In mini metros and small towns of Odisha, there is a huge dearth of skilled personnel like drivers, cooks, patient care attendants, caretakers, part-time maids, etc. In contrast with the migration of people to urban areas, the demand is growing day by day. let’s cite the example of drivers. During the last five years, the rules for issuing licences to drivers has become very strict which is a good thing, but there are no proficient training facilities which are free or at low cost, thereby inhibiting availability of efficient and reliable drivers for private vehicles. Car owners are also not interested in investing in drivers’ training as there is no surety in their service and usually they leave for a better salary once they are trained and get a licence. The number of private vehicles has increased in the urban and semi-urban areas, and due to traffic hazards, the owners avoid driving and have become dependent on drivers.
Similar is the case with all skilled or semiskilled workers in the informal sector. We feel that they don’t need training, but it is a fact that when we pay more than earlier, we expect more too. We expect our maids to be hygienic when they look after our children or elders or when they cook for us. There are only a few agencies which have started treating them as skilled workers and have started training them.
When we look for a tailor, a parlour, a car repair centre, we certainly have to travel a few miles. Each and every locality including the slums has to have the basic facilities and these shops have to be there. Population in urban areas and new localities are growing at a faster rate than the number of skilled personnel and related facilities.
* High unemployment and of educated people
In contrast, we have a large number of people who have studied up to the Plus Two or Bachelor’s degree and have no value in the job market. With the mushrooming of management colleges and engineering colleges, unemployment or rather underemployment has increased and some of them are working for rupees five thousand per month too. They would have spent anywhere between Rs two lakh to Rs eight lakh on their course of study, alongside which they may have taken a student loan. Such kind of employment and salary cannot compensate towards repayment of the loan nor the amount spent. There are a lot of young employees who are under tremendous depression due to this.
Due to their high education they feel very embarrassed when underemployed or unemployed. Many institutes which claim to have hundred-per cent placement are not able to place everyone in high paying companies. It goes as low as fifteen thousand with placement in a place like Mumbai or Delhi where it is very difficult to manage with this kind of salary. Instead, had he gone for a skill-based training programme, the investment would have been lower and the income would have been higher. Ideally, students passing out from Class X should spend a couple of years in a diploma course or skill training so that they can earn immediately from this and it will be sustainable. The skills where the investment for starting a business is within reasonable limits should be promoted. After working for a couple of years, they should decide whether to continue or go in for higher education. This is the pattern followed in Western countries. Only those who are academically inclined go in for higher studies or even for technical education.
Recently, I came across a young person in his mid-twenties who worked in a famous insurance company and used to be under tremendous pressure for fulfilling targets. On a mentor’s advice, he has given up his job and set up a grocery shop in a posh area of Bhubaneswar and, within a span of a year, is making good money and has employed four assistants. He is now independent and earning more than what he was getting his previous job.
* Crisis in rural areas
It is an encouraging issue that in an underdeveloped State like Odisha, literacy is on the rise and the number of those completing Plus Two and graduation in basic non-technical streams is increasing. Migration to urban areas is imminent with this phenomenon and so is unemployment. Due to high level of education, the youth group is not agreeable to work in the agricultural sector as they feel it is below their dignity. There is a huge scarcity of labour in the farm sector and wages are naturally high thereby making it unfeasible and not able to benefit from economies of scale. We cannot let the agriculture sector go unaddressed. Wherever we live, we cannot go without food grains.
* Dignity of labour
There are plenty of skill training institutes promoted by Government and private agencies, but the lack of dignity of labour restricts the educated crowd from accessing them and securing livelihoods. We have to have awareness camps to sensitise people about the professions and how they are to be looked up on. The children in schools are the main target audience. They have to be made aware of the real life situation and the options available. In Western countries, children are funded by their parents only up to the school level. If they want to pursue college education, they go in for self-financing. For that, they take up jobs like waiting in hotels, assistants in libraries, helpers in petrol pumps, etc. All these are considered to be having dignity of labour which is not the case in India. Of course, the scenario is changing slowly for the better.
Skill mapping has to be done to identify the gaps in demand and supply. The burden need not entirely be thrust on the Government. The citizen groups and associations, NGOs in various areas can be involved in partnership with the Government forums in a manner that the citizens benefit and the candidates earn a livelihood.
(The writer, a freelancer, is a futurologist and imparting spiritual guidance to young professionals. E-mail: sikta_pati@rediffmail.com)