There has been a growing concern about the fate of thousands of graduates who complete various qualifications at public and private universities and colleges in Namibia every year. This concern is not without cause. The major worry is that the large figures of graduates coming from higher education institutions, and the astronomical figures of unemployed graduates, are alarming in both cases.
It does not need a rocket scientist to explain that every year, the numbers of unemployed graduates swell as more graduates are pumped into the unresponsive job market. Some schools of thought have described this situation as a time bomb, but I do not think so. Graduates just need to create their own jobs. With the erosion of many job opportunities due to the coronavirus pandemic and the general world economic downturn, it is imperative that most graduates should create their own employment in order to survive. Waiting for government to provide jobs for all graduates is a non-starter since government by its nature can only absorb a limited number of graduates at a time. Parastatals and other government agencies can also employ few graduates each year.
Equally, the bleeding private sector cannot help the situation much; it can absorb only a paltry number of graduates.
The bulky number of educated graduates is left in the cold. They end up joining the streets, adding to the burgeoning numbers of the unemployed. When this happens, the unemployed graduates and their families see a negation in the value of education, and higher education in particular. This is understandable, since higher education has always been viewed as a prerequisite for employment and better living standards when the graduate is employed. Families are prepared to spend fortunes on the education of their members, as education is viewed as an investment. It is, therefore, logical for the graduate and family members to be dejected when the graduate does not get employed after attaining a tertiary qualification. The whole scenario is viewed as a waste of money and resources, for the education one gets does not yield positive returns. In some countries, unemployment is one of the causes of suicides among unemployed graduates. It has also led unemployed graduates to engage in illicit vices like drug abuse, prostitution, murder and robbery.
Employment-creation only way
out
As I alluded to above, employment-creation seems the only alternative that unemployed graduates have to make an honest living. It must be emphasised that higher education institutions should have programmes which enhance students’ knowledge and employment-creation skills. Effective industrial and university partnerships play a significant role in preparing students for employment-creation. In other words, entrepreneurship education that focuses much on internships and work-integrated learning inculcates employment-creation skills in students, which will become useful after
obtaining their qualifications. In their research titled ‘Entrepreneurship Education Through Successful Entrepreneurial Models in Higher Education Institutions’, Gabriela Boldureanu and others (2020) concluded: “In higher education institutions, entrepreneurship learning based on successful entrepreneurial role models may promote education for sustainable development. Several theoretical perspectives, such as the human capital theory, the entrepreneurial self-efficacy and self-determination theory, argue that entrepreneurship education is positively correlated with entrepreneurial intentions of students, as it provides adequate know-how and skills, and motivates them to develop their entrepreneurial careers.
“In entrepreneurship education programmes, exposure to successful entrepreneurial models could be a significant factor for stimulating students’ confidence in their ability to start a business, and for improving their attitudes towards entrepreneurship.” Armed with such employability skills gained through practical contact with industry and commerce, graduates will create jobs for themselves and others when they face unemployment out there. The argument here is that graduates may be jobless even if they have employability skills due to the scarcity of jobs in the country. In this case, they then use their employability skills and entrepreneurship education to create jobs and become employers.
Despite the hard fact that the
figures of the unemployment of graduates are rising each year, higher education institutions will continue to pour more graduates into the market. More new higher education institutions will be accredited. This is normal. Vast literature shows that the more educated people we have in society, the better, despite the high levels of unemployment. So, do not think negatively about the high numbers of unemployed graduates in your locality. They can form groups and create gainful employment, based on their college specialisations.
The other day I was encouraging my third-year English students to begin thinking of how they can use skills they have gathered so far to create some employment for themselves. Areas that come up included copywriting and advertising, launching online magazines, freelance writing, speech writing, teaching English as a second language, and English coaching for those writing international English tests.