Two among every three job aspirants in Odisha lack employability: Report

Even as Odisha is among the top three states with a maximum supply of employable talent this year, two of its every three job aspirants lack employability. As per the India Skills Report 2021, Odisha has failed to make it to the top-10 states in terms of employability despite having a huge population of employable resources.

The top-three states identified with the highest employability are Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh. The employability of human resources is a direct reflection of the job opportunities available. The massive push from numerous skill development initiatives by Odisha Skill Development Authority (OSDA), notwithstanding, the State does not figure among the top-10 states with the availability of skills in the areas of English as a second language, numerical, critical thinking and computer.

While neighbouring states like West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh besides Assam, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh were placed among the top states for having more skilled based employable human resources, Odisha showed up only among the states with the highest supply of employable talent. The report prepared by Wheebox, the country's one of the leading online talent assessment platforms, in partnership with recruitment solutions brand Taggd, CII, AICTE, Association of Indian Universities (AIU) and UNDP indicated that the lack of corporate infrastructure and job opportunities in the State is evident, owing to the poor representation within the states to offer employment for its urban and suburban residents.

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Bhubaneswar, which topped the smart city challenge in 2016, also did not figure in the list of cities that are preferred as a favourite destination for job aspirants. Hyderabad, Bangalore, Pune and Delhi continued to serve as the preferred destinations for employment, considering the opportunities available in these cities. Interestingly, Nellore, a tier 2 city in Andhra Pradesh is placed at eight positions in employability and a small city Udupi is second on the list of top -10 cities for skills in critical thinking, numerical and computer skills while Ghaziabad is listed as the city with the best access to skills in English as a second language.

As per the statistics on employability scores among men and women, the percentage of women scoring a higher employability score was more than men. While 41.25 pc of the women nationwide are considered employable, only 38.91 pc of men are employable.