Societal Analysis

Unemployable - Oct 2023

In the next 15 to 20 years, the labour force in the industrialised world will go down by about 4%. But in India, it will increase phenomenally, by about 32%. This is celebrated as the population dividend. Unsuspecting Youth Anumānaṁ lēni yuvata join this celebration Vēḍuka without understanding what it means. However, 32% increase in the country's labour force Kārmika śakti means nothing if the labour force is not skilled Naipuṇyaṁ lēdu.

Only about 5% of our labour force has undergone any formal skill training Naipuṇya śikṣaṇa. Compare with 68% in the UK, 75% in Germany, 52% in the US, 80% in Japan and 96% in South Korea.

The government's estimates and projections say that by 2022, there's going to be a shortage of:
2022 నాటికి వీటి కొరత ఏర్పడుతుందని ప్రభుత్వ అంచనాలు చెబుతున్నాయి:

  • 15 crore skilled workers in infrastructure sector Maulika sadupāyālu
  • 3.5 crore in the automobile sector
  • 3.3 crore in construction
  • 2.6 crore in clothing and textiles
  • 1.8 crore in transport and logistics
  • 1.7 crore in retail
  • 1.4 crore in real estate
  • 1.3 crore in healthcare
  • 1 crore in food processing
  • 0.6 crore in education

In October 2018, the Government, World Economic Forum and Infosys together created a "Closing the Skills Gap Task Force". 50 to 100 corporates and other civil society groups were to develop an action plan to address the skill needs in the country. After the declaration of intent made a splash in the media Pracāraṁ, its utility seems to have been over. Nothing more has been heard about this in the next 5 years.

At a big gala event the National Policy on Skill Development and Entrepreneurship 2015 was announced. It declared that 25% of the country's schools will start skilling Naipuṇyaṁ, along with formal education, by 2020. After the media splash announcing this, its utility seems to have been over. The 2021 annual report of the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship does not even mention this policy any more.

Instead, this same 2021 annual report of the Ministry came up with disappointing Nirāśa findings. Among the college educated, employability Upādhi is less than 50% across the board. About 47% of B Tech, 47% of MBA, 43% of BA, 40% of B Com and 30% of BSc graduates had employable skills — i.e. they could get jobs. Only 22% of MCA degree holders could be considered employable.

About 75% of ITI pass outs did not possess employable skills. Nirudyōgi kādu; udyōgaṁ cēyalēmu Unemployability among our B Pharma graduates was at 67%. Adding other sectors too, it was estimated that 65% to 75% of the 15 million young people who enter the labour market every year are unemployable.

This is also the fate of slogans like Make in India, Stand Up India, Start-up India, Digital India, etc. After a big media splash and crores of rupees spent on publicity, nothing more is heard in the annual reports of the Ministries.

But even more important than reports from Ministries, we need to see data that show results. But who wants data? It is enough to just eventify and create false hope Tappuḍu āśanu sr̥ṣṭin̄cāli

That is why, as on March 2023, the overall unemployment rate is 7.6% 8.3% in urban areas, and 7.3% in rural areas