Unemployment vs Unemployability: Which is the bigger problem?

The 2017 Economic Survey of India had some startling information: that the country's employment rate has declined despite steady economic growth, job creation has not kept pace with the increasing number of youth who have reached working age, and that job creation in the organized sector across eight industries has actually reduced in 2015 when compared to the year 2000.

If growing unemployment is seen as one side of the coin, then the other would have to be unemployability. What is unemployability, you may ask? It is the state of not being fit for unemployment even if the person is technically qualified for a certain job. Industrialists to academicians have been rueing the state of education in India, one that churns out more than 50 lakh graduates every year, out of which only a small percentage can be employed directly out of college. The rest have to be trained extensively by the companies that recruit them, most of which are desperate for manpower.

Unemployability is a problem that even the much admired late former President of India, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, was concerned about. This was evidenced in his convocation address of Bangalore University, where he said that, "It is not unemployment which is a major problem; it is the question of 'unemployability' which is a bigger crisis".

The India Labour Report 2007 stated that 53% of India's youth lacked skill development that would help make them employable. This means they lack the practical skills required to get started in the workforce. With India’s middle class and lower middle class socio-economic youth focusing on education as the path to a brighter future, the fact that they are still unemployable, even after spending years and thousands of rupees on their education, paints a very dismal picture. So what is the solution to this problem? This is where skill training organizations like Sona Yukti steps in to make a difference. The Government of India has taken into account this gap in the employment cycle and started many skill development initiatives through the NSDC, PMKVY, Skill India, and others.

Sona Yukti, in partnership with these government organizations, conducts many short-term courses across a variety of industries that helps the government to reach out to a wide section of India's youth and bridge the gap in their employability skills. Whether it is retail, telecom, IT/ITES, tourism & hospitality, beauty, media & entertainment, healthcare, electronics & hardware, construction, textiles or apparel, Sona Yukti's short-term courses have transformed the lives of thousands of India's youth. The placement assistance ensures that students who are dedicated and hardworking get employed as soon as their courses are completed.

Sona Yukti also organizes many job fairs in various cities across the country that helps employers reach out to a large number of job seekers. This is a win-win situation for both employers and job seekers, helping job seekers end their unemployability and employers find the right candidates for the job. Sona Yukti aims to skill a million youth in 10 years' time by establishing a skill development center in each and every state. Hopefully, by the time the next Economic Survey of India or the next India Labour Report is conducted, unemployability and unemployment both will be a thing of the past!

References:

https://www.oecd.org/eco/surveys/INDIA-2017-OECD-economic-survey-overview.pdf

'Unemployability' is a bigger crisis than unemployment, says Kalam