Looking for work in Namibia can not only be a nightmare, but is also a mammoth and expensive exercise.
Namibia’s overall unemployment rate last year was estimated at 34%, while youth unemployment had surpassed the astronomical 45% mark. It is a situation described by late president Hage Geingob as a ticking time-bomb.
However, local employment prospects are picking up, as domestic economic activity continues to recover on the back of rising global commodity prices, specifically uranium, copper and gold, coupled with thousands of job expectations from promising oil and green hydrogen industries.
These encouraging waves of expected employment-creation on the horizon may make finding work more inevitable, but securing gainful employment in Namibia takes more than effort. It takes money, which is something that many job-seekers simply do not have.
Transport
Speaking to several job-seekers in and around Windhoek, transportation emerged as the largest factor when looking for work. This is because once the curriculum vitae (CV) has been prepared, photocopied and emailed, including all relevant certified documents, job-seekers then have to physically go out for interviews.
As if this was not enough, when they are short-listed, they must go back, often more than once, to finalise the recruitment process.
“I can easily spend N$200 a day when looking for work. Just imagine, going to and from one company is already more than N$50. This is for one application only, and does not include food or airtime that I need to send emails and do research”, said a job-seeker who preferred anonymity.
Also commenting on the job-seeking process, Christa Nekwaya, who recently secured an internship at a parastatal, said companies asking for work experience need to be realistic.
“These companies start with asking for five or 10-years’ experience. They need to be more flexible to give recent graduates better opportunities”, she stated, adding that job-seekers sacrifice a lot just to be seen.
Put simply, job hunters are between a rock and a hard place.
“Sometimes I had to choose if I wanted to eat, or if I should get data to look for work”, said Nekwaya.
Explaining the sometimes-protracted job-hunting process, a number of job- seekers in Windhoek said they can easily spend between N$1 000 and N$1 500 a month to look for work. This is because when unsuccessful with a job application, the unemployed are left with few options but to start the process all over again.
Supporting the unemployed
Also speaking to New Era this week, Secretary General of the Trade Union Congress of Namibia (TUCNA), Mahongora Kavihuha said there must be a simplified way to look for employment.
“The practicality of regional employment must not be overlooked. And we need to discourage private employment agencies because in the end, they turn out to be more expensive because they generally want to profit out of unemployment. We know we cannot outlaw them as we operate in a free-market system, but we can definitely discourage people from using them,” he observed.
Furthermore, Kavihuha charged that many institutions which make the employment process unaffordable are often government agencies and parastatals.
“These entities must be exemplary, but instead they habitually use employees on contract, instead of making permanent appointments. For instance, at Cenored there are an estimated 60% of employees working on contract.
The implication of contract workers is that the job provides very little security,y while it exacerbates poverty and hunger. This in turn contributes to high unemployment. Using contract workers just increases labour market instability,” said the seasoned trade unionist.
Meanwhile, local social and economic activist Michael Amushelelo recently took to social media to call for the establishment of an unemployment fund to assist all jobless people in the country.
“We demand that the parliament of Namibia makes use of Article 44 to establish an unemployment fund, similar to Veterans Act 2 of 2008, which gives veterans the right to enjoy, eat and chop taxpayers’ money with impunity. We demand that after the establishment of the unemployment fund, all unemployed people must be paid a once-off amount of N$250 000 to implement various projects of their choice,” he stated. The forex trader-turned-social justice activist added that after the establishment of the fund, all unemployed Namibians must also receive a monthly grant for the “maintenance of a decent living”.
Labour market
Earlier this year, labour, industrial relations and employment-creation minister Utoni Nujoma said about 200 000 job-seekers are registered on the Namibia Integrated Employment Information System (NIEIS). The minister shared this figure at the inauguration of the fourth Employment Services’ Board in April.
At the event, the politician admitted that the country is experiencing daunting labour market challenges, among them the shocking youth unemployment number.
“At the moment, the majority are finding it difficult to be absorbed into the Namibia labour market due to limited available job opportunities. And where there are job opportunities, most of these job-seekers have no minimum skills and experience required by employers. The youth are looking to us for solutions to these problems and more concretely, for jobs,” said Nujoma.
Recent labour ministry figures show that over 12 000 job-seekers were registered on the NIEIS during the 2023/24 financial year. Out of this number, only 1 350 job-seekers were placed in various industries.
“Unfortunately, many policymakers and economists worldwide, including in Namibia, believed, and some still believe, that employment is automatically created when a country’s economy grows. However, this is not true. Jobs are created by employers in the private and public sectors and state-owned enterprises, and through self-employment,” he emphasised.
NIEIS restored
Meanwhile, the digital system implemented by the labour ministry in 2013 to connect employers with potential employees was recently restored, and is running smoothly. This is after the NIEIS experienced sporadic interruptions and unexpected downtimes a few months ago. “The system has been running smoothly for more than a month,” said a labour ministry spokesperson yesterday.
The technical issues affecting the NIEIS had raised concerns about its impact on both employers and job-seekers.
NIEIS requires designated employers to report job vacancies, creating a comprehensive database of employment opportunities, in accordance with the existing legislation. Since its launch in 2013, NIEIS has been instrumental in facilitating job placements throughout the country.
The NIEIS has successfully connected thousands of individuals with various organisations, demonstrating its effectiveness as a job-matching platform.