 2017 in Abu Dhabi. The week, under the auspices of the WorldSkills Competition Committee (WSCC) brings together all Technical Delegates (TD).
Together with all Workshop Managers, Chief Experts and Deputy Chief Experts for designated skills, the Skills Management Teams work together and agree on critical technical aspects of the Competition.
This includes the revision of technical descriptions, competition rules, codes of ethics and conduct, and the layout of competition workshops.
Besides a series of meetings, delegate training workshops as well as networking events with other countries and official competition sponsors, the event also saw the launch of the popular One-School-One-Country (OSOC) programme, under which member countries are paired with a selected primary school from the host country as cultural exchange partners during the competition.
Sas-al-Nakhal School from Salem Obaid is Namibia’s OSOC partners for the 2017 WSC in October.
The event was concluded with a visit to the competition site – Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC) for members’ familiarisation with venue arrangements and setups.
“The opportunity to continuously participate in WorldSkills Competitions will give Namibian competitors, instructors/trainers and officials much needed exposure to international training standards and practices as well as networking and collaborative opportunities with their international counterparts. This will immensely contribute to the improvement of training standards and practices in Namibia,” said Shoolongo.
