03 Apr 2014

The Department of Meteorological Services has in the past years run an in-house training on Basic Meteorology for technicians on weather forecasting and the last intake was in the 2010/11 financial year.

Minister of Environment, Wildlife and Tourism, Mr Tshekedi Khama said when responding to a question in Parliament on Tuesday April 1.

Mr Khama said the trainees were identified through a transparent and competitive process of advertising in local newspapers and short-listed candidates were invited for an interview by the department after which the most suitable candidates were selected.

The total cost per trainee averaged P19 670 per annum consisting of monthly and file work allowances and the total number of trainees enrolled was maintained at a maximum of twenty per intake.

The minister said since its inception, the ministry has engaged in excess of 400 trainees who successfully completed their training, inclusive of the trainees from the 2010/11 intake who were not absorbed because of unavailability of vacancies.

He told Parliament that the circumstances that led to this group not being absorbed as was the practice with the past groups was that during that period, Department of Metrological Services was affected by the blanket freezing of posts across the Public Service, resulting in no posts being available for trainees upon completion of the course.

The course, he added continued as it was almost complete and hoped that trainees could find employment elsewhere in other sector of the economy.

Minister Khama said the course would no longer be run at the Department since it has been removed from the World Meteorological Organisation list of training and that automation of the observing systems has taken place reducing the need for such skills.

He said the current staff would be re-skilled and deployed within the Department to do other duties.

Member of Parliament for Gaborone Central, Mr Dumelang Saleshando had asked whether the Department of Metrological Services ever provided a one year long training for young people who had applied to become technical assistants.

He also wanted the minister to state how the trainees were identified, the cost of the course per trainee, the total number of trainees enrolled and the total number of trainees engaged by his Ministry after training, if the course was ever provided. Ends