Skills Gap in South Asia: Indian and Pakistani Youth Lack 21st Century Skills

[RiazHaq]

http://www.riazhaq.com/2019/11/skills-gap-in-south-asia-indian-and.html

Only 18% of Pakistanis and 19% of Indians under the age of 24 have the skills required for 21st century jobs, according to a United Nations and Business Coalition for Education study.

South Asian economies have experienced some of the fastest growth rates in the world. They are driven by young and growing populations in the region. Sustaining growth will become increasingly difficult unless significant investments are made to prepare South Asian youth for 21st century jobs.

Today, South Asia is home to the largest number of young people of any global region, with almost half of its population of 1.9 billion below the age of 24, according to data produced by the Global Business Coalition for Education (GBC-Education), the Education Commission, and UNICEF.

Youth unemployment remains high (at 9.8% in 2018) because of changing labor market demands and over — or under — qualification of job candidates, according to the report.




In most South Asian countries, the projected proportion of children and youth completing secondary education and learning basic secondary skills is expected to more than double by 2030. Still, on current trends, fewer than half of the region’s projected 400 million primary and secondary school-age children in 2030 are estimated to be on track to complete secondary education and attain basic workforce skills.




Current efforts underway to fill the skills gap in the biggest South Asian economies of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh are grossly insufficient. Only 47% of Indian, 40% of Pakistani and 55% of Bangladeshi youths will have the skills required by 2030. Expectations of huge demographic dividends in South Asia will not be met unless policy makers significantly increase focus and investments to rapidly up-skill their youthful populations.

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http://www.riazhaq.com/2019/11/skills-gap-in-south-asia-indian-and.html

 

[Nilgiri]

Hey @RiazHaq what happened to this bold statement you made in 2017?:

https://defence.pk/pdf/threads/risi...istani-households.532080/page-2#post-10075850

Did you have a look at the Credit Suisse Report lately? (You seem to have gone silent on it, just like MPI index). Or you gonna eat your hat now?:

https://www.credit-suisse.com/about-us/en/reports-research/global-wealth-report.html

India Median wealth per adult (2019) = 3042 USD
India Avg wealth per adult (2019) = 14569 USD

Pakistan Median wealth per adult (2019) = 1766 USD
Pakistan Avg wealth per adult (2019) = 4098 USD

https://defence.pk/pdf/threads/average-wealth-per-adult-in-countries-around-the-world-2019.641723/

Any comments for your bold be-all end-all use of it earlier? Quoting from another thread of your "analysis":

Pakistan average wealth per adult: $5,174 vs India $5,976
Pakistan median wealth per adult: $3,338 vs India $1,295

"It also confirms that the median wealth of Pakistani households is three times higher than that of households in India."

Or do my earlier criticisms of the study suddenly apply now? (just like my earlier criticisms of MPI)...given Pakistan is now worse on it and it can't be cherrypicked for certain emotional safeguarding anymore?

@VCheng

 

[SoulSpokesman]

@Nilgiri @RiazHaq

Nilgiri Anna,

On the other hand though, Pakiland has again forged ahead of India on the Global Hunger Index (after a hiatus of half a decade) and Brof sb, to give credit to him, has again started referring to it these days.

Btw, the decline in average Pak household wealth may have something to do with the steep devaluation of the PKR.

Regards

 

[Nilgiri]

@Nilgiri @RiazHaq

Nilgiri Anna,

On the other hand though, Pakiland has again forged ahead of India on the Global Hunger Index (after a hiatus of half a decade) and Brof sb, to give credit to him, has again started referring to it these days.

Btw, the decline in average Pak household wealth may have something to do with the steep devaluation of the PKR.

Regards

There are flaws with GHI as well:

https://economictimes.indiatimes.co...rs/decoding-ghi-2019/articleshow/71655420.cms

Give it time and the time lag of data will again produce some unfavourable instance of it for "analysis" here.

Btw, the decline in average Pak household wealth may have something to do with the steep devaluation of the PKR.

