Neoliberalism postulates that the reduction of state interventions in economic and social activities and the deregulation of labor and financial markets, as well as of commerce and investments, have the power to liberate the enormous potential of capitalism in order to create an unprecedented era of social well-being in a state’s population.
According to Mitchell A Seligson in his research article entitled: ‘The Role of the Government in Job Creation’ (2008): in many advanced industrial countries there still may be a “Washington consensus” involving widespread support for a neo-liberal agenda of shrinking the role of the state, and allowing the laissez faire forces of the private sector to “do their thing”.
Taking a comparative approach of other States to Goa in accounting for the variation across those that are industrially forward, a trend that would emerge from the variation in the socioeconomic and demographic characteristics of these states is that they would be inclined to follow the neoliberal approach while the role of the government in job creation is seen as a preference of states whose dependence on public sector support indicates stability.
Resultantly, what would naturally transpire is that in a welfare state such as Goa, it should be the government rather than the private sector which ought to play a primary role in job creation, while in sharp contrast to the neo-liberal ideologies which capitalists and industrialists generally support.
Despite enjoining the preference of the electorate in reposing faith in the State government machinery to generate new jobs under dignified categories, the situation looks statistically challenging.
For instance, the Directorate of Prosecution (Goa) on the 7th of February, 2019 had advertised for a handful of posts to be filled at the respective government department.
Interestingly, the same Directorate of Prosecution on the 3rd of April, 2023 has announced the list of shortlisted candidates eligible to appear for the Skill Test.
An alarmingly disproportionate number of candidates are set to appear for the Skill test in order to fill a singular post in certain cases.
Consequently, for filling 11 posts of Lower Division Clerks in the DoP (Goa), 1,815 candidates have applied and would be expectantly participating in the skill test. While, a total of 818 candidates have applied for the four Multi Tasking Staff posts.
Going by the demographic, on an average the state government can provide one job for every 200 persons in the population.
This becomes a concerning trend which if extrapolated further would indicate an extremely high unemployment rate in the State beyond the currently reported figures.
Hence, it is no wonder that the Goan population of working age is forced to look for other avenues outside the state and even abroad in order to afford the true dignity to their qualifications.
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development:
According to a 2013 OECD report titled: Local Job Creation: How Employment and Training Agencies Can Help, the Executive Summary reads
Each country review examines the capacity of employment services and training providers to contribute to a long-term strategy which strengthens the resiliency of the local economy, increases skills levels and job quality.
A local approach to economic development requires a system that can effectively build the supply of skills.
Community colleges provide a large share of job-specific training. The structure of the community colleges varies across states, but in most cases the schools have local decision-making boards with strong links to other stakeholders that enable them to respond to the needs of their local communities.
While building the supply of skills is critical for stimulating job creation, it is equally important that policies are focused on whether employers are effectively utilising these skills.
When determining the cause of skills shortages and mismatches, the ability of employers to use the skills of their existing workforce can be an issue.
Opinion:
And a further context of crucial importance lies in exposing the failure of the government to create jobs that are dignified and in consonance with the number of qualified candidates being churned out of the highly technical colleges in the State year after year.
Suggested Measures:
Going forward, the 2013 OECD Report recommended the following actions to promote job creation at the state and local levels:
i) A number of policy options need to be continued and potentially reinforced:
- Continue to promote a localised approach to workforce development, policy coordination and integration at all levels of government;
- Continue to collect and share information about “what works” locally, including effective approaches to establish and maintain partnerships between local WIBs, employers, and training institutions. This could include further developing or establishing a user-friendly “one-stop” portal that provides guidance and tools to local stakeholders on these effective practices;
- Continue to ensure community colleges can deliver quick and responsive training programmes to local employers, while also ensuring good employability skills are built for individuals and workers;
- Continue to focus efforts on sectors of local importance while ensuring a policy emphasis is placed on working with employers on better utilising skills. Examine the role that community colleges can play in supporting and undertaking these initiatives;
- Ensure efforts taken to serve employers do not displace resources for the most vulnerable groups, such as minorities, youth, single mothers, the long-term unemployed and immigrants
Hence, while the State government has promised to make all efforts to create 20,000 employment in the private sector in the next two years it remains unclear as to who would be the ultimate beneficiaries of these jobs and whether the labour deficit would have to be filled by other persons from other states.
The State government seems to be doing little while trying to incentivise Goans from benefitting through the self-employment schemes announced by the Central government.
