Skilling for a Purpose

The cataclysmic changes caused by the pandemic across the globe has triggered job losses at an unprecedented scale. Over  122 million people in India lost their jobs in April , according to estimates from CMIE. Sectors like Media and Entertainment, Hospitality and Tourism and non-essential goods have been hit rather hard with consumption levels going down sharply as per a report by Global Consultants. The massive disruption has brought about a structural change in the work place. Consequentially, some jobs may cease to exist. The nature of jobs was already undergoing a transformation with the rising wave of digitization and automation, the pace of change has only accelerated with the pandemic impact. Industry watchers and veterans are emphatic about the fact that  some traditional jobs may simply cease to exist . New forms of jobs mostly at the intersection of technology and functional lines are most likely to emerge. Work from home now an accepted norm in the workplace has dr...

Skilling during COVID – 19 COVID -19 has touched almost all aspects of our social and economic life. The way we conduct ourselves at work socially, and the way we associate ourselves culturally, the changes are far reaching and pervades all aspects of our lives. Similarly, a big shift has been in the education segment where the learning has moved from the brick ‘n’ mortar classrooms to online almost overnight! Shifting from classroom to online classes Given the obvious social distancing requirements, the shift to online mode has been almost instantaneous. Schools, Colleges and Institutions have made a beeline for third party apps like Zoom, Hangout or Team, trying to connect with their students remotely. In kind, parents have swiftly responded to fix all issues of broadband connectivity and devices at home. Due to the need of the hour, this transformation has been extremely quick, defying the natural evolutionary cycle, which might have taken years if not decades to actual...

Migrant Labour and the Reverse Migration Phenomenon One of the visible images of the current pandemic has been the searing images of the migrant labour trying to come back home, with some even walking hundreds of kilometres. These migrant labourers unfortunately fall out of the social net as they are unable to sustain even short periods of loss in income which has an immediate impact on their livelihood. In real terms migrants are the backbone of the economy, Estimates put their contribution to the GDP at 10% (CMIE). Out of the 450Mn+ large work force of India, 87% lies in the unorganized sector. The largest employers of this unorganized workforce being the construction sector employing almost 40 Mn, another 12 mn as domestic help, cleaners, car washers and support staff and about 8 mn are employed in the eateries and roadside food stalls and other odd jobs. An estimated 40 Mn migrant workers have been heading back home from the traditional Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata and Gujarat...

Reigniting the economy... Forty days of 'lockdown' has not led to a flattening of the curve but has surely restricted the burgeoning infection numbers and have brought in both, a sobering effect and a realization of the new normal - that of disruptions in supply chains, social distancing and remote working. The lockdown has had its impact on the economy - reduction in consumption, impact on the labour market and livelihood in the informal sector in a large measure. The impact on certain sections - informal sector workforce, gig workers, daily wage earners, hospitality, travel and tourism and MSMEs has been rather severe economically. With the continued lockdown, conditions would deteriorate sharply. The bigger question is how do we bring about the economic resurgence? Clearly the key issue at hand is our ability to stimulate demand and consumption in the economy at this point of time. Only with a renewed demand and heightened consumption can we expect the secondary sect...

"Unemployment or Unemployable"​ : The bigger challenge? There was some great feedback I received on my previous post on this subject and considering the statistics staring at us, it is clearer than ever that what needs fixing is 'unemployability'. ' Unemployability' is the illness and unemployment is merely a symptom . What we have been focused on thus far has been the symptom and therein lies our problem! Consider the following facts for a wider appreciation of the issue : The Gross Enrollment Ratio (GER) for Indian higher education has been just 33-34% as compared to developed countries that have a GER of 56%. In spite of this, close to 60 lakh students graduate every year in several disciplines. Very few of them are deemed fit for employment. Reports indicate that as many as 47% of Indian graduates are not qualified for any industry job and add to it the fact that surveys indicate 70% of our engineering graduates are not employable. In the days o...