'14 million job seekers to move out of northeast by 2021' : India

Guwahati, Jan 23 - A staggering 14 million people are expected to move out of India's northeastern states between 2011 and 2021 in search of jobs elsewhere in the country, a national skills development body estimates.

According to the National Skill Development Council - study on development and employment generation potential of northeastern states, the region -- between 2011 and 2021 -- will see increased jobs for only 2.6 million people, of which half will be in Assam alone. The number of job-seekers, however, will be almost 17 million.

These 14 million people will potentially be available for migration out of the region, said Dilip Chenoy, the MD and CEO of NSDC -- a public-private partnership initiative of the central government to create 150 million skilled manpower by 2022 -- at a conference here Monday.

The conference, Skills Conclave 2012: Forging partnership for skills delivery, was organised by Confederation of Indian Industry, union ministry of development of North Eastern Region - and the NSDC.

Chenoy observed that if focus was kept on increasing economic opportunity in the northeast, then migration of potentially 14 million people could decline.

The top potential sectors where people from the region will be looking for jobs are beauty and wellness, hospitality, IT, retail and restaurants, music, sports, fashion industry, flight attendants, ground staff at airports, nursing and elderly care, he added.

The region will generate jobs for 2.6 million people but would have 16.8 million people. So there is a need for a twin approach for skill development for both local employment and for those who seek to migrate, Chenoy observed.

About 375,311 people from northeast migrated to other states in 2007-2008. Majority of the migrants were from Assam, followed by Sikkim and Tripura. The number of migrants has increased since 2000, Chenoy added.

NSDC has identified construction, horticulture and fruit processing, hospitality, handloom and handicraft, IT, repair service, mining, and plantation as potential sectors for providing local job opportunities in the region.

DoNER Minister Paban Singh Ghatowar said that there is a need for skill-gap analysis for the region. Based on the skill-gap analysis we should go for skill development training in the region, he added.

Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi said that creating adequate pool of manpower in the region is both a challenge and opportunity.

Northeast has a lot of scope for skill development for creating a pool of skilled manpower. We have to take it both as a challenge and opportunity, he said.