‘It’s unfair to ask graduates to create jobs’

The founder and rector of Triumphant College, Geoffrey Kiangi, says it is unfair to expect graduates to embark on entrepreneurial ventures immediately after completing their studies.

Kiangi made these remarks last week at the college’s curriculum and course offerings review workshop in Windhoek.

He said entrepreneurship requires substantial resources for one to create a sustainable business.

“You cannot tell someone who has a Namibia Student Financial Assistance Fund (NSFAF) loan to start a business just after graduating.

“Starting a business needs an office. An office needs money. Starting a business needs employees who require a salary. This person was just funded by NSFAF, and you are telling him to do that,” Kiangi said.

The call for graduates to become their own bosses was initially made by former education minister David Namwandi in 2014.

At that time, Namwandi warned graduates not to demand employment from his office, but to create work opportunities for themselves and others.

Last year, minister of higher education, technology and innovation Itah Kandjii-Murangi made a similar call at the fifth Zambezi Vocational Training Centre graduation at Katima Mulilo.

She said vocational training graduates are equipped with work-ready skills and do not necessarily require an employment contract to start offering services and generating income.

In April, president Hage Geingob echoed the same sentiments.

Recently, while highlighting his administration’s service delivery achievements, Geingob attributed high unemployment to the successes of the government’s education efforts.

Kiangi questioned whether those who advocate for such statements truly understand what it takes to run a business.

“So, when people say graduates should be job creators and not jobseekers, I think it is unfair. Why is it that those who have been working for 40 years don’t resign and start their own businesses if it’s so easy, and then these new ones who are coming in could take up their jobs?

“They will comfortably advocate for it while holding on to their positions,” he said.

Kiangi said his college will soon establish a business incubation centre to support students with business ideas by providing financial support, conducting market research, aiding in product development, and offering initial office space.

“We like to talk a lot and challenge others to do things we ourselves cannot do. Our goal in doing this is to have developed five millionaires from Triumphant within 15 to 20 years,” he said.

Kiangi said the school already offers a free entrepreneurial course for final-year students, providing the practical knowledge and skills required to start a business.

At an International University of Management graduation last month, Namwandi, who is the institution’s founder and managing council chairperson, invited graduates with bankable business plans to apply for seed capital through the David Namwandi Trust.

Namwandi said the institution includes entrepreneurial components in all its programmes to ensure flexibility and mobility for graduates to try avenues other than the fields they have been trained in.

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