The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : “Indians in Victoria unable to get good jobs”

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Friday, Dec 05, 2008
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Tamil Nadu - Chennai

“Indians in Victoria unable to get good jobs”

Special Correspondent

Many lack communication skills: envoy

CHENNAI: There are over 40,000 Indian students in Victoria who are unable to get good jobs due to lack of communication skills, said Anita Nayar, Consul General for India in Melbourne, here on Wednesday.

Addressing the members of Indo-Australian Chamber of Commerce (IACC) on ‘India and Victoria: growing relations and business opportunities,’ she said that most of the students took up low skilled jobs. The students also enrolled for unimportant degree courses, mainly to get into Australia.

“There is a lot of scope for cooperation in the field of education. Universities and vocational training institutes from Victoria are interested in forming joint ventures with their Indian counterparts. While India’s presence in Victoria is limited to software, Victoria is present in quite a few sectors in India such as construction, pharmaceuticals, food processing and Information Technology. There is also a huge demand for Indian cuisine in Melbourne and Victoria food joints,” she said.

According to her, India can make use of Victoria expertise in the field of R&D, infrastructure, food processing, construction, environment and clean technology. Indians can take part in the infrastructure projects through public-private-partnership route.

Ms. Nayar said the trade between two nations did not grow to the expected levels due to lack of information on both the sides, lack of professionalism on the part of Indian businessmen and delay in delivery of products.

“When it comes to investment, Australian businessmen are very cautious. They will not enter a country, unless someone else had already ventured into it. They also complain about lack of information. On the other hand, the procedures in Australia are cumbersome and complex. Indian businessmen have to do their home work and research before investing in Australia. The potential is immense and we have to work hard,” she said.

In his welcome address, IACC president K.M. Mammen said, “The trade between India and Victoria has been on an upsurge…In the present situation, where the West is facing a deep economic crisis, India and Australia have emerged rather stable with relatively robust financial and banking sectors. India is a picture of confidence in a depressing world today and Australians are observing us very closely indeed.”

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