Interview with Enzy Kaura

Human Resources Management (HRM) lecturer
Work Integrated Learning (WIL) coordinator
Namibia University of Science and Technology

What subjects do you teach as lecturer at NUST?

I currently teach Managing Employee Performance to Honours degree students and am the WIL coordinator for the Human Resources department.

What are your main tasks as the Work Integrated Learning (WIL) coordinator?

I am responsible for all aspects of the WIL program in the HR department. I ensure the HR students know the WIL requirements and support them throughout the whole WIL / internships process from finding an internship to the final presentation of which I am also an assessor of. I work closely with our public and private sector partners, give support on setting up the internship agreements as well clarifying roles and responsibilities of all parties involved. As the WIL program is still quite new, the continuous feedback from all stakeholders is very important. I gather this information and update the syllabi of the course on an ongoing basis, to make the curriculum as relevant to the Namibian realities as possible.

How difficult is it for a NUST alumnus to find employment?

Due to the current financial situation in the country, the unemployment rate has increased to 34%. 90% of government and parastatals positions have been frozen. It is indeed a challenge for graduates to find employment, especially in their field of study. Many Human Resources Management (HRM) students become temporary teachers while looking for permanent employment.

For how much time on average do students have to search for a job after graduation?

I don’t have researched information on this question, but I believe it could go up to 1 year on average. Many graduates who studied HRM are studying on to get further qualifications since they cannot get jobs in their field of study.

What are the main challenges for the students when looking for a position?

There are very few positions advertised and most have been frozen due to the economic downturn. For the few advertised positions there are many applications, so competition is very big. Another big challenge is that even for lower level positions the companies are asking for many years of experience. Having a driver’s license has also become a new requirement for many jobs. This poses an additional hurdle for many students. And finally, many students lack access to facilities where they can make copies and access computers and the internet to be able to submit applications electronically.

We would like to know how the NUST lecturers and industry representatives received the idea of this Career Starter Week for university graduates, and how they reacted to it.

Lecturers are informed during meetings as they have to release the students to attend the workshops. They do not yet have much insight into this new program but they are positive about it. They are always willing to send their students to attend the training.

More B360 Career Starter Workshops are planned for the future. What specific tasks and challenges are you and your team going to face?

I cannot think of a concrete challenge. What would be a challenge is if B360 would discontinue the program, especially if the local coordinators are not yet equipped to run it.

At the end of the workshops, those participants who successfully completed the program receive a Career Starter and Work Readiness Certificate. How useful do you think this certificate will be for a job application?

Since employers demand the students to develop employability skills, students are advised to attach the career starter certificate to their applications so they can show that they have had work readiness training.

How do you rate the past cooperation with the B360 team in Switzerland, the B360 volunteer experts who came to Namibia to teach the workshop, and the local lecturers?

Excellent, they know what they are doing and they run the program with a lot of energy and in a very interesting way.

What would you wish from Namibian employers with regard to their recruitment policy, especially when it comes to young people?

They should relax the required experience for entry-level positions and they should be willing to train the graduates during their first months of employment.