Educated Nepali Youth Struggle for Employment Amidst Election Promises

Ramila Ghimire of Jorpati holds a postgraduate degree certificate. Not only that, she also has one year of work experience in hotel management. However, those experiences and the certificate do not keep the hearth burning in her home. Ghimire has the responsibility of supporting her parents at home. For that, she urgently needs employment. Ghimire is currently wandering in search of a job.

Ghimire is forced to stay at home because she is not getting a job and salary commensurate with her education and experience. She says, "Candidates come to the doorsteps during elections promising to provide jobs. After the election, neither the leaders come nor are jobs available."

Ghimire is fed up with the false promises of employment made by candidates in past elections. She is disappointed even now with the candidates who come to her doorstep seeking votes. As the only child of parents over seventy, Ghimire cannot go abroad. Therefore, she says it would be easier to care for her parents and sustain her life if she could find employment at home.

Similarly, Bhimsen Maharjan of Bhaktapur has two sons. He invested heavily in both sons' education. He had hoped that after studying and becoming educated, they would find jobs. Maharjan is distressed that both sons, after graduating with bachelor's degrees, are sitting idle at home. He has a small piece of land where vegetables grow. He has to support a family of four based on that alone. Maharjan states that ordinary people do not have the opportunity to find employment. He says, "I educated my children, but I could not provide them with jobs."

According to the National Transfer Account report published by the Central Bureau of Statistics, the youth unemployment rate in Nepal is 12.7 percent. The report also suggested that the government should implement policy reforms in job creation, skill development, and production promotion.

Furthermore, the report indicates low participation in the labor market. The labor market participation rate is only 38.5 percent. According to the National Census 2078, the youth (16 to 40) population in Nepal is 12,412,173. Youths constitute 42.56 percent of the total population, of which 12.7 percent are unemployed.

Political parties' manifestos have reached the doorsteps of the people with commitments to reduce youth unemployment and create jobs at home. Although some political parties have committed to youth employment in their manifestos, the youth's view is that the practical basis and method for creating these jobs have not been clearly outlined.

Youth entrepreneur Prarthana Sakha stated that although manifestos include topics about youth employment and entrepreneurship, she is uncertain about the extent of their practical implementation. According to her, political manifestos have prominently included points regarding digital technology-friendly employment recently, which the youth have taken positively, Sakha mentioned. Nevertheless, she believes the upcoming government should create an environment that retains the youth workforce at home and makes them aware of employment opportunities.

Various political parties have prepared their manifestos targeting the upcoming House of Representatives elections. In these, concerns regarding the youth workforce, employment, and labor skills have been significantly raised. The Communist Party of Nepal mentions under its Labor and Employment Policy that a special program targeting 'returnees' will be operated to effectively utilize knowledge, skills, technology, and entrepreneurship learned from foreign employment back home, involving them in entrepreneurship, psychosocial training, commercial loans, technical services, and agricultural modernization.

Similarly, the Nepali Congress has committed to employment, labor, and skills in its manifesto. This includes a commitment to create 1.5 million dignified and productive jobs in the next five years. It also incorporates a popular slogan aimed at influencing the sentiment of the youth: 'Skill with Degree: Earning with Study.'

The Communist Party of Nepal (UML) mentions providing a dollar card worth 10,000 to youth and entrepreneurs. The commitment focuses on expanding digital access and increasing youth entrepreneurs through information technology.

The Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) manifesto emphasizes transforming youth labor through policy and legal processes. The manifesto states a focus on creating clear policies and laws to ensure that people can work for foreign companies, agencies, or employers while staying in Nepal, and amending the Labor Act and related laws to grant legal recognition to remote work, digital employment, and cross-border service exports.