Sometime back, Union Minister of State for Labour and Employment Shobha Karandlaje blamed the spread of education for the high unemployment rate: we have far too many graduates, she added, in case you missed it the first time. This led to an uproar on social media, with someone even suggesting that we should now have an ‘Uneducation Policy’. Come to think of it, however, she was not far from the truth.
In India, everyone who cannot migrate illegally to Trumpland wants to become a graduate: the country produces 10 million grads every year, most of whom (according to India Inc) are unemployable. This is further borne out by a recent report that of the 263 applicants (all lawyers and civil judges) who appeared for an exam for the post of district judge in Odisha, not one passed the qualifying test! Adding to the problem is that there are just not enough new jobs being created every year, even if we accept the government’s cooked-up figures. Which is why, according to the ILO Report (2024), the rate of unemployment among graduates is 10 times that of the uneducated: in India, the more educated you are, the lesser the chances of your finding a job!
We refuse to accept the laws of either economics or mathematics; everyone wants a job as a babu in an office (hence the need to be a graduate), hands-on skills are looked down upon as undignified “labour”: the “knowledge worker” is placed high above the “skill worker”. Even though while the former spend their days idling at home or attending political rallies, it is almost impossible to get hold of one of the latter when you need one — an electrician, carpenter, plumber, para-medic, driver, to mention just a few. Our cook, a smart young girl who chose to drop out after Plus Two and earn a respectable living rather than go to college and join the ranks of the unemployed, comes for two hours every day and charges Rs 8,000 per month. She works in four to five houses and makes Rs 30,000 to Rs 40,000 per month, something which even IIT grads are happy to receive these days! A mason in my village charges Rs 1,000 per day, if you can get hold of one, that is!
And things are about to get much worse for the grads and white collar workers with the advent of AI. The founder of Atomberg, Arindam Paul, predicts that 50-60 per cent of white collar jobs could be lost to AI in the coming years in India and there would be no middle class left. The infotech and hitech firms have already fired tens of thousands of employees as a precursor to a much bigger bloodbath: the knowledge worker can be easily replaced by AI, whether he or she is a doctor, engineer, coder, data analyst, copy writer, advertising executive, etc. The skilled or blue collar worker, on the other hand, is irreplaceable, whether on the factory floor, a mechanic’s shop, your flat or selling momos on the street. These are the jobs and professions which will survive, as evidenced by the innovative start-ups being launched every day.
We have arrived in the era of innovative and niche-based job creations, and those who possess the entrepreneurial spirit of exploring these options will be the winners. My housing society now provides well-paying occupations which were unheard of even a decade ago — dog walkers (Rs 4,000 per house), dog groomers (Rs 1,000-1,500 per doggie, almost the same Neerja pays for her monthly visits to Barbara’s or Trois Ne), the pigeon net maker (Rs 12,000 for three balconies), and so on.
The smart guy will ferret out where demand for a product or service exists, and provide it just like Swiggy, Amazon and Blinkit have done on a larger scale. I came across a couple of unlikely occupations during the course of my readings:
Sumadi Ibrahim served for 22 years as a navy diver in Malaysia. Since his retirement 10 years ago, he has carved out a most unusual niche: he retrieves lost golf balls from the water hazards of golf courses outside Kuala Lumpur. He works three days a week, collects about 500 balls, and sells them to the same guys who lost them! He makes Rs 1.6 lakh each month, which is three times what a worker in the formal sector gets. Jim Best, a former US navy frogman, does the same on the Florida golf courses: he estimates that there are 70,000 golf balls waiting to be found — a small fortune for entrepreneurs like him!
Demand has created a new breed of workers in China — “pei pas” or “climbing buddies”; fit and athletic young men who assist outdoor tourists and enthusiasts in climbing or trekking up mountains, acting as guides and providing logistical and physical support. A climbing buddy charges between $50-70 per trip and can make up to $2,000-3,000 per month, far more than the average monthly wage for office workers. Good-looking buddies can demand a higher price from single ladies or ladies’ groups!
Another new class of professionals has now emerged — consulting declutterers. The inter-generational passing down of possessions — furniture, cutlery, mementos, clothes, books, photos — has become an issue: the younger generation now has smaller flats, believes in minimalist lifestyles, moves from place to place, and has no desire to clutter their lives. The “handing-down” older generation, on the other hand, values much of this stuff as family heirlooms and would like them to be retained for pure sentimental reasons. How to balance the two desires/needs? Enter the professional declutterer (at $125 per hour), who will talk to everyone, assess their emotional and physical needs, put a price on the items, advise on disposal. He/she is both a valuer and a psychological consultant.
As lifestyles change, as technology alters the way we once lived, and as new needs emerge, new areas for jobs are being created. Those who are innovative, possess unconventional skills and dare to be different are the ones who will prosper. As the Florida frogman told a reporter: “There’s a job somewhere for everyone.” He may as well have added: “Provided they’re willing to shed their white collars.”
— The writer is a former IAS officer
