India facing shortage of skilled workers ‘although unemployment is still high’, says businessman

NEW DELHI Aug 23: Unemployment is becoming a serious issue that continues to challenge India. As the nation’s population and economy are expanding, so is the unemployment rate, with young men and women unable to find jobs.

However, according to RPG Group Chairman Harsh Goenka, companies in India are facing an acute shortage of skilled workforce.

Goenka said that while people are complaining about unemployment, his company is facing a shortage of skilled workers.

People in our country complain of unemployment. My own problem is to find skilled people in our business. We want construction workers- we can’t find enough! We want truck drivers- huge shortage! We want plantation workers- they are not available!
Can’t understand solution.
Do we…

— Harsh Goenka (@hvgoenka) August 22, 2023

He tweeted, “We want construction workers- we can’t find enough! We want truck drivers- huge shortage! We want plantation workers- they are not available! Can’t understand the solution. Do we need to mechanize more to reduce needs of people? Do people not want to work and live on doles? Do we need to do more towards skill development? Do we need a digital platform that matches employees and employers effectively?”

His tweet sparked debate online and people commented on how unemployment can be reduced to a great extent through skill development. Many tried to explain the reason behind the lack of skilled workers in India and what needs to be done.

One user explained, “Root cause: Lack of Respect – truck drivers, carpenters, masons, all are looked down upon by the middle class and hence we don’t want our kids to become one. Informal job contracts – They don’t get jobs but gigs. Try hiring truck drivers like you hire salespeople and see if you don’t get them.”

Another wrote, “Bitter truth is Skill Training Centres hardly find students. Our youth want only white-collar jobs, no blue-collar jobs even if they pay well. Advert for peon or clerk you will get 1000s of applicants.”

A third offered solution saying, “The most effective to meet and Match demand would be for the industries to come together and start Skills Development Centres across the country that adopts or works with Colleges and polytechnics to teach, train and develop skills that are required by the Industry & take them in.”

“Using more machines could help, but we shouldn’t forget about the importance of people’s jobs and skills,” a fourth user added.

According to the International Labor Organization (ILO), India may face a shortage of around 29 million skilled personnel by 2030.