National Heritage Council boosts tour guiding

Forty tour guides with training funded by the Millennium Challenge Account Namibia (MCA-N), not only received their Level-3 certificates on 11 April 2014, but were also immediately employed by the National Heritage Council (NHC).
This was announced by the National Heritage Council Chairperson Esther Moombolah-/Goagoses at the graduation ceremony in Khorixas, Kunene Region. Regular employment means that the tour guides will now enjoy benefits such as social security membership and medical aid, whereas they had previously worked on commission basis.

Sixty percent of the tour guide training costs were covered by MCA-N through a grant valued N$1.9 million under its Education Project, funded by the United States Government’s Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC). The other 40% was paid by the NHC. Most of the graduates are from disadvantaged communities and now proud holders of a qualification that is sought after in Namibia’s tourism industry.
The Deputy Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture, Hon. Juliet Kavetuna, officiated at the event and stressed that good education is the key to success, allowing the individual to contribute to the community.
“You have an exciting future ahead,” said the deputy minister and added that “the generous contribution by MCA Namibia is cherished and will serve as a stepping stone for the beneficiaries to reach higher.” Other guests of honour included traditional authorities and local councillors.
The graduates from the Kunene, Erongo and Otjozondjupa regions went through a 60-day training programme that included subjects such as English, communication skills, geology, flora and fauna as well as a one-week field trip.
Some of the graduates had previous experience as tour guides, mainly at the National Heritage sites Twyfelfontein, Brandberg and the Petrified Forest where they will now be officially employed.  The training was conducted by the Namibian Academy for Tourism and Hospitality (NATH) under the auspices of the Namibia Training Authority (NTA), one of MCA-N’s implementing partners. MCA-N applies development activities in the Namibia’s education, agriculture and tourism sectors financed by the US government through the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) worth US$304.5 million (N$3 billion) with the aim of reducing poverty through economic growth.
Forty-six percent of this amount (US$141.4 million) is budgeted for the Namibian education sector.