It was a year ago that Sonu, 20, started working as a 'helper' in a metal forging unit in Mayapuri, a greasy industrial pocket in West Delhi.
Housing hundreds of small and medium light-metal factories, scrap shops, and automobile service stations, Mayapuri helps sustain the livelihoods of half a million people, most of them migrants and low on skill.
This is Sonu's first paid employment after he completed his schooling two years ago. It requires him to run machines that clean, harden, or anneal metals (annealing is a kind of heat treatment).
"I had no prior training and one of my uncles, who works as a blacksmith in a nearby unit, had to plead with the owner to take me in.
Initially, I was afraid of the hot ingots, but now I can safely manage these machines," says Sonu, with a touch of obvious pride.
He is among millions who join the workforce in the country every year and have to find work in the vast informal sector without getting any skill training.
Sonu would have been better off taking up an apprenticeship programme, where he could have had classroom learning followed by on-the-job training. That would have enhanced his skills and increased his attractiveness for employers.
A recent report by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) on the employment situation in India says the country remains poised to reap its demographic dividend for at least another decade, as the youth population will be 23 per cent of the population in 2036, down from the 27 per cent in 2021, but still on the higher side as compared to several other countries. This huge youth bulge translates into a mammoth employment demand.
However, youth employment (those between 15 and 29 years) has remained of poorer quality than employment for older people, with the unemployment rate among educated youth staying high.
Denne historien er fra April 19, 2024-utgaven av Business Standard.
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Denne historien er fra April 19, 2024-utgaven av Business Standard.
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