International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS) | Volume VI, Issue VI, June 2022 | ISSN 2454–6186

The Influence of Career Development Practices on Employee Retention in The Mining Industry in Namibia

Michael Ochurub PhD^1*, Andrew Jeremiah PhD², Selma Iipumbu^3
1Senior Lecturer (HRM) – Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST)
Department of Management, NUST, Namibia
P.O .Box 55155, Rocky Crest, Windhoek, Namibia
²Senior Lecturer (HRM) – Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST)
Department of Management, NUST, Namibia
³Human Resource Practitioner – Rossing Uranium Mine (Ltd)
*Corresponding Author

Abstract: The mining industry in Namibia is currently experiencing a high employee turnover as a result of a lack of career development as employees are mostly attracted by career advancement opportunities. Career development is one of the key factors in an organisation to attract and retain key and talented employees. Therefore, this study is intended to determine the effect of career development practices on employee attraction and retention. This study is quantitative in nature and questionnaires were used to collect the data from participants. The researchers used Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software to analyse the data and to provide descriptive (mean and standard deviation) and graphical analyses with the use of tables and calculation of statistics for central tendency, variability, and distribution. The major findings of the study revealed that the career management plans do not align with employees’ personal career goals and that the employee commitments and performance in the mining industry are constrained due to the lack of structured career planning and management. It is also evident from the findings that career development practices would increase the profitability of the mining industry as a result of satisfied and high performing employees. Although the employees have adequate resources to carry out their duties, the lack of career advancement as well as adequate training and development is a great concern. Investors in the mining industry must place a high value on human capital, and as a result, ensure that their skilled individuals are retained as they provide an advantage over competitors. A high level of support to employees are more likely for employees to emotionally commit to their organisations, resulting in a low rate of turnover and a high level of job performance.

Key words: career development, career planning, employee retention, training & development