As much as we talk about unemployment in our country, it is easier to talk about it when one focuses only on numbers and percentages.
It, however, hits different when one actually bears witness to the situation on the ground, and it can make one’s heart sink. Behind those numbers are real people with not only emotions but with dreams for the future, and some whose wish is to simply live a dignified life.
It is, for instance, disheartening to see about 200 people take a written test for one teaching position, only to have no more than 10 people shortlisted for an oral test. What is even more saddening is that sometimes these people even spend their last dollar to travel long distances just with the hope that maybe this time it is their turn too.
Before we roll up the sleeves on this, perhaps it will be important first to put things into
perspective. Although the official figures put Namibia’s unemployment rate at 36.9%, it may simply be a political statement and an understatement meant to sugarcoat the people’s daily reality.
With an estimated population of 3 million and a working-age population of 1.88 million, only about 546 800 are employed. It is estimated that 35% of all adults are without work and want work. It is also estimated that more than half of the working age population (54.8%) is either unemployed or discouraged from even seeking jobs.
On top of that, the estimated number of graduates, annually, is about 8 000 to 10 000. For instance, in the education sector alone, it is estimated that the annual number of graduates is about 3 500 with only about 1 500 teaching positions available every year.
This would mean that, annually, about 2 000 teachers will not be absorbed. Now, let us imagine that this trend continues over a period of about 10 years. What would we as a country do to resolve or at least manage this surplus quack mire? Furthermore, there are various factors that make the labour market more complex. For instance, when a vacancy is advertised, it is not only the unemployed graduates who apply. There are also those who are in employment vying for the same position for various reasons. So, this may also put a strain on the efforts to absorb the unemployed graduates into the labour market, too.
With all that said, the real question is whether there are real and practical remedies or a serious political will to address unemployment. Lately, apart from the well-curated political and performative speeches, real reform is nowhere to be seen.
To resolve the unemployment problem in Namibia, the starting point will be the education system. For years, we have heard brilliant things about the Finnish education system, we watch videos about the Chinese primary education system and how, at an early age, children are taught real life, productive and survival skills, yet our children continue to sing Baba Black Sheep. Beautiful school buildings, decorated with an obsolete curriculum, only lead to poverty
and misery. It even makes one question whether career guidance is real or content creation.
Otherwise, why would we continue to enrol students for knowledge and skills for which no labour markets exist? Why not put a freeze on some institutions of learning or courses for a certain period and divert resources to where the gaps are? I mean, this may not be the solution, but how about a serious national SWOT analysis and needs assessment, whose outcome would then serve as the guidelines for meaningful deliberations by our lawmakers that can eventually translate into tangible outcomes?
*Uncommon Sense is published in the New Era with contributions from Karlos Naimwhaka. YouTube channel: Karlos Lokos.
– karlsimbumusic@gmail.com