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Port training course helps Namibian woman gain manager’s post

16 December 2012

Ipupa Kasheeta, of Namibia, credits UNCTAD’s Port Training Programme with helping her become the first woman to manage a terminal at the country’s Walvis Bay Port.​

Ms. Kasheeta has completed first- and second-stage Train the Trainers courses for senior managers, organized by UNCTAD, the most recent of which was held in Ireland in May 2012 in conjunction with the Port of Cork.

Soon afterwards, she was promoted from Manager of Training and Development at Walvis Bay Port, to Manager of the Bulk and Breakbulk Terminal. She assumed her new duties on 15 July.

Ms. Ipupa Kasheet

Ms. Kasheeta said that the UNCTAD Port Training Programme “gives trainees an overall understanding of port operations. It also enhances your confidence and equips you with the necessary skills.” She added that “port business is highly technical and complex”, and that the theoretical understanding provided by the course had played a key role in advancing her career.

UNCTAD’s Port Training Programme is provided in English, French, Spanish and Portuguese, and its various courses have been completed by over 1,300 port officials from 20 developing countries.

Bulk and breakbulk terminals handle cargo of any type and size, including dry bulk and non-containerized cargo. In 2009 and 2010, some 603,608 freight tons were landed at the Bulk and Breakbulk Terminal of Walvis Bay Port, which comprises 23 per cent of the total amount of cargo landed at the port.

In addition to gaining her UNCTAD port training certificate, Ms. Kasheeta completed a senior port management programme in Israel in 2010. She also holds a master’s degree in business leadership and a bachelor’s degree in business administration.