10 June, Kathmandu:
The study, due to the impact of Covid-19 on foreign employment sector and the economy has, forecasts the need of 1.5 million jobs in the county which is double the target set by the government to avoid and forthcoming unemployment crisis.
Though the government announced to create 700,000 jobs in the fiscal year 2020-21. But the target is not going to be enough to employ the workforce at home and those expected to return from abroad. The task force has said, around 225,000 people are likely to return in the immediate future. Ram Kumar Phuyal (coordinator of the task force and also a member of the National Planning Commission) said, “If the situation gets normal, the government could create more than 700,000 under its programmes. Further, there should be restructuring and expanding various government programs and proposed some new ones, which require massive government investment.
Shankar Sharma, former vice-chairman of the National Planning Commission Sharma also gave his opinion mentioning, “The government plans to create more employment through skill training for Nepali youths, but there is a question about the quality of this training. Then there is uncertainty about the coronavirus itself. As Covid-19 continues to spread in Nepal, it is uncertain when the jobs proposed by the government will be ready for the intake of unemployed people.”
Likewise, Finance Minister Yubaraj Khatiwada also mentioned the key point that the domestic workforce can be to replace foreign workers involved in the construction and industry sectors in the country like Nepal has an estimated 700,000 foreign workers involved in various sectors. To the continuation of this, Khatiwada’s statement, Shankar said, “Without launching quality skill training for Nepali workers, it will be hard for Nepalis to replace the foreign workers inside the country.”
Let’s hope that the workers returned will be provided with the chance of employment in our country.