Skill development and employment prospects in India: a case study of Uttar Pradesh
Description
India is in a dire need of reducing unemployment problem very soon to enjoy the full benefits of becoming youngest nation by 2020, and that can only be done through skill development. This rate of job displacement is not far out of line with previous periods. One reason why automation is so horrifying a prospect today is that the future was very uncertain in the past. We lacked skills and tools for long-range forecasting. An important current development is that today’s automation is likely to usher in machines that can plausibly replace humans in several spheres where it was once thought that humans would be irreplaceable. The Davos camp has identified human capital and sustainable resources as the two key challenges for India. Education and skills are what normally comprise human capital. While educational qualifications are essential for entering the labor market, it is the skills that will finally determine one’s employability strength. Young people desperately search for entry-level jobs while employers, ironically, are unable to find people with the right skills. They face regular attrition and a monthly turnover sometimes as high as a fifth of their workforce. At the same time, 40 percent of employers blame skill shortage for entry-level vacancies. The imperative for skilling young people is well-recognized and has been flagged as a national priority for almost a decade, with significant initiatives being launched by the government. The sad part is that only 10 percent of the total workforce in the country receives some kind of skill training. India is poised to become the youngest country in the world by 2020, with an average age of 29 years. It’s, 869 million strong workforce accounts for around 28 percent of the world’s workforce. Although India’s huge demographic dividend is considered to be one of its strengths, our optimism needs to be moderated. If the youth are not skilled and face unemployment challenges, it might turn out to be a liability rather than an asset. India faces a huge skill development challenge. It is estimated that around 50 to 70 million jobs will be created in India over the next five years and about 75 to 90 percent of these will require some vocational training. For India’s demographic transformation to be considered a “dividend,” the youth will need to acquire necessary knowledge and skills to contribute towards nation-building. Development programs and their allied industries should develop the capability to cross-train the youth and build a culture
Skill development and employment prospects in India: a case study of Uttar Pradesh
India is in a dire need of reducing unemployment problem very soon to enjoy the full benefits of becoming youngest nation by 2020, and that can only be done through skill development. This rate of job displacement is not far out of line with previous periods. One reason why automation is so horrifying a prospect today is that the future was very uncertain in the past. We lacked skills and tools for long-range forecasting. An important current development is that today’s automation is likely to usher in machines that can plausibly replace humans in several spheres where it was once thought that humans would be irreplaceable. The Davos camp has identified human capital and sustainable resources as the two key challenges for India. Education and skills are what normally comprise human capital. While educational qualifications are essential for entering the labor market, it is the skills that will finally determine one’s employability strength. Young people desperately search for entry-level jobs while employers, ironically, are unable to find people with the right skills. They face regular attrition and a monthly turnover sometimes as high as a fifth of their workforce. At the same time, 40 percent of employers blame skill shortage for entry-level vacancies. The imperative for skilling young people is well-recognized and has been flagged as a national priority for almost a decade, with significant initiatives being launched by the government. The sad part is that only 10 percent of the total workforce in the country receives some kind of skill training. India is poised to become the youngest country in the world by 2020, with an average age of 29 years. It’s, 869 million strong workforce accounts for around 28 percent of the world’s workforce. Although India’s huge demographic dividend is considered to be one of its strengths, our optimism needs to be moderated. If the youth are not skilled and face unemployment challenges, it might turn out to be a liability rather than an asset. India faces a huge skill development challenge. It is estimated that around 50 to 70 million jobs will be created in India over the next five years and about 75 to 90 percent of these will require some vocational training. For India’s demographic transformation to be considered a “dividend,” the youth will need to acquire necessary knowledge and skills to contribute towards nation-building. Development programs and their allied industries should develop the capability to cross-train the youth and build a culture