Social networking skills critical

The Namibia Business Innovation Centre celebrated another milestone as a second group of students completed the RLabs Social Networking Training last week. Nesongano Mufaro, the Marketing and Public Relations Officer of the Namibian Business Innovation Centre said that such hands-on training is crucial for the youth as it opens doors for them. “The importance of such training cannot be over emphasized if we are hoping to solve our unemployment problem. Training of such a nature empowers our youth with practical skills that they can use.”
A group of 16 students enrolled for the workshop to develop their skills on the use of popular social media networks such as Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin, for business purposes.

Mufaro said that with the gained knowledge from the workshop the students can become trainers on social media or social media marketers. “With such skills they are able to start social media companies which can render services to companies that want their social pages such as Facebook or Twitter professionally managed by skilled individuals. The training also encourages the students to start their own business by making use of their newly acquired skills.”
One of the participants and top achiever in the session, Libertina Nawa said this workshop was of great benefit to her. “Through this workshop, I gained extensive knowledge about the business application of social networking. I now understand the importance and role of social media in today’s world.”
Leonard Imene, the workshop coordinator said “the workshops are designed for the youth, with the aim of connecting them to the digital world.”
He said the best participants are offered the opportunity to become facilitators or consultants. They can become advisers on how to improve the social network representation of companies and non- governmental organisations.
The Rlabs Academy through the Social Networking workshops has trained hundreds of participants over the past years. Many of these graduates have gone to become trainers or consultants for businesses, creating about 400 jobs. The mission of the Rlabs Academy is to teach young people to use different social networks and learn IT skills.