Nedbank Namibia invests in skills and knowledge

Wetumwene Shikage



The bank has awarded bursaries amounting to N$400 000 to 10 students, including seven of its staff members. Education continues to be a fundamental part of career elevation and progression. Nedbank Namibia has seen the need to award ten students and staff members who benefit from its bursary programme. The candidates, who include staff members who study part-time, were selected through a process made up of interviews and in-depth assessments.

Speaking at the handover ceremony, Nedbank Namibia’s head of human capital, Faith Cloete, congratulated all the successful candidates, “As Nedbank, we pride ourselves in investing in our staff and community. Our message to the recipients of the bursary, is to utilise this opportunity to propel you into your future. Including our staff into the bursary programme was very important to us and further cements the fact that Nedbank is a great place work,” she said.

One of the beneficiaries of the bursary who enrolled for a qualification in Financial Risk Management, Luisian Tjitua, said that being awarded this bursary has made life much easier for herself, family and her current job.

“The fact that someone else was paying for it made me put in extra effort. I had vowed not to take this chance of a gift for granted. I would never had afforded the fees on my own at all. I am grateful that Nedbank invested in my future and saw the potential to inspire and foster successful employees. I believe that I have grown and changed so much financially over the past few months. Through Nedbank’s support, I have accomplished much of what I never thought possible. I am proud to say I had worked hard to be where I am, but I certainly could not have done it without Nedbank’s help. I never missed class, that is also another accomplishment,” she said.

She further added that juggling work and studies can be challenging, but can be done. “It just requires strategic use of your time, dedication and sacrifice, but if you’re willing to make the effort, you can succeed as the results are wonderful. My advice is that your application should be very personal with a clear description of your education and career goals. Make sure it aligns with Nedbank’s green aspirations,” she said.

Another student pursuing a bachelor's degree in computer science at the Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST), Petrus Nauyoma, is currently completing his second year and will be specialising in software development.

Nauyoma describes his experience as very fulfilling “I have knocked on many doors and I was turned down. Nedbank gave me an actual shot which increased my hunger and thirst to complete my degree. The financial support from Nedbank is allowing me to achieve my dream to do computer science and the passion will not die down,” he said.

Adopting to more group coursework, working individually and on group assignments and varying workload required him to develop effective time management and planning to balance studies with personal projects.

Other Nedbank staff members who received bursaries from the institution include Ndailikana Wedeinge, Romano Louw, Stacey Lee Carrol, Nollyda Gaoses, Richardine Coetzee and Silvanus Gomxob. Their fields of study include accounting, finance, information technology and law.

The other candidates who received bursaries from Nedbank include Maria Matheus, studying towards a Bachelor of Computer Science at NUST, and Venick Mashuna, pursuing a Postgraduate Diploma in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning at CDAC in India.