Skill Development and Labour Migration in Tripura – A Skill-Gap Analytical Approach

Abstract

India is a vast nation where, millions of labourers migrate every year in search of their livelihood. Most of the labourers are unskilled or low skilled and their migration takes place through informal channel. In many cases workers are exploited as they have to work under informal terms and conditions. In many cases their skills are unrecognized or in other words the workers are not getting jobs according to their skills. Asymmetry in information about the labour market is one of such factors responsible for workers’ harassment. The skilling of labourers as per the requirement of industry demand is very much essential to avert wastage of human capital. Proper skilling, institutionalised migration and symmetry in information of job market amongst labourers are important factors for developing healthy labour market. The present study tries to examine the effectiveness of government sponsored skill development programmes in serving the needs of migrant labourers from Tripura. The objective of the study has been analysed with the Skill-gap analysis, Likert scale and youth aspiration mapping. The study is based on primary data. Data have been collected from North Sarashima village (Gram Panchayat) which is located in Hrishyamukh block of Belonia Sub-Division, South Tripura district. It is observed that there is large skill gap of near about 95 percent amongst the randomly surveyed youths. It is observed that government sponsored skill development programmes have been successful in upgrading skills of youths and migration has become more institutionalised. The attrition rate amongst the placed candidates is high due to subsistence level of salary at the initial stages in the industries. The mostly demanded skill trainings in the state of Tripura are broadly technical courses (computer hardware, ITEs, BPO, electrician, mobile repairing), agriculture and allied sector related courses (mushroom cultivation, poultry farming, pisciculture, apiculture, goat rearing, piggery, organic cultivation training), health sector related courses (nursing, pathology, radiology) and tourism sector related courses (F&B, Beauty care and Spa).