By: Dwight Links and Nghiinomenwa-vali Hangala
There is no comprehensive up-to-date picture of Namibia’s current skills landscape.
Moreover, the number of Namibians who are equipped to participate meaningfully in emerging industries, according to Dino Ballotti, the Deputy Minister of Education, Innovation, Youth, Sport, Arts & Culture speaking at the launch of Mapping Namibia’s Talent for GH2 Industrialisation.
Hyphen Hydrogen Energy Namibia on Monday launched its Skills Census Mapping digital survey in order to measure the country’s talent pool, set to participate in the up-and-coming green hydrogen production industry.
Ballotti confirmed that the country still lacks a comprehensive picture of the skills landscape and, “critically, of how many Namibians are equipped to participate meaningfully in this emerging opportunity.”
He said the promising sector jobs are not only meant for those who were fortunate to receive scholarships to study abroad, but for every young person from all 14 regions.
“Without accurate, up-to-date data, planning becomes guesswork. We risk investing in the wrong areas. We risk overlooking communications. We risk underestimating our homegrown talent,” Ballotti stated.
Thus, companies like Hyphen are conducting a baseline employment and skills study, feeding into a Workforce Competency and Planning Model.
The deputy minister said Namibia’s prospective green hydrogen ecosystem will require a wide and interconnected set of skills – from artisans and technicians, to engineers, welders, logistics professionals, data analysts, health and safety officers, project managers, to mention but a few. Entirely new career pathways are expected to be paved from this opportunity.
The aim of the national skills census is to create a comprehensive, people-centred database of skills and potential. It is also expected to provide context of where skills exist – whether currently employed, unemployed, or looking for growth.
Moreover, it aims to identify gaps and enable TVET and other higher learning institutions to respond more effectively. The data collected is expected to shape targeted training programmes and guide institutional partnerships that align education supply with industry demand, ensuring that Namibian talent is actively positioned to benefit from the coming industrial expansion.
This approach is being carried out in close collaboration with the government, under Hyphen’s Feasibility and Investment Agreement.
Marco Raffinetti, CEO of Hyphen, indicated that the aim is to bring as much local talent into the industry through this exercise.
“Making sure that in this green hydrogen industry we bring in as much Namibian talent into the execution of our projects and the industry,” Raffineti indicated.
Hyphen notes that their aim is to build a workforce for Namibia’s first large-scale green hydrogen project.
“We need talented and skilled people from all 14 regions, from all backgrounds, to help us shape the future,” the company said in its presentation on Monday.
“This is to ensure that local skills are counted, as it will help map the jobs of tomorrow. Namibians are encouraged to be included in the jobseekers database that will be based on this,” he added.
According to Raffinetti, the world has reached a turning point in the use of renewable energy.
“The tipping point has been reached. If you look at the scale-up of renewable energy on a global basis, it is simply incredible. It took 62 years for humanity to install one terawatt (a unit of power equal to one trillion watts) hour of duration capacity of energy,” he added.
Raffinetti noted that in the last two years, the world has doubled renewable energy generation.
“And by the end of this year, another 50% would have been added. The scale is simply incredible, and that is because of batteries, and that is what is driving our economy,” he stated.
Raffinetti added that 2024 saw an installation rate of 84% of renewable energy for new energy production hubs across the world, which includes nuclear and other fossil fuel-based generation units.
He said Namibia has the opportunity to produce the most affordable energy through producing the lowest, cost-production energy in the world.
“This opportunity is incredible for the country, both in terms of green hydrogen and green industrialisation, and none of this will be possible without human capital. They are the ones who execute projects and the humans who achieve things,” Raffineti explained.
Hyphen also committed to the Namibian government to involve as many Namibians and that the mapping exercise is necessary for that reason.
Joseph Mukendwa from the Namibia Green Hydrogen Programme noted that it is essential for skills development to be central to a major industrial project in green hydrogen development.
“At the core of the discussion happening around green hydrogen, we mostly speak of the technology, but it is actually the people who will be able to drive the machinery,” noted Mukendwa.
He remarked that the census has the potential to ensure that the country’s human capital takes advantage of the developments to be seen in the future.
“The mapping will capture and map the skills of participants, while it will identify the skills for the short, medium, and long-term periods. We must be clear that green hydrogen is about reshaping our economy,” Mukendwa stated.
