WINDHOEK, Nov. 24 — Namibia on Monday released the State of Skills Demand and Supply Report, which highlights a structural imbalance between the skills supplied by the workforce and those demanded by employers in major sectors of the economy.
Launched by the Namibia Investment Promotion and Development Board, the report shows shortages across more than 73 occupations, with high demand in agriculture, manufacturing, retail, administrative services, health and social work, education, transport, public administration, defense and accommodation services.
The report states that tertiary-education attainment increased from 5.8 percent in 2011 to 11.8 percent in 2023, while there is an oversupply of graduates in business, public administration, education and social sciences and an undersupply in agriculture, manufacturing, engineering and physical planning.
Meanwhile, the report also states that basic-education promotion rates remain low at the senior secondary level, with a 47.3 percent promotion rate and high repetition and school-leaving rates.
According to the report, the technical and vocational education and training (TVET) sector had a low throughput, with only 14 percent of trainees graduating in 2020.
It also stated that there is roughly one TVET trainee for every 28 basic education students. Namibia‘s labor-market indicators show an unemployment rate of 36.9 percent and a youth unemployment rate of 44.4 percent.
The report said that foundational skills remain a concern, with literacy and numeracy performance at low levels in early grades. Namibia Daily News / Xinhua
