Indian workers need better training.
Skills training and training for language proficiency will determine the potential of overseas job opportunities in the years to come, said Dr Suresh Kumar Madhusoodanan, former General Secretary of the Personnel Export Promotion Council and Managing Director of the Seagull Group of Companies. He was speaking at a seminar organised by the International Organization for Migration on the challenges faced by Indian migrant workers’ in skilling and missing opportunities.
There are about 15 million Indian job seekers moving abroad every year. Out of which, 7.5 million are legal and 3.5 million are illegal job seekers. The remaining 4.5 million job seekers are dependent on foreign jobs, he pointed out. Of the total Indian migrant workers only less than three per cent are trained candidates. Though the government is trying to skill and reskill them under various programmes, the workers still fail to get adequate benefits of the training they acquire.
If job seekers gain better foreign language proficiency, they may find more opportunities, he said. He welcomed the government’s move to include job-related training in the new Education Policy.
The influx of illegal recruitment agencies severely affected the immigration system. Job seekers must keep distance from such unscrupulous agencies, Jayan Sahu, Mumbai Protector of Immigration Officer, said. The new Emigration Bill should include measures to curb illegal recruitments, he added.
The Mission Head of the International Organization for Migration India Project, Sanjay Awasthi; National Project Officer, Amit Chaudhary and Indian Personal Export Promotion Council President, CH Abdul Rahiman spoke at the Seminar held in Mumbai.
Udaykumar K.V.
Editor
