NUST student wins national first prize

Roelf Diergaardt, left, pictured with Ralf Herrgott of NUST.More than 100 competitors from different Vocational Training Centres and other institutions across Namibia participated in the competition held at the Ramatex premises in the capital city. Organised by the Namibia Training Authority (NTA) and World Skills Namibia, the event aimed to uplift the training standards for vocational skills and change societal negative perceptions of jobs in this field.
Diergaardt, who was very excited about his achievement, says cooking is his passion and he is already looking forward to the possibility of going to Abu Dhabi next year for the World Skills International Competition. The international competition, in which more than 50 countries will participate, provides a means of exchange and comparison of world-class competency standards in the industrial trades and service sectors of the global economy.
Ralf Herrgott, NUST Chef Lecturer, said he enjoyed organising and developing the competition layout and overseeing the proceedings during the event. “This was a milestone achievement for Namibia to host such a competition and was well executed,” he said.
Diergaardt, who started training as a chef in 2015, now has two titles under his belt. The first one was the ‘2015 Junior Chef of the Year,’ a competition organised by the Namibian Chefs Association.