Universities need to take stock of the current state of graduate employability from both the employers' and the graduates' perspectives if they are to respond effectively to the knowledge and skills requirements of the industry. Globally, graduate employability is a concept that is becoming increasingly popular in the higher education sector. The underlying assumption is that graduates need attributes other than those skills needed in the subject-specific discipline. This article provides an assessment of stakeholders' perceptions on graduate employability attributes for management sciences graduates in Namibia. The study applied a survey method, with questionnaires being administered to the three types of stakeholder, namely, employers, lecturers and graduates. The study found a mismatch in responses between these stakeholders regarding the attributes that are important for the job market, those that are emphasised in curricula, and those that graduates need more training on. The argument presented by the article is that mapping stakeholders' perceptions will enable universities to equip their graduates with employability attributes needed by the industry.

The Adult Skills Development for Self-employment in the Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture is a partnership venture between the Directorate of Adult Education and the First National Bank of Namibia, which provides a Credit Guarantee Scheme as the common element of contract between these institutions. The aim of this paper is to report on the participating entrepreneurs' views regarding the effectiveness of the Adult Skills Development for Self-employment in the National Literacy Programme in the Khomas Education Region of Namibia. The results show that the project held some benefits for these entrepreneurs in terms of profits generated as well as enabling them to meet living expenses. The training enabled them to record income and calculate expenditure on rent, telephone, water and electricity bills, savings, loan payments, salaries and other cost-related issues. However, knowledge pertaining to how to write a business proposal and conduct market research was still lacking as these issues were not addressed during the training provided. The challenges hampering the effectiveness of the self-employment project are the existence of redtape; poor communication between the Ministry of Education and First National Bank of Namibia; the long route taken to process loans; screening procedures and delays caused by the bank. The possible support measures proposed to improve the effectiveness of the Adult Skills Development for Self-employment relate to the Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture, Ministry of Gender and Child Welfare and the possible involvement of other financial institutions. The recommendations to improve the project's effectiveness involve the Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture, the Directorate of Adult Education and First National Bank of Namibia. These entities need to revisit some of their strategies taking into account the views outlined in this paper.

Recognising implicit employability attributes within discipline-specific program modules is a critical part of the process of developing new employability modules in the management sciences curricula. The notion of graduate employability has gained acceptance in the higher education sector across the world and furthermore higher education and industry appear to have reached consensus on the importance of enhancing graduate attributes through the curricula at university. This paper offers a qualitative analysis of curricula documents to determine strategies that are effective in enhancing graduate employability. Using content analysis to assess six bachelor degree programs in management sciences from selected universities in Namibia, the study established that, in addition to work-integrated learning modules, there is evidence of graduate employability attributes being implicitly embedded in core curricula and discipline-specific modules. The researchers argue that universities should develop a stand-alone core module specifically to cultivate employability attributes. This should be supported by multiple work-integrated learning experiences for students to practise technical or discipline specific skills and generic employability attributes.

Despite efforts to address the economic challenges and provide a social safety net for orphans and vulnerable children, Namibia is still faced with social and economic challenges. The aim of this study is to explore the developmental context that underpins the social and economic challenges of the Namibian children of the liberation struggle at the Berg Aukas camp in Grootfontein in the Otjozondjupa Region. Data were collected by means of in-depth interviews with the Namibian Children of the Liberation Struggle and analysed by means of a case-and content-oriented analysis. The results of the study show that Children of the Liberation Struggle are faced with social and economic hardships. The social hardships include dropping out of school, teenage pregnancies and traumatic events such as illness, stigma and discrimination, isolation and loneliness, poor family structures, and lack of adult support and guidance. The economic hardships relate to lack of financial assistance to further their studies and follow aspired careers. The socioeconomic challenges refer to lack of social support, lack of counseling, lack of personal income to sustain career development and unfamiliarity with Namibian government policies. The study recommended psychosocial counselling and reorientation of supportive policies that would provide social safety nets for these children.

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