…Several graduates among applicants
More than 412 applicants have applied for one cleaner position at the Rudolf Ngondo Primary School at Rundu.
Scores of applicants, including graduates, applied for the vacancy advertised by the Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture earlier this year.
The latest figure from the National Planning Commission indicates that youth unemployment in Namibia is currently at more than 40%, while the overall figure stands at 33,4%.
According to Kavango East education regional director Christine Shilima, all entry level positions in the ministry are advertised through the labour ministry, which shortlists eligible candidates.
Shilima says the Namibia Integrated Employment Information System (NIEIS) was not operating earlier this year, which is why the education ministry opted to advertise the vacancy.
The requirements for a cleaner position stipulate the ability to read and write, she says.
“The shortlisting committee was set up this year by the ministry for transparency purposes. Part of the recruitment policy is to scrutinise all the applicants,” says Shilima.
The shortlisting committee was nominated and approved by the director’s office to handle the written and oral test, as well as to appoint the successful candidate.
“Henceforth, the labour ministry will shortlist candidates through NIEIS, we will not advertise entry level positions to the public.”
Furthermore, Shilima says because it was an open advertisement, the ministry could not limit the number of people due to fairness.
One of the applicants, Lucia Tjiyambi, who graduated with a diploma in economic and business studies from the University of Namibia in 2018, says she was disappointed after arriving at the venue at 07h00 on Thursday, only for the panellists to arrive late.
“Since I graduated, there has been no job. That is why I am here to attend a written test for a cleaner [position]. I was not supposed to be here. We are trying to do business, but it is always failing,” says Tjiyambi.
She says there is little hope and it is ridiculous that there are so many applicants for only one position.
Theresia David says although she completed Grade 12, the high unemployment rate in the region has compelled her to apply for the cleaner vacancy.
She says she was called two weeks ago to write a written test and when she arrived at 08h00, there were hundreds of candidates for the one position.
The written tests only started at 12h30, she adds.
Maria Tjarura Mangundu says being unemployed is not easy and she has been applying for every available vacancy in the job market.
“I am a qualified plumber from the Rundu Vocational Training Centre. It is unfair for [hundreds of] people [to apply] for one post. It’s hopeless,” she says.
Mangundu says the government should limit the number of applicants.
The scramble for jobs in the Kavango East region reflects the desperate unemployment crisis countrywide.
Last year, Temperature Lounge in Windhoek advertised six positions for a walk-in interview for which more than 2 000 young people arrived. This resulted in chaos which saw the establishment’s gate damaged by the crowd.
In 2021, the desperation of those struggling to find jobs was also on full display at Walvis Bay, where over 1 500 job seekers applied for 11 general worker positions on a NamWater project.
Read more: 400 scramble for one cleaner post
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