Headspring Investments and its partners create employment for Leonardville youth

Headspring Investments, Namibia Institute of Mining Technology (NIMT) and K Neumayer Civil Contractors took hands to train 20 artisans and provide job attachments for the trainees.

Last year (2024) Headspring Investments started a project whereby 20 youth were selected by NIMT to do a 6-months special training course in various technical vocations.  After successful completion of their training, which Headspring Investments paid in full, 16 of the 20 trainees received job attachments for the coming 6 months at K Neumayer Civil Contractors.

The trainees chose their own courses and they were trained as follows: 4 in Carpentry, 4 in Fitting, 4 in Boiler making/welding and 8 in Plumbing.  These trainees will now have an opportunity to get real professional experience in their respective fields while working at K Neumayer Civil Contractors’ site in Swakopmund.

The director of Headspring Investments, Kirill Egorov-Kirillov, highlighted the fact that the company stays dedicated towards upliftment of the communities in which it operates, even though the project has been stopped since beginning 2021.  “I urge all the stakeholders of our project to see past their own prejudices and allow the project to continue.  Imagine what benefits it could bring to the area, without endangering anyone’s existence, should the mine become a reality. As for the trainees, we wish them the best of luck for their journey ahead and commend them for their exemplary conduct during their training.  We look forward to welcome them to the mine once we can start the mine”, he said.

Mr Bokkie Thorburn of K Neumayer Civil Contractors said: “Our company has always been open to trainees so that we can help to upskill workers.  The higher a technician is qualified, the better his financial future and he/she is then able to support a family.  It just makes sense for companies in the construction industry and other industries where technical people are required to invest in the development of technicians.  I commend Headspring Investments for this initiative and wish the company and this specific project much success”.

Mr Ralph Bussel, Director of NIMT, explained that initiatives like this not only help young people to get a start in life, but it also helps NIMT to achieve sustainability.  “We are proud of our track record of producing excellent technicians and we are fortunate that we have the opportunity to lay the foundation of young people’s careers.  I wish them, Headspring Investments and K Neumayer Civil Contractors all success for the future”, he concluded.

One of the trainees, Maria Afrikaner, explained that they are now well set to follow careers in their chosen fields.  She said: “To come from a small village like Leonardville and be exposed to so many new things and to learn is really exciting and we cannot thank Headspring Investments, NIMT and K Neumayer Civil Contractors enough for the doors they have opened for us”.