The government has formulated National Employment Policy 2022 identifying a number of challenges including absence of public and private measures that hinder the skilled workforce generation.
The policy, first of its kind that has recently been finalised, also aims to create about 30 million fresh jobs by 2030 and thus keep the unemployment rate at lowest level by 2041.
The employment and labour ministry on July 14 last issued a gazette notification in this regard.
It found insufficient information regarding sector wise demand and supply of skilled workers as one of the major challenges to generate skilled workers.
The other challenges or obstacles included lack of literacy and knowledge on language, non-prioritising the experience or knowledge gained from vocational and stipend education and training in time of job appointment, and inadequate sector wise technology-based modern training facilities.
According to the policy, the number of unemployed and disguised unemployed people is about 2.7 million and 12.5 million respectively while more than 60 million people are capable to work.
Formal sectors can create employment for only 15 per cent of people while 85 per cent work in informal sector, it said.
About half out of the 60 million are women and majority of them are unemployed, it said adding 33 per cent of them work in informal sector with nominal payment.
“It is necessary to utilise the capable workforce by turning them into skilled and professional ones through education or training to achieve vision 2021 and 2041,” read the policy.
It said, to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030, each year 1.84 million people need to be employed in the country while another 0.5 million outside the country.
It also outlined some sectors based strategy for agriculture, manufacturing, tourism, ICT, health, port and maritime, informal and other potential ones.
An effective labour market information system would be developed to publish related information in line with the local and global demands each five years.
The aim of the policy is to encourage men and women for productive employment according to their desire and to develop a skilled workforce which would be able to face the global competition and ensure a poverty-free and unemployment-free society, said a labour ministry official.