Dearth of skilled labour
Skilled labour forms the backbone of various developing economies in the world. The skilled labour not only contributes in the growth of the nation but also increases employment avenues for others. However, in a place like Kashmir which is known for higher number of unemployment rates, lack of skilled hands is making things worse.
Youth with their respective skills in varied trades including electricians, welding, plumbing, bricklaying, cookery and other related trades have a bright future if they put their skills to good use. The skilled manpower could not only address the unemployment issue of the State, by creating their own jobs, but their skills could greatly address the ‘supply and demand issue’ of the State as well.
The youth in State need to think out of the box as the demand for skilled labour has phenomenally increased across the world in the last few decades. Such is the relevance of skilled labour in countries like Australia and Canada that they are even offering permanent residency to people with skills that are in their demand list.
We in Kashmir are witnessing an imported labour phenomenon as most of the technical jobs that are to be carried out here are done by people who have come from other Indian states.
The need of the hour is that all the stakeholders including academic institutes, especially ITIs and Polytechnics, corporate sector, and government institutes need to come together in creating a skilled man force in the State.
The move can help in bringing down the unemployment rate in the state and ensure that new jobs are also created.
As per the Labour Bureau, Ministry of Labour and Employment, Government of India (GOI), Jammu and Kashmir has very high unemployment rate.
As per a survey conducted by the bureau in 2015-16, Jammu and Kashmir has 72 unemployed persons per thousand, which means the number of unemployed youth in the state is over 9 lakh based on the 2011 census.
The number could be higher as over the years the exact number of unemployed educated youth in the state was not known. As per directions of the Supreme Court, the registration with the employment exchanges was held as not mandatory for obtaining government job. The government did not have exact figures about educated or uneducated unemployed persons.
As per the economic survey of 2011, the number of unemployed youths registered in various district employments and counselling centers was 6.01 lakh. Officials say the number would touch more than 10 lakh in 2018 as thousands of youths pass out from various universities and colleges every year.
The government of India had also revealed to Lok Sabha during a recent discussion that nearly 40 percent youth, in the age group of 15 to 30 years, are unemployed in Jammu and Kashmir and that the number was higher than the national level.
Unemployment of the younger members in our society is a major challenge, and to tide over the crisis only ensuring development of skilled labour can prove to be a viable option.
KV Network