To some degree, but there is a marked decline of Gini coefficient used as well. This make the case for PPP stronger...but credit suisse does use elements of PPP kind of analysis in its estimate anyway.

 

[ThinkLogically]

Hey @RiazHaq what happened to this bold statement you made in 2017?:

https://defence.pk/pdf/threads/risi...istani-households.532080/page-2#post-10075850

Did you have a look at the Credit Suisse Report lately? (You seem to have gone silent on it, just like MPI index). Or you gonna eat your hat now?:

https://www.credit-suisse.com/about-us/en/reports-research/global-wealth-report.html

India Median wealth per adult (2019) = 3042 USD
India Avg wealth per adult (2019) = 14569 USD

Pakistan Median wealth per adult (2019) = 1766 USD
Pakistan Avg wealth per adult (2019) = 4098 USD

https://defence.pk/pdf/threads/average-wealth-per-adult-in-countries-around-the-world-2019.641723/

Any comments for your bold be-all end-all use of it earlier? Quoting from another thread of your "analysis":



"It also confirms that the median wealth of Pakistani households is three times higher than that of households in India."

Or do my earlier criticisms of the study suddenly apply now? (just like my earlier criticisms of MPI)...given Pakistan is now worse on it and it can't be cherrypicked for certain emotional safeguarding anymore?

@VCheng

Earlier the fanboys used to cherry pick data and project Pakistan is doing great than India. Now that Pakistan has gone several notches below on most of the indices even cherry picking is not working.

So you can see the absence of fanboys like riazhaq, tomato farmer, and a profile name starting with wind. Sorry I have a terrible memory

The only thing that they are repeating like a parrot is "27 Feb".

 

[danger007]

Hey @RiazHaq what happened to this bold statement you made in 2017?:

https://defence.pk/pdf/threads/risi...istani-households.532080/page-2#post-10075850

Did you have a look at the Credit Suisse Report lately? (You seem to have gone silent on it, just like MPI index). Or you gonna eat your hat now?:

https://www.credit-suisse.com/about-us/en/reports-research/global-wealth-report.html

India Median wealth per adult (2019) = 3042 USD
India Avg wealth per adult (2019) = 14569 USD

Pakistan Median wealth per adult (2019) = 1766 USD
Pakistan Avg wealth per adult (2019) = 4098 USD

https://defence.pk/pdf/threads/average-wealth-per-adult-in-countries-around-the-world-2019.641723/

Any comments for your bold be-all end-all use of it earlier? Quoting from another thread of your "analysis":



"It also confirms that the median wealth of Pakistani households is three times higher than that of households in India."

Or do my earlier criticisms of the study suddenly apply now? (just like my earlier criticisms of MPI)...given Pakistan is now worse on it and it can't be cherrypicked for certain emotional safeguarding anymore?

@VCheng

I come across pool of his threads... when I dig into his source... he quoted another Indian blogger( as per name and claim) as his source... and Indian blogger quoted haq as his source.. ...

 

[nahtanbob]

median skills of indians and pakistanis are low compared to 1st world standards.
maybe indians are slightly better

 

[maximuswarrior]

This is unfortunately true. Although both cases are different in my opinion.

India made an effort investing in their huge pool of human resource although not adequate, but nonetheless a decent effort. We saw how the service sector bloomed for quite a while.

Pakistan on the other hand has not invested in human resource the way it should have, but that is mostly due to lack of proper leadership. I have high expectations from the current government because its manifesto prioritizes education. It remains to be seen though. Pakistan needs to revamp its education system. Right now quality education is only accessible to rich and elite. Not that this is very different in India, but at least the government there is making an effort to be inclusive. Scholarships are handed to students from various backgrounds. I know this first hand because I work at a top ranked uni and meet a lot of researchers and students from various backgrounds. I liked how Musharraf started the exchange program by providing bright minds scholarships. Pakistan needs to go one step further and try to make quality education available for the masses. Not an easy job, considering you need an army of professors, teachers and educated people. Quality education is expensive. The government needs to make an effort to focus on quality and abolish educational centres that are undermining this goal. Start with madrassas and low quality schools that are only in it for the money. Regulate from the top and have strict rules. This is the future and we cannot afford to have an army of illiterate and uneducated masses. By providing access to quality education to the people the economic woes can be fixed over time.

