Nayagarh: With the local job market languishing thanks to poor industrialisation in this district, graduates and postgraduates are taking up work as security guards to eke out a living, according to a report.
The job fairs and skill-development programmes conducted by the government are of not much help to job-seekers, it was learnt.
The information obtained from the district employment office reveals that 27,401 young people have registered their names with the office during the past five years and of them only 2,693 have found jobs, which means a success rate of just 9.82 per cent. The rate of employment remaining below 10 per cent mark raises questions about the efficacy of the job fairs and employment exchange.
On the other hand, in the absence of any major industries and shrinking opportunities in the government sector, young people are migrating to other states. Employment through outsourcing is not going to solve the unemployment problem in the district, some jobless youths said. Political leaders and people’s representatives should make an effort to bring major industries to the district to improve the rate of employment, say people of the district.
Sources in the district employment office indicate that the dismal scenario in job market has forced many graduates and postgraduates to opt for unskilled jobs, like those of security guards, at low salaries.
According to Census 2011, the total population of the district was 9,62,789 of which 5,02,636 were men. The literacy rate among men was 80.42 per cent while the rate was 72.05 per cent among women. As the students of the district perform fairly well in various examinations, the fact that 24,708 educated youth in the district are unemployed is surprising.
It is learnt that attendance was poor at the fairs due to lack of publicity.
When contacted, district employment officer Durgacharan Das said he had just taken charge and was not in a position to provide details about the poor employment rate. PNN