Fear of unemployment forces many Tamil Nadu grads to take up below par jobs

One of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s rallying points for a developed India, a more digital India, has been his vision of a ‘new India’, an India of its Yuva Shakti (youth power). However, the situation in Tamil Nadu seems to be grave as university graduates from the state, especially from rural areas, are apparently wasting their degrees. With high unemployment rates and an insipid job market, many highly qualified workers have little choice but to settle for jobs below their education and skill level.

With too many overqualified young people in Tamil Nadu, there are not enough challenging careers and some are even working in Tasmac bars, restaurant kitchens and consumer companies to make ends meet. 

“My regular duties involve taking care of customers in the bar, cleaning floors and cooking for other employees,” 26-year old S Raja, a Tasmac bar employee, who completed BSc Chemistry, along with BEd and Teachers’ training course, said. Though, Raja, who hails from Pudukkottai district, has all his educational certificates registered with the government employment exchange, he is yet to receive a call letter from the authorities. 

K Venkatesan, a senior HR consultant in the city, said that at present, many companies recruit people only through reference. “Without reference even most of the local companies reject the resumes at primary level,” he added. According to him, most graduates from rural areas come to Chennai to get better jobs, but they seem to be unaware of the reality of the employment market. “They dream about getting government jobs once they register their certificates,” he noted.

“I completed my MBA two years ago in Madurai. I also managed to land a job in a private company in Chennai, but was being paid a meagre amount. Hence I quit and joined here,” S Dhanasekaran, who delivers online products to customers, said. Dhanesakaran, from Theni district, added, “My parents and relatives still think that I work in a white-collar company”. He said he was forced to take the job since he had availed of a loan from a private bank to study MBA. He also said that no matter what the circumstances, he would pursue higher studies as well. 

“Companies in the cities have started recruiting only experienced hands. Freshers do not get chance unless they have a good background,” K Mona, recruiting manager, in a leading consumer company in the city, said, adding, that her company makes sure that it gives chances only to candidates who hail from the city. “If we recruit a person hailing from another district, he/she would often take long leaves. Hence we do not hire them,” she noted.

For 25-year old K Ramakumar, a BEd graduate hailing from Ramanathapuram, working in a small restaurant as a cook was not a hindrance. “I joined this place since I know how to cook. I had to take it up as I need to send money to my family every month,” he said. Ramakumar also said that he could not work in big hotels since the high-tech restaurants only look for hotel management graduates. He is also doing a teacher’s training course and added that private schools refused to hire him because he doesn’t belong to the city. “I hope to get a job in a government school soon after completing my course,” he said.

K Senthilnathan, a retired employee from the Labour Department, said students, especially from far flung rural areas, who completed graduation, are not aware that the gap between employment registration and requirement is huge. “Moreover, they think once they register themselves with the employment exchange, getting a government job is a cakewalk”, he said. 

However, K Gopi, an engineering graduate with top marks, was happy working in a call centre in the city. “I compromised on the work front thinking that later I would definitely get a job that suited my profile. For now, at least the call centre offered me the work. The only problem is working on night shifts,” he said.

K Sriram, labour economist in the city, said many highly qualified students, coming from other districts, work as sales representatives, are employed in shopping malls and also hired for working in various super markets. He added that in the future, it would be extremely difficult for freshers to get into the right jobs. “Only qualification is not enough. Companies also look for good personality, good reference, family background and where they live,” he added. Sriram also said many students procure bank loans for higher studies and are forced to take up odd jobs to pay EMIs. “Many banks, which give education loan, do not offer a big holiday period for paying dues.” 

S Kumar, a bank employee at the education loan section, said that many students fail to repay loans on time. “Though we have a target for offering loans, we also have a target to recollect loans,” he said. 

R Gayathiri, an Economics professor here, said, “The only solution to bridge the gap between job seekers and the huge demand is that the government should introduce a legislation for compulsory career guidance programme for students, especially in the rural areas. This might solve the issue to some extent.” She also said that private companies, which should not comprise on the qualification of the student, should at least relax its demands especially in looking for personality and family background.

Similarly, K Gopala Krishnan, a retired professor, said students should be given proper career guidance and imparted communication skills at the higher secondary level and that might help students in not facing problems while approaching companies for jobs”. “An expert might be appointed in all schools to guide students with regard to choosing their degree programme, which could help them to get employment,” he concluded.