Pakistan needs to seek help in this regard from China. Needless to say that China is a role model.

A skilled and knowledgeable labour force cannot be achieved without quality education system available to the masses.

 

[GHALIB]

china as a role model is good , but can we adopt their system.

 

[KapitaanAli]

Nothing's gonna change until the education system is revamped to skill based from certificate based.

Bunch of misfits graduating as engineers and what not. Call me elitist, but the majority of them should be shown a different path at an earlier stage. A path that would pay more than being a low tier engineer today, under the right system.

 

[TeesraIndiotHunter]

Earlier the fanboys used to cherry pick data and project Pakistan is doing great than India. Now that Pakistan has gone several notches below on most of the indices even cherry picking is not working.

So you can see the absence of fanboys like riazhaq, tomato farmer, and a profile name starting with wind. Sorry I have a terrible memory

The only thing that they are repeating like a parrot is "27 Feb".

Please...

Indo-Pak pissing contests have always been about "cherry picking"....Because both countries at the end of the day are in same category: The developing world. There is no decisive lead across the board for one country over the other (unless your an idiot who believes that).

I remember the days when indians would make long cases about how GDP per capita didn't mean much etc (in those days, Pak had higher GDP per capita)...and now since indian numbers are better, they'd happily quote GDP per capita

I particularly remember Indians quoting Hunger Index and Child stunting rates last year to show how india was doing better. This year, Pakistan is doing better in both and hence the methodology criticisms are being posted by indians

Here's a trick that will clarify the situation: Compare Indonesia vs India.

Behemoth countries, very promising growth rates, and are some of the most noticeable emerging markets of developing world (both in Asia-Pacific too).

You know what happens? Indonesia beats India in almost EVERY SINGLE MEASURE you can think of normatively (HDI, Literacy rates, multiple Poverty indexes, Hunger, GDP per capita, Infant mortality rates, Child stunting/growth, exports, trade-deficit, debt% of GDP, Female Labor Force participation, Electrification rates, Food consumption per capita, Urbanization, Car/TV/Motor-cycle ownership, saving rates, digitalization of economy, banking sector penetration, population with college degrees etc etc etc).

But when you compare India vs Pak, you can easily cherry-pick data to make one side look better in some core categories. You can not do that with India vs Indonesia.

Shows you how life in India-Pakistan is more similar in terms of living standards than fan boys on either side will like to admit.

india has more inequality though IIRC...which is what you'd assume due to size differential?

@Nilgiri

 

[VCheng]

Or do my earlier criticisms of the study suddenly apply now? (just like my earlier criticisms of MPI)...given Pakistan is now worse on it and it can't be cherrypicked for certain emotional safeguarding anymore?

@VCheng

The real hat-eating time is yet to come, and not just for Mr. Haq. Just give it another two years or so. Till then, it is best to lay low and let them run with the rope.

 

[jamahir]

median skills of indians and pakistanis are low compared to 1st world standards.
maybe indians are slightly better

But first we should decide what are the actual skills required. Is a skill actually required in a scientifically arranged society ??

For example, working in a neighborhood-level Vertical Farm is a skill required in the near-future and the absence of which is there in the "First World" too currently.

@RiazHaq

 

[Paul2]

But first we should decide what are the actual skills required. Is a skill actually required in a scientifically arranged society ??

May well be.

For the most of manufacturing boom, South China relied on people with just secondary education + some vocational schooling. The thing is, a lot of countries in Asia don't meet even universal secondary education coverage.

I myself taught highschoolers basics of electronics and mechanical engineering on the workplace, but those highschoolers were already on the level of people in first or second year degree program in the West.

When I lived in Canada, I was shocked to see people in uni having trouble with basic algebra, and that universities there spend a whole year on uplifting those people.

 

[[Bregs]]

If this report is true then blame lies on respective govts for awful funding of research in various streams across the main unirvesities leave aside the not so prominent universities