The Bhutan Labour Market Assessment Report 2024 was launched on 12th March 2024 by Lyonpo Namgyal Dorji, the Minister of Industry, Commerce and Employment and Mr. Abdoulaye Seck, the World Bank Country Director for Bhutan and Bangladesh.
The Labor Market Assessment Report 2024 examines the labour market in Bhutan identifying the most pressing challenges during the pandemic recovery stage recommending ways to address them. The assessment began in 2019 and was conducted in close consultation between the erstwhile Department of National Human Resource Development (DNHRD), the Department of Employment and Entrepreneurship (DoEE) and the World Bank. The report was based on the Bhutan Labour Force Surveys, the Bhutan Establishment Survey 2022 and the administrative data of the Ministry of Education and Skills Development (MoESD) and the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Employment (MoICE).
The key messages from the report are that workers in Bhutan face many challenges including: a) the persistence of low productivity agricultural employment, weak private sector employment, and the limited inclusion of women in meaningful employment; b) the private sector faces the challenge of accelerating job creation in the productive sectors while atb the same time filling the existing vacancies in the low and semi-skilled positions; c) employment support programs in the country face gaps in limited job relevant skills, access to skilled labour and low labour force participation of women; and d) Addressing the labour market challenges requires vertical growth policies that support private sector development and job creation and horizontal reforms that improve the business environment, strengthen human capital development and enhance effectiveness of employment support programs.
The report provides strong evidence on the effectiveness and gaps of the existing employment support programmes and the labour market challenges and issues that need to be addressed. The findings of the assessment are in sync with the policy direction of the 13th Five Year Plan which aims to enhance active labour market interventions through bringing about a stronger link between TVET and the private sector, strengthening entrepreneurship development and the Employment Service Centres, activation of low-skilled women in the urban areas and enhancing the labour market information system to support evidence-based policymaking.
As part of the event, the findings from the report were presented followed by a High-Level Panel Discussion to deliberate on the issues and challenges highlighted in the report.
To view the full report CLICK HERE