Only 65% of Namibia's graduates have jobs, NCHE reveals

Only 65% of Namibia's university and college graduates are employed, down from 83% seven years ago, despite higher education institutions producing more graduates and improving student completion rates, the National Council for Higher Education (NCHE) has revealed.

The figures were presented to the National Council Standing Committee on Education, Science, ICT and Youth Development during a briefing in Otjiwarongo on Tuesday by Dr Sylvia Demas, Bertha Njembo and Sem Shikongo on behalf of the NCHE.

Their presentation painted a mixed picture of the country's higher education system, showing that while academic performance has steadily improved, graduate employment has continued to decline as the labour market struggles to absorb increasing numbers of graduates.

According to the NCHE, the graduate employment rate has declined from 83% in 2017 to 69% in 2019, 67% in 2021 and 65% in 2024, despite continued improvements in student success across Namibia's higher education institutions.

The council reported that the proportion of students completing their studies within the minimum prescribed period increased from 68% in 2017 to 70% in 2019, 73% in 2021 and 76% in 2024, suggesting that universities and colleges are becoming more efficient in guiding students to graduation.

Long search

The NCHE told lawmakers that graduates spend an average of 15 months searching for their first job, while 33% take longer than two years to secure employment.

The proportion of graduates rating their study conditions and institutional support as good or very good rose from 53% in 2017 to 66% in 2024, while 78% rated the relationship between their field of study and their area of work as good or very good.

The presentation also revealed that Namibia's higher education institutions produced 23 048 graduates in 2025, with women accounting for 15 666 graduates, or about 68%, compared to 7 382 male graduates.

Of the total graduates, 15 870, representing 68.9%, qualified in non-science disciplines, while 7 178 graduates, or 31.1%, completed qualifications in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields.

Education, Training and Development remained the country's largest field of graduation, producing 7 333 graduates, followed by Business, Commerce and Management Studies with 5 656 graduates and Health Sciences and Social Services with 4 047 graduates.

Within the STEM disciplines, Physical, Mathematical and Computer Sciences produced 1 598 graduates; Manufacturing, Engineering and Technology accounted for 865 graduates; Agriculture and Nature Conservation produced 413 graduates; and Physical Planning and Construction produced 255 graduates.

Employment outcomes varied significantly across disciplines.

Interventions

According to the 2024 Graduate Survey presented to the committee, graduates in Physical Planning and Construction recorded the highest employment rate at 79%, followed by Law, Military Science and Security at 72%, Health Sciences at 70%, and Education, Manufacturing, Engineering and Technology at 65% each.

Business graduates recorded an employment rate of 64%, Physical, Mathematical and Computer Sciences 60%, while Agriculture and Nature Conservation recorded the weakest outcome, with only 48% of graduates employed and 47% unemployed.

The survey further showed that the public sector remains the largest employer of graduates, accounting for 65% of graduate employment.

The private sector, including self-employment, employs 31%, while non-governmental organisations account for only 4%.

Dr Demas, Njembo and Shikongo told the committee that several interventions have already been introduced to improve the quality and relevance of higher education programmes.

These include student entrepreneurship initiatives, reforms to curriculum frameworks, stronger cooperative education programmes, greater industry participation in quality assurance and the formulation of minimum standards for higher education institutions.

Despite these measures, the NCHE warned that significant structural challenges continue to undermine higher education's responsiveness to labour market needs.

The council identified weak collaboration between industry, government and higher education institutions as one of the principal causes of persistent skills mismatches and poorly coordinated training and funding. It also acknowledged that the NCHE itself lacks sufficient structural capacity to continuously monitor programmes and provide ongoing feedback to ensure qualifications remain relevant to changing economic demands.

The presentation further highlighted funding constraints facing higher education institutions, noting that limited financial resources restrict investment in modern infrastructure, industry-relevant curriculum development, and the recruitment and development of academic staff.

Rapid technological advances were also identified as a challenge, requiring more frequent curriculum reviews than institutions are often able to undertake.

Student-related challenges include a mismatch between enrolment growth and staffing capacity, resulting in inadequate academic support, limited opportunities for work-integrated learning and insufficient development of employability skills such as problem-solving, decision-making and teamwork.