Industry in Goa has given the Chief Minister’s budget allocation of Rs 548.89 crore under the heads of industry, labour and employment and information and technology the thumbs up, with a feeling that this will breathe life into the rural economy. His statement, that this will be the year of employment, has also gone down well with the thousands of youth who are either unemployed and in search of a job, or are underemployed and hoping to improve on their current jobs. The thrust areas are going to be pharma, IT, agriculture and start-ups, the last could be an attempt at turning some of the potential employees into employers by making them entrepreneurs.
The announcement of the budgetary allocation in the very brief Budget speech that the Chief Minister made indicates that the government is aware, not just of the number of unemployed in the State, but also that it is staring at another period of joblessness once mining operations grind to a halt after March 15. The focus in creating jobs will be in industry and not the government sector.
Creating gainful employment opportunities in Goa, where a high literacy rate means that almost everybody is looking for a white-collared job, will never be easy. It is an unarguable fact that some traditional Goan occupations like agriculture, fishing have been taken over by migrants. Add to this the fact that a large percentage of the population is in the economically active age group, and the government has quite a challenge on its hands in meeting the aspirations of thousands of youth seeking jobs, with the additional task of convincing a large segment of them that employment in industry and the private sector is not to be shunned.
A few weeks ago the Chief Minister at a function had said that no specific number of government jobs had been promised during any election campaign. He said this after, the yearning for a government job was on display last month when over 2500 aspirants turned up for 64 temporary contractual posts at the North Goa District Collectorate, leading to some chaos as everybody in the queue wanted the opportunity to get a foot into the Collectorate office. In contrast, at the recent Goa Bizfest, which included a career fair in which over 76 companies participated there were 1717 job seekers who turned enquiring on job opportunities.
The start-up policy was unveiled a few months ago, the IT policy is now awaited. Both these are expected to give a major impetus to industry and consequently to employment. Proper implementation of these policies, leading to new industries and employment is also expected to stem the brain drain from the State. But the desire for a government job will not diminish unless there are enough checks and balances in place to ensure that the ‘security’ that accompanies a government job, or even a portion of it, applies also to jobs in the private sector. It is perhaps this belief of job security in the government sector that is keeping a large number of people away from industrial jobs, and focused on obtaining a government job.
And this finally comes down to an individual’s performance and efficiency. Career growth in the private sector depends on performance, while in government jobs it usually depends on years in service and political godfathers. If the quest for a government job is an indication that that Goan wants an easy life, then this also requires a change in the people’s mindset. The challenges, therefore, in creating employment opportunities are many and varied, with a government having to focus on more than just inviting industry to Goa, or aligning education with employment potential.
