Punjab is struggling with a serious problem of brain drain. The International English Language Testing System (IELTS) centres have mushroomed like anything to be an unorganised sector mini-industry, catering mainly to rural youth, who aspire to fly out to the developed world with bigger dreams. Unfortunately, there is a mismatch between the state’s young talents and their desire to get better placements in countries like Canada, US and Australia. Even political parties promised to address this critical gap in their manifestos during the recently held Assembly elections. They promised free coaching of IELTS to bring youths to their fold. Wacky commitments to encourage outbound migration of youth without required skills are nothing but a cruel joke, which must be avoided and one should accept the challenge of unprecedented underemployment.
It was, however, good to see our political parties in Punjab talk about the placement of the state youth in foreign countries. It was certainly not a small thing to happen. How to help the youth get jobs in foreign countries — becoming a part of the manifestos of Punjab parties should be seen as a positive sign. Developing an overseas placement ecosystem should be prioritised and should be put within a legal framework so that our youths and their families are not cheated. At present, they are misled by so-called placement agencies which not only charge exorbitantly from them but also put their lives at risk by sending them to wrong countries in connivance with their agents.
India International Skill Centres (IISC) an initiative by National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) did not materialised. Indeed, there is a requirement of IISC throughout pan India, equipped with a global ecosystem to match the international standards of skills required by the global employers. Without matching the skill parameters youths are being forced to do odd jobs for survival.
No stone should be left unturned to ensure that youths are exploited at the hands of fake and illegal immigration companies. IELTS is not a tool to get a good job. It is not a skill. We must ensure that our youths who aspire to go abroad should have a working knowledge of English or the language of the country they wish to go to. Apart from IELTS the basic knowhow about the countries should be shared with aspirants.
If school dropouts can clear IELTS tests, then what is the need for them to discontinue their study. The need of the hour is to explore and ensure how well our youths can be trained in other foreign languages along with equipping them with skills of international standards before they apply for work permits. It will not only help them become a part of the decent workforce abroad but will also open multiple avenues for them.
As per an estimate, Punjab’s 35 per cent population lives in 237 towns and the rest 65 per cent reside in 13,006 villages, relying on agriculture and allied activities for their livelihoods. The versatility of employment in the agriculture sector is yet to be enhanced. Therefore, a large proportion of the workforce engaged directly in agriculture do not earn a decent livelihood, pushing rural youths largely to Canada, Australia, the Middle-East, the US, the UK and other countries in search of better opportunities. Legally or illegally, they land in these countries but have to struggle hard to get a decent job for want of communication and skills.
Unemployment is a multi-faceted problem. It occurs when there is a lack of employment opportunities. It also occurs when the level of employability of job seekers goes up. Unemployability of job aspirants due to lack of desired or required skills is a painful situation. Skill development courses on offer have poor placement records. The Punjab government needs to create a globally certified talent node for skill development courses. Our technical institutes and universities should synchronize their skill courses with overseas institutes and employers.
Punjab is an Indian state from where maximum migration takes place every year. It has a very widespread diaspora known for its hard work and entrepreneurship. Punjabis have established themselves in many countries of the world. According to the Ministry of External Affairs, 5.78 lakh people from Punjab left the country for employment from January 2016 to January 2022 and 2.62 lakh youth for higher studies. Punjab is placed third in the country after Andhra Pradesh (2.82 lakh) and Maharashtra (2.64 lakh) from where youth go abroad for higher education in order to fulfill their dreams of lucrative jobs and a better lifestyle.
Challenges
The government jobs are limited in number as comparison to the growing demand for gainful employment. At present, the low business sentiment, growing inequalities, weak demand and slow economic recovery are posing serious hurdles to the Indian job market. In order to tap overseas opportunities for truck or cab drivers, construction workers, farm workers, nurses, beauty and wellness, IT professionals, cooks, chefs, plumbers, carpenters, retail store and food service managers and supervisors, the right skilling of youth should undoubtedly be a high priority.
Unfortunately, the government initiatives to improve or impart skills to our youths have not been very successful in the past. This hints at a systemic problem that affects the talent ecosystem in the state. Think about a young woman contemplating her next career move. How should she go about finding her calling? Where should she get trained? And what kind of jobs would be open to her? It is a common dilemma of many youths today. They have a strong desire to do better in their lives but they cannot get jobs for want of skills.
A major challenge that currently our unemployed youth face is the mismatch between their skills and the needs of global jobs providers. Search costs are prohibitive for employers and a candidate’s qualifications are difficult to verify. There seems to be many jobs available on different platforms but there is no real way to establish the quality of job roles. For someone to successfully navigate through this maze would be almost impossible. Similar issues plague the arena of skilling. Candidates looking to upskill themselves find it difficult to connect themselves with credible skill providers, and the so-called ‘certified’ trainers often do not have the required skills to make them decently employable globally.
The Way Out
Around six lakh students in Punjab undertake IELTS preparations every year. It is an area that needs to be looked into on a priority. If possible, IELTS coaching can be provided by the government Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) and even in schools also during their secondary and higher secondary level classes. It will save our students from getting duped by private IELTS trainers, who charge a hefty amount in fees even though they are not qualified and specialised.
The government should immediately put in place a standard operating procedure (SOP) for all private IELTS centres, right from their establishment, accreditation and management. It will also put a check on the ghost immigration consultants and stop fake immigration.
Foreign studies, India international skill centre and placement cell in every district of the states to facilitate the migration of youth through legal ways. The District Bureaus of Employment and Enterprise (DBEEs) should be made more robust to handle the task. If some such concerted efforts are made to create an ecosystem for overseas placement, things will change positively.
The writer is co-founder and MD, Orane International, training partner with National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), Network Member, India International Skills Centres, an initiative of GoI. The views are personal.
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