Patience Makwele
President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah has directed all government offices, ministries and agencies to allocate funds for internships and apprenticeship programmes to address graduate unemployment.
The directive requires government institutions to create and fund structured internship and apprenticeship opportunities to give graduates work experience.
“We therefore expect governments, offices, ministries and agencies to create budgetary allocations for internships and apprenticeships, including hiring graduate interns in order to gain industrial experience,” Nandi-Ndaitwah made the announcement at the University of Namibia (Unam) graduation ceremony in Windhoek on Wednesday.
She called on the private sector to support the programme and said cooperation between government and industry is needed for it to succeed.
The move comes as many graduates struggle to find work after completing their studies.
Labour market analyst Theodore Collin Nauseb said the impact of the programme will depend on whether internships lead to permanent jobs.
“Internships are often treated as a pipeline rather than a transition. Without absorption into permanent roles, you simply rotate unemployed graduates through the system without reducing unemployment,” he said.
A Unam graduate, Rosalia Nyanyukweni Matheus, said finding an internship was difficult.
“I am relieved that I made it, but all I can say is it was a very difficult and stressful journey. My friends and I suffered a lot because every day we would wake up, send CVs everywhere and sometimes never even get feedback,” she said.
“When you finally get an internship, you are grateful, but most of the time it feels like temporary labour. You work for the period, then you leave and the company brings in the next intern.”
She said many graduates remain unemployed after completing internships.
Meanwhile, Nandi-Ndaitwah said the programme is part of the sixth National Development Plan, which focuses on economic growth and skills development.
She said sectors such as oil production, green hydrogen, renewable energy and mineral processing will require skilled workers.
“Training in these fields must start today, if it has not already started yesterday,” she said.
The president said the government will continue to support education, noting that tertiary education receives a large share of the national budget.
She said the subsidised tertiary education funding model now covers registration and tuition fees for qualifying undergraduate students.
She urged universities to align courses with the labour market’s needs.
“You now ought to know better, to do better, and to be better,” she told graduates.
Former president and Unam chancellor Nangolo Mbumba and former prime minister Nahas Angula, who received an honorary doctorate, attended the event.
Unam vice-chancellor Kenneth Matengu urged graduates to focus on innovation, entrepreneurship and adaptability.
