Given the country's demographic trend, experts believe the government should facilitate a dialogue with all stakeholders to devise solutions to employment-related problems
The BJP-led government came to power in 2014 with a mandate to fix a faltering Indian economy. Although ambitious campaigns like ‘Make in India’ and ‘Digital India’ have been rolled out, the ultimate yardstick with which the success of these initiatives will be evaluated is the level of employment they generate. And, if statistics are an indication, it’s an uphill task. According to experts, only 10 percent of the Indian workforce is in the organised sector; just 2.5 percent of the country’s working population has any vocational training, compared to the average of 60 to 70 percent in developed countries.
Of the 11 million students graduating from colleges each year, only 20 percent get jobs relevant to their skill sets. And though women comprise 49 percent of India’s population, they form only 21 percent of the workforce.
Jagannathan: Mr Tandon, you represent that part of the services sector which is aligned to the Indian film industry. What do you make of the employment scene as far as your own sector goes?
Alok Tandon: Every multiplex of ours requires a lot of people. Depending on its size and location, it can range from 35 to 100 people. When it comes to employment, 99 percent of the people working at our theatres are locals. Even though we use a lot of technology, recruitment of manpower will continue because there are several functions, including food and beverages service, box office and ushering of guests, that need people. We get a lot of people to work for us, but do we get adequate trained manpower? The answer is no. The gap has to be bridged by extensive training.
Jagannathan: From the point of view of policy, what is holding us back from skilling people and ensuring job creation?
Rajan: The quality of education, both primary and secondary, is woefully low in our country. A large part of our population is unable to find appropriate avenues for education and employment. The other issue is that of skills. We have a very poor level of vocational education. One needs to have a basic level of skilling to be able to add value to the workplace. A lot of companies, including ours, are coming together to facilitate and support the skilling of potential workers. But what companies can do is only a drop in the ocean. The government should take cues from the work being done by corporations and follow up to make a meaningful dent in the problem.
(This story appears in the 27 November, 2015 issue of Forbes India. To visit our Archives, click here.)