Chapter Five: Conclusion, Recommendations and Summary

5.1 Introduction

This study chapter will provide the summary and conclusion of the study findings and will
end with recommendations based on the study findings.

5.2 Summary and Conclusion

In the limited employment creation economy the rise of education attainments has brought
educated unemployment phenomenon in the country. The increased in the number of
students’ enrollments at all levels accompanied by policy induced weakened the quality of
education has decreased the value of education. This has created the gap between young
people’s expectation of education and the reality they encounter. To that end, United Nations
(2005:16), notes that the “failure to coordinate education provision with labor market needs”
has led to excessive educated youth unemployment. The situation has had a significant
impact on new labor market entrants, especially young people with high ambitions. For most
youths the expectations to lead better life through formal education are not being achieved
and dependence on their family has rather been prolonged. As a result, the gap between
desires of the youths and reality has threatened their aspirations for self-identification,
acceptance, and being something through schooling. This suggests that quantity-oriented
school provisioning has made little difference in the lives of young people. Most the
participants with a higher education background suggested a lack of need for diplomas and
degrees if they mean nothing.

The key cause of university and college trained youth unemployment is a lack of job
availability that requires certain degrees of expertise, which makes an unemployed person to
wait for a longer period of time to find jobs. The solution to this issue lies in the growth of
the economy, which will create more opportunities for young people. On the other hands less
educated youth are affected by lack of productive employment as well as employment
instability that force them move in and out of employment.

The study found that male and female youth experience unemployment differently to some
extant. Generally more females are unemployed than males in all youth age categories and
they have longer unemployment duration than males. This could be due to lack of required
skills and other socio-cultural factors that also related to their job searching behavior.
Developing effective and decentralized employment services could fairly benefit both males
and females.

The study found that impacts of unemployment on youths are experienced differently based
on individual personal traits and variations in their age, gender, and family background.
Youths from lower social position family, females, and married youths are the most affected
by unemployment incidence. Therefore, their resilience to unemployment depends on
their material possession, gender, marital status and family background. This implies that
individual’s unemployment experience and deprivation are relative comparing to the
reference group and individual expectations.

Unemployed youth survive unemployment mainly through material and emotional supports
received from their families and close relatives. The income of the family and other
resources are important here. In this the financial assistance young people receive from
their families is crucial for their social and psychological well-being. However, this could
affect the meager income of households which may exacerbate household poverty.

Depending on their ages, gender, unemployment duration and family background generally
unemployed youth are materially and financially deprived, socially isolated, mentally
stressed and depressed which may affect their health status. The situations will eventually
lead individuals to take any form of risks to achieve their aspirations and sometimes may
cause social instability. For young people being unemployed is not only about being
deprived of means of income and livelihoods, it is rather being unhappy, isolated,
unrecognized, unimportant and dependent. Therefore, young people link wage employment
with acquiring social acceptance, recognitions, mental satisfaction, self-confidences,
happiness and personal development.

From the interviews with the youths from Rundu the study found that for these youths
employment is not about working or not working, but they value employment from the
perspectives of the ability to make a living from the employment. Therefore, young people,
particularly educated youth prefer remain waiting for productive employment than working
in the informal sector where employment is insignificant for living.

The participants indicated that they suffered from a lack of time structure, collective purpose,
social contact, status and activity. The participants also pointed out that once people become
unemployed, they become bored and end up being involved in criminal, drug abuse and
others become involved in prostitution. Also, the participants indicated that they even failed
to see any value in their lives since they do not work, contribute to their family’s income and
support their immediate families. In addition to the findings, participants further indicated
that when an individual loses their jobs, they lose some aspects of their identity and social
contact which they had while they were working.

In conclusion, it the study observed that unemployed as number of causes such as lack of
proper education qualification, lack of employment opportunities in the area and an increase
in the labour force. The study also found that unemployment as variety of impacts on the
youth such as depression, lack of loss of identity and withdraw. Unemployment affects the
income of the youths and this affects the livelihoods of the youths who are forced to ask
friends and family for money, get married, or engage in different jobs such as street vending
and prostitution.

5.3 Recommendations

The following are the recommendations of this study, which are based on the findings of this
study;

 There is need for community collaboration to create jobs this may be of great benefit
in Rundu.
 The municipality should accept some responsibility to ensure that jobs are created for
the youth in Rundu.
 The non-governmental organisations in Rundu should be encouraged to develop
programmes that will empower the community. For example, the residents can be
educated about the establishment of businesses and provided with the necessary
training.
 There is need for further researcher which typically should involve many
respondents, in order to reach a larger population. Such research can statistically test
specific hypotheses, and gain insight regarding certain specific variables that can be
generalised to the broader population.