Nedbank invests in career guidance

Nedbank invests in career guidanceLearners engaged at 11th annual career expo Nedbank Namibia came on board as a sponsor for this year’s national career expo, with a financial investment of N$250 000. Ester Kamati

The Nedbank Namibia Career Expo, held at the Windhoek Country Club Resort from 22 to 24 May, was attended by 3 500 learners and comprised of 30 local and international exhibitors.

A welcoming cocktail was held on 21 May.

Nedbank introduced their humanoid robot Pepper at the expo and schools from outside Windhoek were fairly represented by their learners at the event.

Education minister Katrina Hanse-Himarwa commended the founders of the initiative and expressed the belief that it will grow from strength to strength, adding there is still a lot that needs to be done in the schooling system.

“We need more stakeholders to come on board so that we can become bigger and better,” she said.

She described the event as the biggest career expo in Namibia and said its future growth was assured.

“Events of such nature comprise of technology, skills development, educational innovation and creativity,” she said.

Hanse-Himarwa explained that the objective is to create an interactive platform to connect directly with the future workforce (learners) and to provide career information and guidance, which is crucial.

She added that in the eyes of others, this could be seen as a small initiative but the education ministry deems it a significant activity that opens up many opportunities.

Youth activities were described as an important sector that corporate Namibia must invest in by Nedbank’s head of marketing, Gernot de Klerk.

“It is such a great pleasure to co-host the Nedbank Career Expo with a number of notable entities, companies and individuals,” he said, adding that this is about exposing the youth of the country to opportunities, as they look into potential careers and creating a future for themselves.

Nedbank has introduced Pepper, a humanoid robot from South Africa, who was a client service ambassador at this year’s career expo, to showcase the technological advancement that Nedbank is aspiring towards as a corporate entity.

Namibia Career Expo chairperson Jason Kasuto said the expo reaching its 11-year is a milestone, indicating a journey of sacrifice. “The backdrop of our mission stemmed from the reality that information is the key that unlocks the potential of young minds,” he said.

“As a not-for-profit initiative the Namibia Careers Expo has grown into the premier career exhibition in the country. The careers expo aims to expose, inspire and educate young learners and graduates on the vast amount of career paths and opportunities available for them.”

The career expo brings together local and international exhibitors with a common goal of providing valuable career information, scholarships and mentorship to learners. For the past three years, the expo has been experienced by different towns, in addition to the Windhoek events. This year, it will be held in Rundu on 6 to 7 June, after being held in Walvis Bay and Ongwediva in past years, and plans to take the event to the south in future are in the pipeline.