Rewarding first job: A step must for reaping India's demographic dividend

While there is substantial discourse on tackling unemployment and the need for job creation today, there is little talk about integrating the youth smoothly into the workforce. Speaking in terms of the grand narrative of employment, careers in the long-term are essential and yet, we need to think of altering something fundamental: the beginnings of careers

Employment is more than a buzzword today for the youth - signifies purpose, identity and aspiration. India is a predominantly young country, with has the largest youth population globally, accounting for approximately 66 per cent of the total populace. The country, battling high levels of unemployment amid the coronavirus pandemic has a host of challenges to deal with in the same regard with an estimated increase of 8 million per year in the youth labour force in the coming decade. While there is substantial discourse on tackling unemployment and the need for job creation today, there is little talk about integrating the youth smoothly into the workforce. Speaking in terms of the grand narrative of employment, careers in the long-term are essential and yet, we need to think of altering something fundamental: the beginnings of careers.

First jobs, ranging from internships to full-time employment, can become determinants of career trajectories. A good beginning can stir us in the direction of success, or a lukewarm start can meddle with an individual's professional momentum. In Monster's 'My First Job' survey, 53 per cent of the respondents felt their first job shaped the direction of their careers; the survey showed that 60 per cent of the respondents quit their first jobs for professional growth and better opportunities, with 26 per cent wanting to earn more money. All of these findings are essential in understanding that first jobs are significant and yet, people seldom find ideal beginnings. Addressing this would require working along two major axes - fulfilment and rewards.

To speak of the first axis, fulfilment in jobs can be attained when the employment is in tune with the interests and caliber of the employees. For prospective employees to figure out where they belong, vast exposure to diverse fields is essential. A change in this direction has to begin with human resource creation itself, and keeping in mind the creativity and potential of every individual, education must be linked to employability. In India, The National Education Policy 2020 talks about including vocational education as part of formal school education and providing internships to school pupils. This needs to be formalized further into providing exposure to different industries to learners, so that students can gear themselves towards attaining jobs which are in tune with their proclivities and talents.

Once the domain of choice is taken care of, the jobs themselves have to be rewarding. There needs to be better incentivisation in terms of substantial pay, safe work environment and employee protections for beginners. Unpaid internships have become the new entry-level position in the job market, with employers exploiting the labour of students for little to no compensation, something which only the privileged can afford to gain professional experience. A recent study in the United States found out that 42 per cent of online internships and 35 per cent of in-person internships were unpaid in the past year. A similar situation in India can be aided with legislation that lays out substantial minimum compensation for employees in different categories of work. Furthermore, compulsory mentoring for beginners at work alongside declared protections can go a long way in enriching the inaugural work experience of youngsters.

Accessibility of jobs is a domain needing urgent intervention. A 2014 survey by LinkedIn in India found out that over a third of first-time employees, with training and some experience, took over three months to land their first proper jobs. In line with education and laws that make first jobs lucrative, job creation on several levels will also be necessary to give our youth the dividends they deserve. This would include infrastructural development across the country to provide a supportive and solid industrial structure for input and output markets, promotion of entrepreneurship and innovation, transparent declaration of vacancies on time and creating value out of all domains of training, from academia to fashion. In India, where more than 8 in every 10 workers are informally employed or work in informal sectors, excluded from employment rights, benefits and social protection, formal sector employment needs to be bolstered with legal manoeuvres and encouraging a transparent culture of employment.

To reap the demographic dividend India is blessed with, the country must do right by its youth and ensuring that they begin their careers on the right note is a step in the same direction. Rewarding first jobs can empower the youth to enthusiastically take on the struggles we face as a country, revving up the economy's growth engine and bolstering the well-being of the national community. We must not let systems fail our youth and to this end, creating a domain of best professional beginnings is indeed the way to go.

(The author is Founder Upsurge Global and President SAHE (Society for Advancement of Human Endeavour)