The State government may not find it an easy proposition to provide jobs for all those who are returning from West Asia for various reasons.
A viable alternative is to empower them to be job providers than job-seekers, says K.M. Nair, a consultant on micro, small and medium industries and a former development banker.
MOSTLY UNSKILLED
“What needs to be appreciated is that those who return are mostly unskilled workers with no entrepreneurial skill or are being motivated for it,” Nair said.
Secondly, those who opt for business generally choose trading activities or service sector in the absence of a manufacturing base.
The first attempt should have been to motivate them to be proud employers through business activities. They need to be guided to choose an appropriate line of activity and then provided with necessary skills in the relevant field.
Suitable project ideas from among various sectors and segments will have to be identified. The government may also offer handholding/escort services till they are able to market their products or services.
PRODUCT LINES
As for product lines or industrial activity, Kerala offers a wide range of traditional and modern sectors to choose from, Nair said.
“Every village and town in the State has unique untapped resource base and traditional products - whether it is coir and fibre, handicrafts, handloom, or forest or agri-products and services.”
Emerging business models in vibrant segments such as light engineering; machine tools; food processing; agro-based industries; horticulture; sericulture; readymade garments; drugs and pharmaceuticals; electronics and electrical products; life sciences; and biotechnology suggest themselves.
Sub-sectors of service sector such as retail trade; hospitality and tourism including health tourism; healthcare; communication services; IT-enabled services; advertising, infrastructure support, transport and logistics, automobile and other repairing services also have very good scope.
KNOWLEDGE SECTOR
Significant investments can also be made for setting up of infrastructure for business process outsourcing; knowledge process outsourcing; and other knowledge-based activities such as call centres; technical help desks; medical transcription; bioinformatics; and contract research.
Considerable opportunities are also emerging with regard to sub-contracting of various works of corporates and public sector undertakings, Nair added.
Telecommunication services like mobile/radio frequency transmission/receiver towers; cabling; network installation; system integration service centres; dealerships; wire and wireless services; and internet services also provide great potential for entrepreneurship, employment and income generation.
vinson.kurian@thehindu.co.in