Study: Demand for construction labourers to be among highest in state

Govt. job is Naga youths’ top choice; construction and agriculture are not

Our Correspondent
Kohima, March 25 (EMN): For the first time for the state, Nagaland has prepared what has been dubbed the ‘skill gap studies’ courtesy the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) & Deloitte, in the year 2016. The objective of the study was to understand the human resources sector in the state. During the study, the researchers found that the demand for workers by 2022 will be 1, 46, 300; out of it, 49.2% of the demand is expected to be for minimally-skilled workers who have basic schooling backgrounds.
The study revealed that the demand is expected to be highest in the building, construction and real estate sector, and second to the agriculture sector. It was also found that the commonest aspiration of the youths in Nagaland, not surprisingly, was for government jobs. The lowest was for building, construction and real estate works, while agriculture was opted as the last job option.
Commissioner and Secretary for Labour & Employment, Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, Mhonbemo Patton informed about the statistics during a programme of ‘Year of Construction Workers’ 2016-17 on March 26.
The Nagaland government declared the year 2016-2017 the ‘Year of Construction workers’ to sensitize and empower youths with the skills set to fulfil the growing demand in the construction sector.
With the slogan ‘I create, I Light, I mend, I build. I am a construction worker, and I am proud to be one’, the YoWC was launched by Dr TM Lotha, adviser to Labour & Employment, Skill Development & Entrepreneurship. The event was conducted Saturday morning at the directorate of Employment, SD&E multipurpose hall in Kohima town.
The programme plans to train 550 (50 from each district) deserving youths from all the districts of the state. The programme in partnership with local resource development groups Zynorique Initiatives Society and the YouthNet.
‘Take pride in working for oneself’
The construction industry in the state is growing, Dr Lotha said. The demand for skilled workers in the sector is expected to grow correspondingly. In fact, he asserted, the Naga people must ‘take pride in working by ourselves, and time to realise that we have to start doing own work instead of sitting idly and depending workers from outside to do our works.’
Although there are sufficient numbers of architects, engineers and ‘technical diploma holders,’ Dr Lotha noted that there still was shortage of construction workers; this causes us to depend on workers from outside the state.
Highlighting the huge prospect in the construction sector, he said it provides a good prospect to becoming one of the biggest avenues for employment in the state. He said that it also accounts for a major portion of the state’s economy in terms of flow of finance in the market; it has the potential to employ a large number of workers.
Further, Dr Lotha informed that the programme will specifically help address an immediate need i.e., the increasing demand for skilled workers in the construction sector in Nagaland, and to address gaps. It is to ensure availability of a large pool of human resource to cater to the demand, he said.
While stating that the programme also aims to instil the importance and value of skills in people, he expressed confidence that the programme would ‘inculcate dignity of labour and a spirit of professionalism’ among youths in the construction sector in the long run.
Dr Lotha has appealed to the Nagaland Contractors and Suppliers Union (NCSU) to engage trained youths in all their construction-related activities.
He also released a curriculum for the Youth of Construction Workers.
Also speaking at the event was Principal Secretary FP Solo. He noted with regret what he felt was the lack of ‘basic skills among the younger generation.’ He emphasized on the need for the young to ‘learn the basic skills by going back to our roots and the belief in the dignity of labour.’
Solo said that the construction sector has ‘lots of opportunities.’ He reminded that due respect must be given to manual labours and workers as would one to any other profession.
Further, the director of Zynorique Initiatives Society, Richard Belho, said that the programme was not only to provide certification but to help the youth move toward self-sustenance and livelihood. While stating the reality that government jobs are not the solution, he said that the mentality and attitude of the people need to shift toward survival and ownership.
Zynorique Initiatives Society will be touring the districts of the state to train youths. It will also provide uniforms and safety gears to trained personnel. He informed that mobile training facilities will be made available for the training programmes as well.
Commissioner and Secretary Mhonbemo Patton has also said that the programme envisages providing livelihood to at least 70% of trainees, create role models and to create a point of discussion among the youths that ‘this is also an area of livelihood–a dignified option to live.’