Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli launched the program in February 2018. Recently, the program has become part of controversy owing to news reports which state that funds for the program were being distributed in a haphazard way. Many people also raised concern over the impact of the program.

There were also rumors that the government was taking funds for the program from development partners.

Clarifying its stance, the Ministry said that the government has provided employment to close to 175, 909 through 6,864 projects under the above program for FY 2018-19, across Nepal.

MoLESS Minister Gokarna Bista said that the government was able to create short-term employment opportunities through the program. The projects provided employment for 13 days per person on an average.

 “We have been able to create employment for such a high number of people in the first year of the implementation of the program after completing over 86 legal processes,” said Bista.

“The issue of employment was never a priority earlier. But, we have been able to create employment opportunities in a massive scale,” he added while promising to meet the target of creating half-million employment opportunities in FY 2019-20.

The Ministry added that the government has provided NPR 2.36 billion in the form of conditional grants to the local governments to run projects, creating employment for Nepal’s unemployed citizens.

Each local unit was given NPR 10 million to run these projects.

However, ministry officials opine that the employment figures could be higher as they have not completed collecting data from all the local units.

Speaking further about the success of the PMEP, Minister Bista said, “The employment program has not only created employment opportunities and help reduced the government liabilities for unemployment allowance, it is also helping the local units in building community infrastructures.”

The program covered projects such as construction of walking trails, irrigation canals, preservation of ponds and heritage sites and road construction and maintenance among others.

The government used persons who signed up to the Employment Service Centre in every local unit. According to the Ministry, more than 1.71 million had registered with ECS.

However, ministry officials admit that they are still reviewing the applications for eligibility.

As per the Act to Guarantee the Right to Employment 2075, all ECS-enrolled individuals should get employment for up to 100 days in a year. On failure to do so, the government will have to pay 50 percent of the minimum wage as unemployed allowance.

Also Read:

• Nepal, Mauritius Sign Attractive Labor Agreement, Nepali Labor to Get Equal Pay

The post Nepal Labor Ministry Defends PM Employment Program Amid Growing Criticism appeared first on Nepali Sansar.

Nepali Minister for Labor, Employment and Social Security Gokarna Bista and French Ambassador to Nepal Francois-Xavier Leger held discussions in this regard on December 20, 2018.

In the discussion, Bista pitched on the need to create more favorable environment that facilitates employment opportunities for Nepalis, especially youth, in France.

Bista also expressed his government’s commitment to further expansion of multi-dimensional ties with France and assured of Nepal Government’s responsibility in complying with the bilateral agreements.

On the occasion, Bista thanked the Government of France for its support to Nepal on the lines of 2015 earthquake in Nepal as well as French investment in infrastructure development of Nepal in various sectors.

In response, French Ambassador congratulated Nepal on its new political journey. He expressed French firms’ willingness to investment in Nepal and urged Nepal to create an investment-friendly environment for them.

The post France Urges Nepal for Investment-friendly Environment appeared first on Nepali Sansar.

Given this fact, the country has always been open for wide range of opportunities, investment and proposals from foreign nations. All is to ensure better livelihood and career opportunities for its young citizens!

This wish of the Himalayan Nation is growing in size with the reported rise in number of its youngsters leaving the country for career opportunities abroad.

See:

• Nepal, Fifth Largest Foreign Community to Receive US H-1B Visa
• Nepali Students Across Foreign Varsities on Rise
• Nepali Youth Migration for Foreign Employment on Rise

Now, local development and generating employment locally remain to be two key agendas of the Nepal Government to provide an alternative to the rising number of migrants leaving for foreign destinations.

Towards this end, the government has already announced plans for local skill development and employment laws in a move to ensure more opportunities for Nepali citizens, especially youth.

Besides, Nepal as a fast-developing country, also presents scope for enormous employment opportunities across its various sectors including government and private sectors undergoing fast-paced development.

Some of the key high-potential public sector areas offering larger scope for youth employment and career opportunities in Nepal, through their ongoing development, in the current scenario include:

• Hydropower
• Transport Infrastructure
• Civil Infrastructure
• Agriculture
• Industrial Sector
• Logistics & Services
• Public Policy
• Digital Governance
• Local-level groups such as District Health Groups, Community Welfare Centers, etc.,
• Think-tanks and various other local, provincial and central government departments

Aforementioned are some areas undergoing fast-paced development with both government and private sector participation.

Coming to other side of the Nepali society, there are also fast-paced private career opportunities stemming up across the country. Some of the encouraging trends showcasing high employment scope for Nepali youth in other areas, other than public sector, include:

• Start-up Culture & SME Growth
• Entrepreneurship
• Rise of Dynamic Enterprises
• Rise in technology adoption and increasing IT firms
• Openness to pursue new talents
• Increasing business investment in new and existing ventures (as part of expansion)
• Changing societal trends and thinking patterns
• Rising remittance flows

As the reports say, there is a high rate of demand for government jobs among youth from provinces. According to the Public Service Commission (PSC), job applicants to the department has increased almost six-fold in a decade period. The Department’s 59^th Annual Report puts Province 2 on the top of other provinces for such jobs.

Besides aforementioned opportunities that come as official notifications or via mouth talk, there might also be some good opportunities that can go unnoticed. As a solution to this, a good number of job portals in Nepal are operating on a regular basis looking every nook and corner of the country to keep the citizens informed about every new job opportunity along with offering them career counselling solutions.

