The Bhutanese Leading the way.
After stepping into the job market, finding nothing except for your battered shoe soles and running out of mobile data is a common scene among every class 12 pass outs and graduates. After spending almost 18 to 25 years of life in education, landing nowhere at the end is a hard blow to many aspiring youths seeking employment opportunities. While few of them land jobs in government and private sectors, through Royal Civil Service Examinations (RCSC) and rigorous interviews, some are left out without any options.
A recent university graduate from India, Norbu Samphel stated, “Given the current high unemployment scenario, I’m exploring entrepreneurship or remote work as an alternative pathway but it is very difficult to survive with such odd jobs due to numerous bureaucratic systems that need to be handled with very poor support from relevant authorities. However, if things do not go as planned, I’m planning to pursue further studies and employment opportunities abroad.”
Another college graduate Prem Kumar Ghalley shared one of the incidents where he applied for a job, for the post of assistant manager at a government-owned corporation, he claimed that the written exam went well however during the interview the panelist asked him about job experiences to which he mentioned that he does not possess any experience except for few internships that he did during college days and in the country which they didn’t consider.
He stated, “After returning to the country and completing higher studies, it has been almost 2 years being unemployed. I did apply for several jobs in both the government and private sectors but it was all in vain because both sectors only preferred experienced candidates. For now, I’m hopeful to get employed soon if my RCSC results are positive, if not the only option is to seek better opportunities abroad.”
It is a fact that no graduates or class 12 passed-out would certainly have enough skills and experience to fulfill the required criteria for employment but what employers must consider is providing opportunities. While few positions mandatorily require certain experiences, many other employment opportunities that are given have huge workloads, and few are being asked to do work that is beyond the assigned roles and responsibilities and are paid less.
Passang Tobgyel now working in a contract shared, “Before being employed I had a tough time applying for jobs in several sectors but luckily, I landed up in this job. Currently, I’m on contract and I plan to first develop my skills while working here, I would certainly try to go abroad to upgrade my qualifications and make a better living after the end of my contract, if I don’t get employed anywhere.”
A recent graduate Rinchen Lethro who appeared for the RCSC is currently waiting hopefully but at the same time, he is using online job portals such as Dzi-Seldra and LinkedIn to investigate opportunities across a wide range of industries. Additionally, he feels it is very important to make a network during job events. He acknowledges, that sometimes the knowledge acquired from years of education doesn’t suffice the need for a dynamic system in the organization and for that reason, he has taken a few online and offline courses to upskill himself to fulfill the needs of the labor market.
Factors such as skills mismatch, job market demand, limited private sector resources, dependency on government jobs, and lack of practical skills are a few key reasons for the high unemployment rate. The government is taking a lot of initiatives to curb the unemployment issues but there is hardly any significant improvement.
Now working in the private sector, Tenzin stated, “Given the current scenario of high unemployment, I think there is a need to improve the situation very soon if not things might go south seeing the huge number of youths leave abroad seeking better opportunities. After completing class 12 it was very difficult for me to pursue further education as my family couldn’t finance my studies and I did plan several times to go abroad but couldn’t succeed. However, staying idle was not my choice, I took several odd jobs to enroll myself in IT training.”
After removing a few undergraduate programs, the Royal University of Bhutan (RUB) is now absorbing only 20 percent of the class 12 graduates, but rest of the 80 percent remains idle. So, it is certain that every year there will be more than 8000 students graduating from class 12 and universities who will join the labor market, and with the current scenario of unemployment, the country will likely lose the chance to retain and employ aspiring youths, probably causing them to seek better opportunities abroad.
The youths do not hesitate to take odd jobs if given a chance but they question themselves when they are not provided with adequate resources to survive.
The privileged ones are however supported by their inherited resources while few work under circumstances where they aren’t sure about their future. At the end of the day, everyone wants to make a better living and secure their future to live a life without struggle.
