Sebastian Stietzel, President of the IHK Berlin, explains in an interview which creative approach
the IHK Berlin is using to tackle the shortage of skilled workers.
Mr. Stietzel, why does the IHK Berlin want to train skilled workers in Namibia?
We have been dealing with the challenges
of the skills shortage here in Berlin for a long time. We currently have a shortage of around 90,000 skilled workers, and the business community is telling us that this is no longer just a shortage of skilled workers, but
a shortage of workers and skilled workers in almost all sectors. If you look at our own potential, it quickly becomes clear that we are inevitably dependent on the influx of international skilled workers. Even if we were to bring all the unemployed, all those currently in school and all part-time workers into full-time employment in the future, we will probably not be able to close the widening skills gap due to demographic change.
But why did you choose Windhoek of all places as your partner?
Windhoek has been a twin city of Berlin since 2000. So there is already cooperation between our cities. But there are other reasons that speak in favor of Windhoek: Namibia is in the same time zone as Germany, which makes cooperation much easier. The fact that English is an official language in Namibia provides good conditions for our training programs. There is also a high affinity for the German language in Namibia. This is important for integration into the labor market. Youth unemployment in Namibia is very high at around 40 percent. So there is also a great deal of interest from the Namibian side in cooperation that gets young people into work. The Mayor of Windhoek, Queen Kamati, has repeatedly made this clear to us.
How big is the potential? How many people do you want to train each year?
The potential is huge. Last year, the Goethe-Institut in Windhoek ran a pilot project, a language course whose graduates were offered an internship at a German company. 7,000 Namibians applied for the 25 places on offer. In Windhoek, around 8,000 people complete a training course at a municipal vocational training center every year. Of these, however, 60 percent remain unemployed. We assume that around half of these people are ready to undergo higher vocational training. We are therefore talking about a potential 2,500 to 3,000 graduates per year. Of course, we can’t set up a training center for 3,000 trainees right away. But the potential is great enough, as is the demand in Berlin.
What does the schedule look like?
The idea was born in February. Over the past few months, we have worked out a plan with German and Namibian partners. We are aiming to sign a letter of intent in Windhoek in November. Depending on the infrastructural conditions in Windhoek, we consider a start in early 2026 to be possible.
Can the cooperation with Windhoek close the labor gap in Berlin?
No, not alone. Several thousand training places have remained unfilled in Berlin this year. Our aim with the cooperation with Windhoek is not only to attract more workers to our business location in terms of quantity, but also to ensure the integration of these skilled workers in terms of quality. The difference is that we organize the training locally. The participants will acquire their vocational qualification in Namibia, learn German and also receive cultural education. This will hopefully make it much easier for them to enter the German labor market. If the cooperation with Windhoek works well, the project can be expanded – with other partner cities, but also within the region.
What professions do you train for?
We want to focus on those professions where the demand for workers and skilled workers is highest. This certainly includes areas such as business services and hospitality, but also professions in industry and the skilled trades. The focus or specialization also depends largely on the companies that will work with the training center.
In which language does the training take place?
The vocational training is conducted in German. We want to prepare the trainees for the German job market in the best possible way. The quickest way to learn a language is to hear and speak it all the time. But if necessary, the trainers can of course also explain something in English. It is a great advantage that we can fall back on a language that both sides understand. This is not possible in other countries where the official language is not English.
So you will bring trainers from Germany to Namibia?
We will initially start with German trainers. But we also want to train Namibian trainers.
How do you involve Berlin companies in the project?
There are three ways to get involved. The easiest way is simply to hire apprentices from Namibia. A second step would be to accompany the training to a certain extent, for example by providing internships or financial support for trainees. The third option is to become involved in the training with your own trainers. This means investing in a branch or operating site in Namibia. These companies then naturally have the most direct access to the graduates. The focus of the cooperation is on training for the German labor market.
How exactly should the Namibian economy benefit from this?
Yes, it is our intention that 100 percent of the trainees could end up on the Berlin labor market. But based on experience, we have been told that around 20 percent will not leave the country. These people are then available to the Namibian economy. In the medium term, however, the project should also be open to Namibian companies. Some have already expressed an interest in supporting a training center and then benefiting from its graduates.
12.11.2024
