The Namibia Training Authority (NTA) is unable to identify and register eligible employer companies qualified for the vocational education and training VET levy introduced in 2014, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) revealed.
The 2022 UNESCO global review on training funds in Namibia report said NTA estimates that only 15 per cent of eligible levy payers are registered as the entity finds it difficult to establish how many and which companies should be paying levies due to the lack of a unified database of Namibian employers.
The report said the training levy’s main purpose is aimed at mobilising additional resources for skills development and to allocate funds generated to training in priority skills areas. However, according to the report, only 2 895 employers are registered as levy payers.
It noted that NTA, through the levy, collected N.dollars 380 million between 2018 to 2020, noting that companies with a projected annual payroll of less than N.dollars one million are exempted.
The report also indicated that about half of employers consider the levy as a tax, according to an employers’ organisation in Namibia, adding that currently NTA only deploys compliance inspectors as a means to increase compliance.
“To pay the levy, employers register with the NTA, which has developed an online system for registration, payments, payment of interest and penalties, and the disbursement of funds, known as the levy collection and disbursement reporting system,” it said.
The report, however, noted that NTA’s triple mandate as a regulator, training provider and manager of the National Training Fund is not an ideal situation, which NTA has recognised as well as conflict of interest.
It further noted during the COVID-19 pandemic, NTA suspended levy collection for July and August 2020, which resulted in a loss of income of N.dollars 65 million during the 2021 financial year. However, the reduction did not impact the ongoing implementation of strategic transformation and expansion interventions in the VET sector.
“While there is output evidence on the number of persons trained through the levy-funded National Training Fund, there is no outcome or impact evidence that this has led to improved individual employability,” it noted.