Youth employment and their engagement in economic activity have been in spotlight especially in wake of recent protests that have emerged across the nation. India is home to the world’s largest youth population. Nearly 65 per cent of Indians are below the age of 35, and around 85 per cent live in their own district. How does Tamil Nadu fare in the scheme of things?
Clearly, the state is doing better when compared to others. As per Tamil Nadu Handbook of Youth Opportunity released by the Future of India Foundation, 1.67 crore young people are coming of age across 38 districts, 46.7 per cent in the workforce and unemployment rate is at 14.1 per cent. Most of the state’s young people complete college than in any other state. Far more of those who seek regular salaried jobs that are spread across districts rather than concentrated in the capital. However, the central challenge is that even now a quarter of its young people (25 per cent) are not in employment, education or training, with a sharp divide between young men (10 per cent) and young women (40 per cent).
The handbook also offers some actionable plan for the state. Tamil Nadu has around 41.6 lakh registered enterprises, but 99 per cent are micro. Less than 25 per cent of Tamil Nadu’s more than 12,000 registered apprenticeships are active. About half of Tamil Nadu’s government ITI trainer positions are vacant, and under a quarter of trainers are certified. The state has the largest share of young graduates, and two thirds of it are unemployed.
At a panel discussion held by Chennai International Centre on the issue, panellists brought out some important suggestions. “Everyone has to come together to address the gaps. Young person’s prospects differ sharply by district. YouthPOWER scores run from 43.6 in Kallakurichi to 63.4 in Kanchipuram,” pointed out Ruchi Gupta, Executive Director, Future of India Foundation. There needs to be an employment policy and industrial policy that track number of jobs created. Other panellists flagged the issue of ageing population and the possibility of the state falling into the middle income trap. Another issue is, there are around 2.4 lakh engineering seats, out of which 1.9 lakh gets filled. On the other hand, 93,000 ITI seats are available. Most industries require ITI graduates and there is an educational mismatch. Panellists also called for having the right kind of aspirations among youth aligning with the reality and changing the perception about high quality blue collar jobs. Clearly, various stakeholders and the civil society have lots to ponder about.