Here are some of the top job portal and career counselling portals:

• Merojob
• Jobs Nepal
• RamroJob
• Kantipur Job
• Mero Rojgari
• Kumari Jobs

What World Bank Says?
In its report titled ‘Jobless Growth?’, the World Bank reports that Nepal needs to create more jobs to meet the employment needs of the gradually-growing working age population. “Every month, the working age population increases by 35,000 people and Nepal must create 286,900 jobs a year to maintain its employment rate,” reads WB report.

“Providing opportunities to these young entrants while attracting more women into the labor market will require generating even more jobs for every point of economic growth,” says Martin Rama, World Bank South Asia Region Chief Economist.

Government Efforts Underway!
Nepal Government has been making its efforts to address the situation in multiple ways.

Event the Budget FY 2018-19 has also dwelled more on creating sufficient job opportunities locally. Skill development is one step in the process that the Ministry of Labor has already announced as a measure to retain more local talents from going abroad to most-sought destinations such as Malaysia, Singapore, UAE, Australia, etc.

It’s alarming that around 512,000 youth leave the local market for foreign job opportunities, annually!

According to International Labor Organization, 63.7 percent of Nepal’s overall population are aged below 30 years and 19.2 percent of the youth in the age group of 15-29 years are facing unemployment.

Hope the ongoing developing and upcoming projects would provide needed scope for Nepali youth to earn their livelihood, locally, thus contributing to the homeland development.

The post Job Opportunities in Nepal: A Glance at Potential Sectors, Scope! appeared first on Nepali Sansar.

In its recent report titled ‘Jobless Growth?’, WB recommended a rise in job creation for Nepal to meet the employment needs of the gradually-growing working age population.

“Every month, the working age population increases by 35,000 people and Nepal must create 286,900 jobs a year to maintain its employment rate,” WB said in its report.

While WB projected Nepal’s GDP growth at 4.6 percent in 2018, “providing opportunities to these young entrants while attracting more women into the labor market, will require generating even more jobs for every point of economic growth,” says Martin Rama, World Bank South Asia Region Chief Economist citing to the growing working age (youth) population in South Asia through 2025.

Stating that the growth rebound is inconsistent across economies, the report noted that the exports remain weak despite the accelerating global growth and trade.

However, a slow recovery was observed in case of Nepal.

“Nepal has seen an economic recovery after disruptions from earthquakes and a trade blockade, but growth is expected to slow from 7.5 percent in fiscal year 2017 to 4.6 percent in 2018 due to the heaviest floods in decades combined with slow recovery of exports, slowdown in remittances, and an increase in lending rates,” the report added.

Case of South Asia

WB’s twice-a-year South Asia Economic Focus (SAEF) report made these observations as part of its assessment on the overall growth of South Asia.

According to Martin, “more than 1.8 million young people will reach working age every month in South Asia through 2025 and the good news is that economic growth is creating jobs in the region.”

To control the gaps in employment rate, the report urged South Asian economies to create a minimum of 1.17 million jobs a year.

“Growth is important, but even very high growth will alone not be enough to increase South Asia’s employment rate. Policies and actions are needed to make growth more labor-intensive, and especially to create the kinds of jobs that can encourage greater labor force participation by women,” says Robert Beyer, the report author.

Status of Employment in Nepal

Over the years, there has been a growing trend of inclination for foreign employment among Nepali working age population, especially the youth, due to the lack of employment opportunities locally.

As a result, Nepali working population have been migrating to the foreign destinations such as Malaysia, Singapore and Gulf countries, majorly. The first eight months of the current fiscal saw at least 1,026 migrants per day to various overseas labor destinations.

However, there is also a declining trend being observed over the last two fiscals with regard to overseas labor migration. This trend is encouraging the need for creation of more jobs, locally.

The Economic Survey of the Ministry of Finance was quoted to have reported the addition of a minimum 512,000 youth population to the Nepali labor market, annually.

While the number of new entrants to the Nepali labor market stands at more than 42,000 people per month in the last fiscal, the number is expected to grow further in the coming years owing to the declining dependency ratios.

The International Labor Organization (ILO) calls Nepal a young country with 63.7 percent of the country’s overall population (26.5 million) aged below 30 years.

However, when it comes to the employment, the unemployment rate among youth aged 15-29 years stands at 19.2 percent compared to 2.7 percent for the whole population.

“Over 400,000 young people are estimated to enter the labor force every year. These figures indicate the quantitative dimension of the employment challenge in Nepal,” says ILO.

Basic employment-related challenges in Nepal are attributed to the predominance of employment in the informal segments of the Nepali economy with low productivity and earnings, and poor working conditions, resulting in underemployment in the country.

Higher incomes and dignity of labor are among other aspects contributing to the rise in migration for foreign employment.

As a Solution: The Government of Nepal had on many occasions urged ILO for its support to enhance job opportunities within the country. Towards this end, ILO worked with the Nepali Government in developing a comprehensive national Employment Policy and is also assisting towards the effective implementation of the same with special focus on informal economy, social protection and youth employment. To monitor the changing trends, ILO is working in collaboration with the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) of Nepal to develop employment monitoring and evaluation tools. The organization has also extended its technical support for the labor market reform in the country resulting in a modified labor bill. This has further moved Nepali Ministry of Labor to bolster the public employment services thus contributing to the possible rise in employability across the country.

The post Nepal Employment Status: 2.8 Lakh Jobs Per Year Need of the Hour, says World Bank appeared first on Nepali Sansar.