Nam graduates not ready for jobs

By: SELMA SHIPANGA

HIGHER education graduates in Namibia are not adequately prepared to face the challenges brought by the country’s changing socio-economic environment.

The limited capacity of the tertiary system to absorb learners, along with low educational attainments, is the number one factor contributing to an inadequately qualified workforce.
This is outlined in the newly launched National Human Resources Plan (NHRP) document released by the National Planning Commission (NPC) this week.
The document, which was launched in the capital on Tuesday will act as a guide for the government and other institutions to invest in industries with high growth and employment potential and into critical skills to meet the current and emerging developmental challenges.
“A poorly educated workforce has a major impact on the distribution of the returns on investment and the sustainability of income levels,” the document reads.
The document states that the higher education sector faces challenges of recruiting and retaining Namibians who hold a post- graduate qualification. It adds that this is particularly true for the sciences, Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) and engineering where most of the research and innovation output is expected.
“With not enough graduates in these fields and with no capacity to offer competitive salaries compared to the public and private sector, universities have limited capacity to produce and reproduce knowledge that is fast evolving,” it reads.
In the vocational sector, the document highlights that the capacity is limited and education still requires the standardisation of qualifications linked to a national qualifications framework.
Namibia introduced a reform to the education sector targeting a knowledge-based economy by improving access, quality and coverage in all education levels, specifically vocational, tertiary education and life-long learning. The Education and Training Sector Improvement Programme (ETSIP) has introduced some managerial tools to assess programming and delivery performance.
The NHRP document outlines that the targets set by ETSIP for performance have not been met.
“This mainly lies in the limited capacity to prepare students to persist and succeed in their learning. Flaws at one level affect the capacity development of the next one causing investment inefficiencies. As a result, higher levels of education while offering relevant programmes, do not produce the quantity and quality qualified artisans, technicians and professionals,” it reads.
Despite improvements to the education and training environment, the human resources development in the country still faces a number of challenges. The document lists those challenges as insufficient quality assurance at all levels of education, the disparities between urban and rural education, the lack of training in mathematics and science, the poorly trained instructors in the vocational system and the inadequate attention to soft-skills development.
“These challenges have a negative impact on student persistence and success, learning outcomes and preparedness for Vocational Training Centre (VTC) and university graduates for the high-skilled job market,” the document reads.
In addition, the document states that the higher education and vocational training systems have a limited capacity to absorb learners, which is especially shown by the low participation rates in higher education and its low capacity to directly contribute to knowledge creation.
“The impact of HIV-AIDS on education participation rates is a further challenge, as well as the threat of decreased investment in education happening before Namibia is able to develop the required capacity to address the problems of quality and efficiency of the educational system.”

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