Over 8,000 skill based graduates and artisans were trained during 2011-2012 from
various Vocational Education and Training (VET) Centres in Namibia. Despite the skills
gained and government spending of more than N$270mill during the 2012 /13 financial
year, graduates fail to start businesses.
The overall objective of this research study was to establish which factors
influence skills based graduates and artisans to start a business, by answering three
questions. This study assessed thirteen factors based on four themes aligned to the
metacognitive model of mind set and utilised quantitative research methods following a
positivist approach. A pre-coded self-administered structured questionnaire was used to
collect data from a sample of 118 skills based graduates and artisans operating SMEs
from the City of Windhoek and Namibia Development Corporation (NDC) incubation
centres and industrial stalls in Windhoek. Data was captured using MS Excel, analysed
through SPSS, IBM 20, and One Way ANOVA test used to verify the significance of
factors. The research found that four factors are critical drivers in influencing skills based
graduates and artisans to take up entrepreneurial initiatives namely: Subject choices and
initiation, access to funding, making the right decisions at crucial moments as a reason
for business success and relevance of skills gained. The study concluded that
entrepreneurial initiatives among the younger age group (18 to 25 years) is mainly
dormant due to difficulties in accessing funding, lack of incentives and lack of programs
to consciously inculcate entrepreneurial mind-sets. Continuous consultation and curricula
review is essential to satisfy the skills requirements of the changing labour market.