Youth should embrace entrepreneurship - Nujoma
Formal employment is not the only way to reduce poverty, and the youth should embrace entrepreneurship to create jobs for themselves and others.
This is the advice of labour minister Utoni Nujoma, who said it is a well-known fact that the unemployment rate is very high in Namibia, especially amongst the youth.
He was responding to questions in the National Assembly on youth unemployment.
Nujoma said the ministry is in the process of developing the third national employment policy.
It will give government a national position on employment creation for proper coordination.
“The policy will highlight strategies and programmes towards employment creation as well as responsible institutions to ensure that those strategies and programmes are implemented.”
Situational analysis
According to Nujoma, this process is being undertaken in two stages, with the first set to conduct a broad situational analysis to understand the current situation, challenges and opportunities for employment creation.
The second stage is to develop the policy.
“At the moment, consultations with key stakeholders on the situational analysis have been completed and a two-day workshop was held on 25 and 26 September to validate the [resultant] report.”
He said due to the unavailability of updated data on labour force - as the last Labour Force Survey was conducted in 2018 - the ministry, along with the Namibia Statistics Agency, resolved that a module on the labour force would be included in the current national population census.
The ministry will then use this data to make informed decisions.
Career guidance
Meanwhile, the ministry is still administering an electronic database - the Namibia Integrated Employment Information System (NIEIS), which is used to register jobseekers and vacancies from employers for the purpose of job matching.
Nujoma said it will also continue to offer career guidance to learners, providing them with a sense of direction regarding career pathways and making them aware of opportunities available in the labour market.
According to the minister, they are also in the process of updating the career guidance book based on new careers that have emerged.
Consultations have already started with educational institutions, he said.
Nujoma emphasised that employment creation is not solely the responsibly of the ministry, and needs concerted effort from all stakeholders.
In terms of recruitment, the ministry provides an enabling environment for employment creation through the Affirmative Action (Employment) Act, the Namibian Labour Act and the Employment Service Act, he said.
This is the advice of labour minister Utoni Nujoma, who said it is a well-known fact that the unemployment rate is very high in Namibia, especially amongst the youth.
He was responding to questions in the National Assembly on youth unemployment.
Nujoma said the ministry is in the process of developing the third national employment policy.
It will give government a national position on employment creation for proper coordination.
“The policy will highlight strategies and programmes towards employment creation as well as responsible institutions to ensure that those strategies and programmes are implemented.”
Situational analysis
According to Nujoma, this process is being undertaken in two stages, with the first set to conduct a broad situational analysis to understand the current situation, challenges and opportunities for employment creation.
The second stage is to develop the policy.
“At the moment, consultations with key stakeholders on the situational analysis have been completed and a two-day workshop was held on 25 and 26 September to validate the [resultant] report.”
He said due to the unavailability of updated data on labour force - as the last Labour Force Survey was conducted in 2018 - the ministry, along with the Namibia Statistics Agency, resolved that a module on the labour force would be included in the current national population census.
The ministry will then use this data to make informed decisions.
Career guidance
Meanwhile, the ministry is still administering an electronic database - the Namibia Integrated Employment Information System (NIEIS), which is used to register jobseekers and vacancies from employers for the purpose of job matching.
Nujoma said it will also continue to offer career guidance to learners, providing them with a sense of direction regarding career pathways and making them aware of opportunities available in the labour market.
According to the minister, they are also in the process of updating the career guidance book based on new careers that have emerged.
Consultations have already started with educational institutions, he said.
Nujoma emphasised that employment creation is not solely the responsibly of the ministry, and needs concerted effort from all stakeholders.
In terms of recruitment, the ministry provides an enabling environment for employment creation through the Affirmative Action (Employment) Act, the Namibian Labour Act and the Employment Service Act, he said.
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