To offer participants a unique opportunity to work with international and local professionals to gain valuable knowledge and insight into the working world, Nust is calling on graduates from various institutions of higher learning to apply for a career-starter week, commencing in January 2022.
This event, hosted by the Namibia University of Science and Technology (Nust), in partnership with the B360 Education Partnerships, seeks to prepare graduates for job interviews and life as young professionals.
The five-day programme will also provide a sequential path through career development, learning about organisational structure, effective planning, the value of teamwork, and soft skills to get a competitive edge.
“The programme offers graduates the opportunity to tap into valuable skills from those who have been in the industry for a substantial amount of time and have gained the relevant experience,” said Nust spokesperson Nico Smit.
He added it also enables a transfer of skills from one generation of professionals to the other, hence ensuring they preserve valuable expertise and experience from one generation to the other that would greatly benefit the country in the long term.
The initiative will expose graduates to a range of topics, including curriculum vitae preparation and drafting of cover letters, interview training, organisational structure, entrepreneurship, project management, governance and ethics.
Smit also stated that although it was mentioned earlier that only IUM, Unam and Nust students are eligible for participation, other unemployed graduates from other institutions of higher learning can also apply.
“When tackling the generational issue of graduate unemployment, we have to be inclusive of all institutions and all graduates. This is the only manner within which we would be able to transfer skills and tackle graduate unemployment holistically and coherently.”
Graduate unemployment, in particular, and youth unemployment, in general, has over the years presented a fundamental crisis of immense proportion in the country.
According to recent statistics, Namibia could reach a staggering 50.30% youth unemployment rate by the end of 2021.
This was revealed during the launch of the third National Youth Policy in July this year.
Smit said the crisis is, in fact, a national emergency.
“There is a great mismatch and shortage in terms of skills transfer, especially with new graduates. What this initiative does is to ensure that skills mismatch is lessened, hence enabling graduates to unlock key sectors in the market,” he said.
Smit further encouraged the nation to do everything in its power and utilise all resources at its disposal to eradicate unemployment in the country.
- ashikololo@nepc.com.na