KATHMANDU: Almost 76 percent of the youths heading for foreign unemployment are unskilled, reveals a study by the Ministry of Labor, Employment and Social Security.

Though the government aims at ending compulsive out migration for work in coming five years over 40,000 Nepali youths leave the country for foreign employment every month, according to the statistics maintained by the Department of Foreign Employment.

While around 5, 30,000 Nepali left for foreign employment in the past 25 years, only 2.5 percent of them were skilled, 21.5 percent of them were semi-skilled and 75 percent of them were unskilled.

“The country is suffering a great loss in its inability to develop skilled human resources and create job opportunities in the country,” said Mahesh Dahal the Department of Foreign Employment. Nepali youths have been migrating for work abroad, mostly as unskilled workers for the past three decades.

Devastating earthquake in 2015 caused damage in the agricultural and industrial sector. As such, many youths employed in these sectors are forced to go for abroad employment, according to a survey by the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies.

Even the returnees are found migrating by obtaining labor permit as unskilled workers. “Government’s inattention towards exporting skilled manpower is unfortunate. This has caused loss to the workers themselves and the nation,” said Madhubishal Pandit, an expert on foreign employment.

Number of workers going for foreign employment is on the rise since the fiscal year 2006/2007. Around 1,00,000 Nepali youths left for foreign employment in the seven months of the current fiscal year alone. However, this figure is low compared to the number of youths going abroad by obtaining labor permit last year.