• Reference: P-NA-IAD-001
• Approval date: 09/10/2009
• Start date: 16/03/2010
• Appraisal Date: 15/05/2009
• Status: OngoingOnGo
• Implementing Agency: GOVERNMENT OF NAMIBIA
• Location: NAMIBIA

Activities

Component 1: Skills Needs Assessment HR Plan

Human Resources Supply and Demand Assessment

A thorough and comprehensive assessment of human resources will be conducted in the context of the development objectives of Vision 2030. This will involve an examination of the demand for human resources by the productive and service sectors and the extent to which the educational institutions are able to meet the demand. Special attention will be paid to addressing the gender aspects in the human resources needs especially in mathematics, science and technology. Indeed although girls outnumber boys in secondary education, data suggest the number of girls in scientific and technological fields is significantly lower than that of boys.

Capacity assessment will also be undertaken with the aim to provide a thorough knowledge and understanding of the institutional capacity within the context of meeting the human resources supply and demand. The relationship between the higher education institutions, training and research institutions, professional associations (such as the Namibia Chamber of Commerce Medical, Engineers and Hospitality associations) as well as civil society organizations will be assessed.

In this regard, the activities to be undertaken will include:

(i)Assessment of the labour market and the state of skills in Namibia, drawing on existing survey reports and other relevant information including: "stock taking of the existing quantity (e.g. labour force), composition (e.g. age and gender), education and skills endowments of the country's human resources including; "assessment of the current and future annual demand for skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled personnel in the private and public sectors during the next 15 years;

(ii)Assessment of current and future annual supply of skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled personnel from the education and training systems both at home and abroad during the next fifteen years based on the likely outcomes of such initiatives as the Education and Training Sector Improvement Programme (ETSIP) as well as the adverse effect of HIV/AIDS; and

(iii)Populating the human resources model with up to date data on human resources supply and demand in the private and public sectors over the next fifteen years, suggesting targets for National Development Plans 4, 5 and 6;

(iv)Exploring possible strategies and options to meet the skills gaps in the short, medium and long-terms through in-country education and training (including on-the-job and apprentice-type training) as well as training in other countries.

Development of a Human Resource Development Plan

Skills shortage is a persistent theme in the Namibian economy. This reflects the integration of the country into the global economy which is having a profound impact on the type of skills citizens require to compete in the global economy and meet international standards. The MIC resources would enable the provision of technical assistance to undertake studies and analyses to critically review the human resource needs of both the public and private sectors and develop a national human resources strategic plan to respond to emerging challenges in the productive and service sectors.

Activities to be undertaken include:

(v)recruitment of a human resources planning expert to guide data collection and undertake detailed assessment of the Namibian human resources supply and demand in consultation with the National Planning Commission, Ministry of Trade, Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Youth and National Service, the private sector, civic organizations and other relevant training and business institutions;

(vi)facilitation of consultation on the formulation of the human resources development plan and strategies to fill the supply and demand gap; (vii)formulating a National Human Resources Plan by building on the skills supply and needs assessment and the institutional capacity assessment; including strategies to fill supply and utilization gaps, the cost for meeting the supply as well as the components and costs of developing and maintaining a human resource database;

Component II: Institutional and Human Capacity building

The Ministry of Education is responsible for providing all Namibian residents with equitable access to quality education programmes to develop the abilities of individuals to acquire the knowledge, understanding, skills, values and attitudes required throughout their lifetimes. It envisages Namibia as a learning nation in which the potential of all citizens is realized through participation in integrated learning systems ensuring that every Namibian resident achieves basic education and remains a lifelong learner. To achieve this, the Ministry developed a 15 year strategic plan (2005/6 - 2020), namely the Education and Training Sector Improvement Programme (ETSIP) as a comprehensive reformation of the education and training sector and sets targets for the entire education and training sector.

A major challenge facing all these and other public and private institutions in Namibia is the general inadequacy of human resources to carry out the mandates entrusted to them effectively. Namibia institutions require skilled and competent human resources to deliver efficient and effective services to its population. While the acquisition of skilled human resources is essential, the improvement of the skills and competences of the existing human resources is also needed for sustainable results and impacts. Thus, training and capacity building activities are envisaged under this initiative to include personnel from the key ministries and departments as well as the private sector and civil society.

Activities planned include would necessarily include: "study visits of key personnel from the preceding and/or other key institutions; "short-term local and/or international training on relevant human resources development including human resource strategic planning, modeling, etc.; "training in labour market analysis and information system setup and maintenance to ensure regular monitoring and evaluation; "procurement and installation of up-to-date hard/software; training in application and maintenance, etc. "training and capacity building workshops on human resources forecasting, projections and modeling, etc.

The support to be provided includes:

(i) IT equipment;

(ii) study tours of 26 staff of the ministry to study labour market analysis and labour market information system setup in the region preferably where comparable facilities/services exist;

(ii) short-term local/regional training for 840 policy planners, analysts and trainers; and

(iii) study tours for 4 NPC key staff in the region or abroad to gain experiences in the design and implementation of human resources forecasting/projections models, human resources strategic planning; labour market analysis and information system design; etc.

The objective of the MIC grant is to assist the Government of the Republic of Namibia (GRN) to develop a human resources plan in order to institutionalize human resource supply and demand, monitoring and evaluation system.

Justification

The demand for qualified human resources in the productive sectors in Namibia is high and will become ever more intense as the productive and service sectors expand in response to the economic growth. There is a huge mismatch in the labour market where paucity of skilled labour hinders effective and efficient program and project delivery. Unfortunately, there is no comprehensive documented information on the extent and nature of the mismatch and its effects on decision and policy making. There is therefore an urgent need for a comprehensive national human resources plan to provide the policy parameters and the strategic directions as well as the implementation, monitoring and evaluation frameworks. The request to prepare a human resources plan is consistent with the guidelines of the MIC Trust Fund grant which is designed for capacity building, project preparation and studies. It is also consistent with pillar one of the CSP which is on capacity building and features as one of the ESWs under non-lending operations.

GRN is committed to promoting a diversified, open market economy, with a resource-based industrial sector and commercial agriculture, placing greater emphasis on skills development. The project will assist GRN towards meeting its Vision 2030 objectives by providing a comprehensive overview of the human resources situation and allocating appropriate resources to respond to the emerging challenges.

GRN intends to facilitate the attainment of the Vision 2030 objectives by vigorously pursuing capacity building through public and private sectors. These include human resource development and human resource information management systems to balance the supply and demand in the labour market so as to achieve full employment in the economy. The MIC grant, which is also in line with the provisions of the Namibia's Education and Training Sector Improvement Programme and the Bank's Higher Education, Science and Technology Strategy, would contribute to the realization of the Vision 2030 objectives and create opportunities for further Bank support in Namibia.

GRN is cognizant of the fact that human resources development is the gateway to unlocking many of Namibia's economic potentials and addressing some of the demand side constraint. The dynamic working population, a knowledge-base society and an innovative environment are key factors for the advancement of Namibia. The proposed activities, while assisting the GRN to make a decision on how best to plan for the supply and demand of human resources in response to economic opportunities, will assist the Bank build its knowledge of the sector.

National Planning Commission, Public Service Commission, Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Trade and Industry, Ministry of Youth and National Service and training institutions

BOAHENE-AGBO Frank Kwaku - OSHD2

Finance source	Amount
MICF	UAC 600,000
Total	UAC 600,000