Youth joblessness linked to poor education standards

Low levels of formal education and lack of workplace training are to blame for the spiralling unemployment rate among Namibia's youth, a new study has found. Young people accounted for 60 percent of the unemployed, according to research conducted by the Labour Resource and Research Institute (LaRRI). The 2002/03 survey of the country's labour market put overall joblessness at 34 percent, with young people under the age of 25 most affected. Although this was a major concern, the research highlighted that over half the 1.8 million population are younger than 25 years of age. "Unemployment among the country's youth must be understood in the context of the overall young age structure of the population. Sixty percent joblessness among the youth is, of course, alarming, but it is important to look at the poor quality of education and skills among the youth which has given rise to the current situation," Windhoek-based labour researcher, Ntwala Mwilima, told IRIN. Despite frequent complaints by employers about the lack of skills, one of the survey's main findings was that only half the 586 workers interviewed across Namibia received any training at their workplaces. When training occurred, it usually took place at the start of the job - only 1 in 4 workers received ongoing training. "Workplace training is extremely important, but what we have found is that very often young people do not have the basic educational entry requirements for the jobs which are available," Mwilima commented. Namibia spends a high percentage of its budget on education. The 2001 census revealed that over 90 percent of the adult population had received some formal schooling, and 50 percent had attended some period of secondary schooling. However, critics have argued that despite the investment, educational standards were lacking. "There has been an overemphasis on increasing access to schools at the expense of providing learners with the kind of education that may be useful in the labour market. While literacy rates may be going up, it does not reflect the quality of the literacy levels," said Evalastus Kaaronda, deputy secretary-general of the National Union of Namibian Workers. He pointed out that the Malaysian-based Ramatex Textiles, which recently opened in the capital, Windhoek, had encountered difficulties when searching for skilled workers. Ramatex has promised to create 8,000 jobs over the next three years. The public service, agriculture and service industries were Namibia's dominant sectors of employment, while mining and manufacturing accounted for relatively few jobs. Overall, workers identified low salaries and the lack of benefits as the biggest problems in the Namibian labour market. About 70 percent of labourers interviewed earned less than N$3,000 (US $480) a month, while less than 10 percent earned over US $960 per month. This illustrated the huge levels of inequality regarding wages and benefits in the Namibian labour market, the survey noted. Kaaronda linked poor salaries to the lack of benefits. "Poor educational standards directly affects the kinds of jobs learners find themselves in. Consequently, workers in low-paying employment are unable to seek better compensation or benefits." The research pointed to "alarmingly" low levels of knowledge about key labour legislation among workers, and accused workers' unions of having failed their members in this regard. Moreover, labour inspectors rarely visited workplaces and only 3 percent of workers encountered them regularly. "During their visits, the inspectors usually meet with management, while meetings with workers and shop stewards are not a common practice. This raises questions about the objectivity and effectiveness of labour inspectors, and needs to be addressed by the ministry of labour," the study remarked.