Table of Contents:

Part XXVII. Post Publication Independent Review of "Job Pandemic 2020"

Published at:

https://www.ijbst.org/covid-19-post-publication-reviews/part-27

Twitter Communication Link:

https://twitter.com/PrabhuBritto/status/1258032774566473728

Publons Review Link:

https://publons.com/review/7925034/

Post Publication Independent Review of

Job Pandemic 2020

Edward E. Gordon

President of Imperial Consulting Corporation, E. Walton Place, Chicago, Illinois, United States.

Edward E. Gordon: moc.onuj@proclairepmi

https://dx.doi.org/10.25259/SNI_172_2020

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7193190/

https://surgicalneurologyint.com/surgicalint-articles/job-pandemic-2020/

Review Comments:

1. Quote "The COVID-19 pandemic is disrupting the daily lives of Americans and sowing anxiety, outrage, and confusion. Fear is mounting with every update on the number of new cases and deaths. Hundreds of thousands of American workers, perhaps as high as 30%, are facing sudden unemployment with uncertain future prospects in a time of severe labor market disruptions. Adaptability will be key for those seeking employment as some industry sectors shed workers, and others need to add new staff rapidly." End of Quote.

The author is highlighting a situation in the USA, which has the capacity to reflect in INDIA.

Read together with newsitem dated May 05, 2020 at https://www.financialexpress.com/lifestyle/travel-tourism/india-to-start-biggest-evacuation-flights-from-across-the-globe-will-bring-back-stranded-indians/1949010/ titled "India to start biggest evacuation! Flights from across the globe will bring back stranded Indians", INDIA has started evacuating Indians from across the world, and this is expected to continue in the future too.

Reading in conjunction with https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/nri/visa-and-immigration/over-200000-h-1b-workers-could-lose-legal-status-by-june/articleshow/75441460.cms, it portrays a difficult trend. India is going to receive back into its sovereign territory, many of its people (skilled and unskilled).

Hence, the situation highlighted by the author may develop in INDIA, of course with situations peculiar to the demography of INDIA.

2. Quote "Over the past decade, we have been warning that the education and skills of the U.S. workforce have not kept up in the race with technology. Even before the Covid-19 pandemic, the Bureau of Labor Statistics projected that with more than 500,000 nurses retiring by 2022, 1.1 million new registered nurses (RNs) will be needed to avoid a nursing shortage. Projections Central estimates over 200,000 average annual openings for RNs between 2016 and 2026, far more than the number that is graduating and being licensed. The United States has only 2.6 physicians/1000 people; in the contrast, Germany has 4.3 and Italy 4/1000. Moreover, 30% of American physicians are over the age of 60, so retirements will soon further deplete their ranks. America also is experiencing growing shortages of dentists, dental hygienists, many types of medical technicians, physical therapists, and other medical personnel." End of Quote.

If this is the global situation, we can be sure that we may also be sailing in the same waters, maybe a little ahead of the bow or a little behind the stern of other Nations, though not in the same areas of interest. While this review is being written, we have a news item https://www.thehindu.com/business/indias-unemployment-rate-rises-to-2711-amid-covid-19-crisis-cmie/article31511006.ece

3. Quote "The COVID-19 crisis is placing an unprecedented strain on America’s health system and medical personnel at a time when staffing shortages are already widespread. The proportion of Americans over 65, an age group with more health-care needs, is also rapidly growing. These considerations are increasing the urgency of revamping education-to-employment systems to prepare more students for careers in the health sciences once schools can again resume normal operations. This effort needs to begin with improving math and science education and reading proficiency at the elementary and secondary levels. Students also need to learn about the variety of careers in health sciences, related technical areas, and the other economic sectors that provide employment in their regions along with the educational prerequisites for obtaining degrees or certificates in different careers. Too many students at present are dropping out of college-level programs due to inadequate educational preparation" End of Quote.

India also has similar issues, but the question of returns may far outweigh the interest/passion/skill of the student/learner.

When the IT sector opened up a few decades ago, there was a rush towards engineering degree courses.

When the IT sector started stabilizing, there is again a rush into the arts and science streams.

In a similar fashion, there is a Pre-NEET era and a Post-NEET era in Medicine.

Hence, at every point of time, we do have a skew/bias towards or against a few courses, which may or may not reflect the actual requirement of the Nation.

4. Quote "The launch of Sputnik, in 1957, triggered the Space Race between the United States and the Soviet Union and heightened the threat of nuclear warfare. Fearing the United States was losing ground in science and engineering, Congress passed the National Defense Education Act of 1958 that provided federal assistance for strengthening science, math, and foreign language programs at all levels and instituted a loan program for college and university students. This stimulated local and regional K-12 and higher education programs to develop new initiatives and tighten standards. Parents were encouraged to assist through daily support of educational activities at home and in school. This crisis spurred the growth of the American aeronautic and defense industries with a consequent surge of jobs and careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics areas." End of Quote.

We do not have the comfort of such large ambitious programs, for we pursued our own programs only, and never in competition with any other Nation.

Even if there was an ambitious program, there was many a time, a divided opinion. We had some portion of the society rooting for the program, and another portion of the society criticizing the program.

Let us take the example of the Clean India Campaign or Swachh Bharat Mission launched by the Prime Minister of India on Oct. 2, 2014 https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/pm-modi-launches-clean-india-campaign-733205

https://www.news18.com/news/india/nobel-laureate-abhijit-banerjee-on-economic-slowdown-handling-criticism-and-taking-forward-indias-growth-story-2352847.html gives some insights but was there any attempt to contact the Govt. and share ideas to take things forward?

