WINDHOEK: Minister of Education, Dr Abraham Iyambo said Namibia need men and women of unquestionable integrity and passion to take up the noble profession of human resources.

“Our labour markets would have no direction without human resources’ practitioners,” said Iyambo on Tuesday when he opened a two-day Namibian Institute of People Management Second Annual Convention underway in the capital.

He said lack of human resources’ practitioners may even hamper the growth of the country’s economy.

“Competitiveness is non-forgiving. The wave, drums and turbulence of globalisation are loud and violent and the forceful wave of globalisation wipes away those organisations not ready,” said Iyambo.

He added that it is vital that the country’s human resources’ practitioners are ready and relevant for the demands of the global arena.

“What worked 50 years ago is now obsolete, archaic and irrelevant. We must adopt and adapt to remain relevant, and to survive we have identified human resources as one of the key drivers,” said the education minister.

He stressed that Namibia has to hurry up and think out of the box in order to achieve the Vision 2030 goals of becoming a knowledge-based economy.

“Government cannot achieve these goals in isolation. We rely on the private sector and the support of the Institute of People Management. Let us work together to define mechanisms that will allow us to adequately and appropriately prepare our students before putting them into your hands,” he said.

Iyambo said it is a well-researched and uncontested fact that the top-performing organisations have invested in employee engagement.

“We look to you to ensure that every organisation in Namibia has the welfare and well-being of its employees as its first priority. Professionalising the body is good, but by all means, let us avoid such a body being exclusive and discriminatory,” the minister warned, adding that it is sad that there are many graduates roaming the streets while holding qualifications.

The convention ends on Wednesday.