Namport’s ‘Catch them Young’ candidates perform in SA

Despite two years of disrupted schooling due to the Covid-19 pandemic, two of Namport’s recent “Catch-them-Young” candidates, Lendicha Kuvare and Terthu Malumani, managed to deliver four distinctions each at a maritime school in South Africa.

Namport entered into an agreement with the Lawhill Maritime Centre in Cape Town in 2012. According to a statement in Namport’s Quayside Bulletin, the agreement propels one of the company’s key strategic objectives: “to build and retain a sustainable and diverse talent pipeline”. The rationale behind the scheme is to ensure the establishment of a strong maritime career foundation for the ports in particular. It is expected that this will address the skills deficit faced by the maritime industry in the country.

Annually, two best performing learners are selected by Namport to pursue their education with a more maritime-focused approach through the “Catch them Young” programme. The programme targets top performing grade nine learners who progress to grade 10. They are also from previously disadvantaged backgrounds in Namibia.

The Lawhill Maritime Centre offers two specialized subjects (maritime economics and nautical science) for learners in grades 10 to 12. To date, 12 learners have benefited from Namport’s program. Eight have successfully completed the program and proceeded to the Cape Peninsula University of Technology, in pursuit of maritime degrees in either deck or engineering.