Nepal’s Sudurpashchim Province is generally considered to be one of the poorest of the seven provinces of the country. The nine districts of the province are also amongst the most remote in Nepal, and are marred with pitiable health and educational facilities, rampant unemployment due to very few number of operational industries and business establishments and little state presence. No wonder, the province has a very low Human Development Index (HDI) of just 0.478 against the national average of 0.579.
Hence, migrating to India for work (even education or just better prospects) is common in this far-western province. According to some reports, 30 to 60 percent of people of some remote rural municipalities of the province go to India for seasonal or long-term employment.
Given this context, the skill mapping exercise that was conducted in Sudurpashchim Province in 2019-2020 to find the demand and supply status of skilled human resources there -- with the technical support of UNDP Nepal’s Support to Knowledge and Life Long Learning Skills (SKILLS) Programme -- could help in realizing the need for better livelihood and educational opportunities for the people of this province, according to government officials and experts on the know. Moreover, the exercise has laid out important data and information that could contribute to the Covid recovery process of the province by portraying the various kinds of sector-wise employment opportunities available at the local community level.
Aimed at inclusive growth in the people’s own villages and communities, the ambitious skill mapping exercise was done with a close leadership and coordination of both the federal Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MoEST) and the Ministry of Social Development (MoSD) of the Sudurpashchim Province. A GIS-based digital website that has been installed at the official site of MoEST and MoSD following the survey demonstrates a disaggregated demand and supply status of skilled human resources at all the 88 Local Levels of nine districts in the province.
“The SKILLS project has accomplished the skill mapping survey in the province by collecting first-hand primary data and information. A final report that has been prepared following this exercise has revealed a picture of both the supply and demand for technical human resources in sectoral occupational skills and job opportunities at the local level,” said Dr. Mukunda Mani Khanal, National Programme Manager of SKILLS Programme, adding that the data generated by the mapping exercise also tells who (male, female or people from LGBTI communities) are taking these skill trainings and in what occupations.
The skill mapping report prepared to elaborate on the main findings of the mapping exercise in Sudurpashchim forecasts that the total number of human resources to be required in the province for the next three years is 51,542. Among them, the sectorial shares of skilled human resources are: (I) Engineering/construction (15,860), (ii) Agriculture/Forestry/Fisheries (10,306), Tourism and Hospitality (8,218), (iii) Health (5,407), (iv) Secretarial Management (3,962), (v) Handicrafts (2,277), Education/Pedagogy (787), and Others (4,725). The exercise also found that the highest demand of skilled human resources in the province is in Kailali district (29,292) and the lowest is in Darchula district (807).
There are 62,968 registered formal sector establishments/companies in Sudurpashchim province in which 1,85,200 persons are being employed, according to Nepal Labour Force Survey, 2017/18. This means that the ratio of employee to industry is 1: 2.95. Furthermore, the skill mapping carried out by UNDP SKILLS has identified 6 important sectors which currently employs a total of 60,428 people in the province. These sectors are: Manufacturing; Accommodation and food service activities; Agriculture, forestry and fishing; Human health and social work activities; Technical Education; and Mining, quarrying, electricity, gas and water.
On the supply side, the mapping exercise found that there are only 1099 short term TVET training available in the Sudurpachim Province. On the other hand, there are 618 seats for long term TVET programs (of more than 1 year duration) and 588 seats at the TSLC level.
“In the face of potentially widening skills mismatch, Sudurpashchim Province and the central Government need to urgently prioritize TVET policies and investments to transform TVET to better meet current and future needs in the province’s TVET sector,” the report prescribes.
According to Prof. Dr. Pramod Bahadur Shrestha, a noted TVET expert and lead author of the report, the provincial skill mapping exercise aims to answer the biggest questions – where are the jobs in the province? What would be key skills in demand in the province in the upcoming years & what are the reskilling imperatives?
“In my report I have said that the survey identifies provincial growth engines, create linkages between feeder regions for labor & economic pockets. Besides presenting triggers that will impact the industry & jobs in the province, the mapping exercise strives to identify the drivers which will impact the economy of Sudurpashchim province in the days to come,” Dr Shrestha said.
How will this help in Covid response in Sudurpashchim?
With the world reeling under the Covid-19 crisis and Nepal facing a surge in viral cases, the lives of recently migrated people of Sudurpaschim Province look to be very grim. Newspapers are awash with reports that says more than 200,000 people of the province have returned home after losing their jobs in the Middle-East, South East Asia and India. As a result of the multiplier negative effects of this pandemic, thousands of these migrants who returned home from India and abroad almost empty-handed face an uncertain future.
But the skill mapping initiative of UNDP SKILLS could be a real shot in the arm during these difficult times.
“By conveying factual data and information on the status of skill development and training in the province, the skill mapping exercise would greatly help in utilizing any relevant self-learnt skills of the returnee migrants in productive sectors. This will help in responding to the problem of unemployment created by the Covid-19 pandemic,” Mr. Yuba Raj Poudel, Under-Secretary at the MoEST said.
Analyzing and comparing the human development indices of the nine districts in Sudurpaschim province, five districts namely – Kailali, Accham, Bajura, Doti and Darchula have appeared more vulnerable compared to other districts. It can be assumed that most of the migrants are from those 5 districts also. Therefore, UNDP SKILLS has identified these five districts as appropriate venues to conduct skill development programmes in the most demanded trades and occupations in order to contribute to cope with the economic fallout caused by the COVID-19.
“The proposed skill development programme will enable migrants in the Sudurpachim Province to transform their prior workplace-based knowledge and skills in their own communities effectively and efficiently. It could also help to prepare migrants’ families and communities to mitigate the new challenges occurred through COVID-19,” informed Dr. Khanal of the SKILLS project.
