New Delhi: The IT and ITeS has almost reached a plateau in new job creation and may add, at best one million jobs in the next five years, whereas the real employment opportunities lie in less fancy areas of building, construction and real estate, followed by skill based and daily user- oriented sectors like beauty and wellness, according to an ASSOCHAM- Thought Arbitrage Research Institute (TARI) Paper.
Another sector with high employment potential listed by the study is the organised retail while transportation and logistics too holds a good potential.
The IT and ITeS which is under pressure at present, in any case, was to expand at lesser pace in the job creation. On the employment base of 3.3 million in 2013, the much-touted sector had an incremental human resource requirement of 2.2 million by 2022, of which about one million have been added in the last three-four years.
So, net-net, the potential for new jobs in the sector is about one million, that too over a period of next five years. “In any case, the IT and ITeS is going through fresh challenges of technology upgradation, automation, visa restrictions in the US and increasing skill gaps. Thus, as a country which requires at least 15-20 million jobs a year, we need to look quite broader and at those areas which expand not only in the export market but also within the country,” said ASSOCHAM Secretary General Mr D S Rawat.
Mapping the job potential, the Paper found that on the employment base of 45.4 million in 2013, the building, construction and real estate (including infrastructure) would require 31.1 million incremental human resources. As the sector has been going through challenging times in the last two-three years, not much of job addition would have taken place. Thus, this is one sector of the economy which can revive the sentiment and the job scenario, if given some support.
“The sector has been the worst hit because multiple factors including high level debts and non-performing assets, delays in delivery of housing projects, and environmental and regulatory hurdles. We need to get these issues out of the way and refine and re-align it in a manner that it becomes a robust and an engine of job creation and economic growth,” the chamber Secretary General said.
Likewise, with still a low level of organised retail, the sector which contributes maximum to the economy, it is dominated by the unorganised players who suffer from several operational inefficiencies. The sector, again, can create incremental level of at least 10-12 million new jobs in the next five years.
Textiles and clothing can also be a potential area of job creation, the paper said, underscoring the need for skill upgradation in all those sectors of the economy which are largely focused on domestic demand.