Instead of criticizing or having a divided opinion, if the entire nation stood together on the Clean India Campaign or Swachh Bharat Mission, and all of us contributed our expertise into it, we could have had a major portion of the Nation's habitable area clean and safe, and perhaps herd immunity might have gone up too (due to less infecting circumstances/situations/environments); and today India may have had the privilege of a better COVID-19 containment response and we may not have been pushed to the situation of using fire-engines to spray disinfectants (https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/scb-uses-fire-engines-to-spray-disinfectants/articleshow/75000491.cms ).

Further, the "Space Race" seemed to be a unifying factor as pointed out.

Do we have a unifying factor in INDIA?

Whenever every concept is given out or projected, it meets with both support and criticism, and in the noise of the arguments, the purpose of the concept may be unfortunately forgotten.

There were many concepts given out or projected (discussion of which is beyond the scope of this review), but specific attention is drawn to three situations as they are related to COVID-19.

a. The Prime Minister of INDIA Shri Narendra Modi requested all the Citizens to light candles or a lamp at a prefixed time for a prefixed duration as reported at https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/pm-narendra-modi-on-coronavirus-lockdown-1662747-2020-04-03

b. The Prime Minister of INDIA Shri Narendra Modi, suggested to the people to perform yoga during lockdown period to reduce stress as reported at https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/coronavirus-pm-narendra-modi-shares-video-of-yoga-asan-to-help-relieve-stress-during-lockdown-2203394

c. Twitter broadcast on April 19, 2020 by the PMO on behalf of The Prime Minister of INDIA Shri Narendra Modi at https://twitter.com/PMOIndia/status/1251839308085915649

There was support from some quarters, but let us examine dissent, coz dissent needs to be given more weightage than agreement.

https://www.newsbytesapp.com/timeline/India/59503/277877/switch-off-lights-for-9-minutes-tonight-modi-s-appeal dissented/criticized situation "a".

https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/04/10/modis-india-isnt-prepared-for-the-coronavirus/ dissented/criticized situation "b".

Now, if situation "a" and "b" was dissented/criticized, then situation c should have been appreciated.

Unfortunately, situation "c" didnt seem to raise any broad-based unification or overwhelming support, but that also was dissented/criticized and it is evident in the replies to the tweet itself at https://twitter.com/PMOIndia/status/1251839308085915649

Now we find that situation "c" is dissented/criticized too.

From an unbiased perspective, all three situations are an effort to handle the COVID-19 outbreak (Ref: Post Publication Independent Review of "The self and its world: a neuro-ecological and temporo-spatial account of existential fear" https://www.ijbst.org/covid-19-post-publication-reviews/part-24)

Situation "a" & "b" may go together, if viewed from one perspective and situation "c" may go different if viewed from the same perspective.

Consequently, if "a" & "b" are dissented/criticized, then "c" has to be appreciated, and vice versa.

But we find that there is dissent/criticism for "a" & "b" & "c", which is an unlikely event but is a true event.

This indicates that there may be a difficulty in finding a unifying factor in India (without dissent/criticism), unlike the Sputnik in the USA.

Either we can painstakingly find a unifying factor or we can go ahead with understanding of the challenges that may be expected.

5. Quote "The 1958 act resulted in some islands of excellence in math and science education and boosted college and university attendance, but it had a little lasting impact on overall educational attainment. Through the passing decades, the lack of esteem for education in American popular culture has eroded funding for schooling at the state and local levels. Due to a lack of communication and support from other community sectors, education programs often are not producing graduates with the knowledge and skills local employers need." End of Quote.

India is not a stranger to the "non-employable graduate phenomenon". We also have the "non-employable graduate phenomena" prevalent. https://www.livemint.com/news/india/employability-of-indian-graduates-jumps-to-47-in-2019-from-33-in-2014-survey-11575983561692.html

6. Quote "The COVID-19 pandemic is forcing everyone to adopt new perspectives and set new priorities. What can we do to put the United States on course for a stronger tomorrow?" End of Quote.

Quote "Like Sputnik, the COVID-19 crisis should provide the wake-up call that alerts the American general public to the urgency of reinventing the education-to-employment system to produce workers with the needed skills and credentials for the demanding medical, technological, and scientific careers of the 21st century." End of Quote.

The same situation stands before us in INDIA.

What are we going to do?

Are we going to stand together, play the part that is required by each of one of us fairly (as members/citizens of the world's largest democracy) or are we going to stand divided and dissent/criticize everything, without letting things take an evolutionary/adaptive path ahead, evolving/adapting in time & necessity to fulfill its goals, with contribution from all?

Are we going to support and help frame new and better policies for the good of the Nation and subscribe in soul & spirit, or are we going to employ ingenious strategies to bypass or circumvent the system, making a mockery of the entire system, that we were supposed to adhere to, and to that which we assured adherence earlier?

Consequently, we are also pushed to the situation of "reinventing the education-to-employment system to produce workers with the needed skills and credentials for the demanding medical, technological, and scientific careers."

Now, the return of the skilled and unskilled from many parts of the World to India in the time of COVID-19, may be anticipated as a threat, but in fact, it could be a blessing. We are going to have a greater share of skilled and unskilled professionals. Those who supported the growth of so many Nations are going to be back in India, and if utilized properly, India can have a multifaceted growth in multiple areas.

It is time for all of us, to work together, identify priorities, identify hitherto unexplored areas, and create a better India, translating the "Job Pandemic 2020" into a synchronized unified activity that will propel the Nation forward in all areas of vested interest, including but not limited to Agriculture, Academia, Industry & Research.

The "Brain Drain" of the yesteryears is now going to be a "Brain Gain" of the present & the future.

"atithi devo bhava" -- Let us welcome all those who return to INDIA and let us work together for the common good, though we may not have the benefit of a unifying factor like the Sputnik or the Space Race.

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