Sonam PhuntshoTHIMPHU
Unemployment is not the real problem in Bhutan, rather it is the mismatch of available jobs and the aspirations of the jobseekers, according to the Labour Minister, Lyonpo Dorji Wangdi, opening the seventh national Job Fair yesterday.
“There are plenty of jobs available but the job seekers lack the qualifications, skills and experience to take the job. There will be 93,000 job seekers at the end of the 10th Five Year Plan,” he said.
Slow job creation is not the cause of unemployment, said the Labour Minister, adding that there was a shortage of more than 1,000 teachers, 200 doctors, 800 nurses, and a huge number in the hospitality industry.
The Department of Employment, Ministry of Labour and Human Resources (MoLHR) organised the 7th national job fair at the Nazhoen Pelri, Youth Development Centre in Thimphu.
Hundreds of youth looking for employment opportunities attended the fair, which was inaugurated by the minister. The Royal Civil Service Commission (RCSC) chairperson and commissioners, members of parliament, representatives of donor agencies, secretaries, and officials of government and exhibitors from private and corporate sectors attended the opening.
Forty exhibitors from the government (6), corporations (14), and private companies (21) participated in the job fair.
The main objective of organising such a job fair every year is to benefit the youth, said the Labour Minister. It has the dual objective of providing jobs as well as labour market information.
The youth’s problem mostly arises due to the mismatch between the available jobs and aspiration, choice of job seekers rather than labour market distress. So it is very important for the job seeker to know about the job before randomly applying for it, he said.
He added that to meet the objectives of providing full employment to all or reduce unemployment rate to 2.5 per cent the target is to create at least 75,000 jobs. “We will be creating jobs opportunities in the areas of tourism, ICT, hydropower, construction, financial services, health, education, and manufacturing, to name a few,” he stressed.
The special feature of 7th national job fair is that the Royal Civil Service Commission is participating for the first time. The Labour minister expressed gratitude to chairpersons and commissioners of the commission.
He concluded by saying that as the ministry is responsible for labour and if ever the youth needs any information regarding job availability or anything regarding labour the labour ministry is always there. He added, not to feel hesitant or shy to seek information, guidance, or counselling in this regard and feel free to visit the labour office at any time.
The media focal person of MoLHR, Tandin Dorji, said: “The total immediate recruitment is 187 and today Lhaki Group of Companies and Food Corporation of Bhutan will be doing on the spot interviews.”
He added that they would be able to assess the success of the job fair only after around three days, after the companies report on the number of recruitments they made.
A graduate from Bangalore, Lekden said: “It’s a good initiative taken by the Labour Ministry. By just attending the fair, I came to know about the situation of job market in Bhutan. Under one platform they are showcasing the jobs available and I think it will give me ability to choose.”
