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Ongula Academy
The Homestead Skills and Technical Education Academy is a vocational and multipurpose centre situated at the Ongula yaNetanga village in the Ohangwena Region’s Eenhana Constituency. This exceptional educational facility is an initiative that aims to provide young school leavers in a country with a high unemployment rate with much-needed vocational skills. Furthermore, it hopes to inspire these youths to escape the prevalent shebeen culture by equipping them with a skill set which can help them to make something of themselves.
The academy offers courses in the following fields:
Hospitality and Tourism
In a country where tourism is one of the main industries, a continuous supply of hospitality graduates is needed. Apart from offering the necessary courses, students are also able to train on-the-job at Ongula Village Homestead Lodge.
Clothing production
Walking into the large clothing production classroom, the multiple rows of sewing machines will immediately catch your eye. Students are taught on smaller home-use sewing machines before eventually progressing to commercial machines. Clothing production gives an excellent jumpstart to anyone looking at opening their own business or working for a manufacturer.
Agriculture
The agriculture section is immediately recognisable by the various pens for chickens, ducks, hares and doves. Currently, a small laying facility is being set up, while trials are run with different methods of irrigation and plants to see which are best suited for farming in the area. The agriculture course gives students the necessary knowhow to pursue a career in the sector or set up small-scale farming structures.
