Real Estate and Job Creation: Going beyond the relativist perspective

“The Ideal is rather sacred, if not unattainable.” – Anonymous

If there is any grain of truth left in the assertion quoted above, then that would most likely fit with the current narrative related to real estate being a proactive axis of employment generation. It’s because, in this regard, while everyone wishes to sing peans, the reality is quite different. And improvement will only come when everyone sobers their perceptions and expectations by taking full cognizance of what’s actually happening on the ground.

In this context, it is critical to remember that in an ecosystem where decentralisation, digitization, and machine-human fusion are increasingly becoming the norm for substituting human-induced efforts in several roles and functions, the stress on the overall quality and complexity of the skills deployed is becoming increasingly acute. Applying the same to the arena of jobs in real estate, one can see that the fancy statistics thrown in everywhere seem to start losing much of their lustre and shine.

Providing employment to 100 million looks quite impressive on paper, and as Machiavellian conversation starters, but once you realise that 86% of those roles are filled in by the unskilled, you see that employment here is nothing more than a pompous euphemism for underhanded exploitation. It neither creates dignity for the subjects in consideration nor does it add any real productive value to the sector or ecosystem as a whole.

So, what is the solution to all of this, as creating roles that actually have an impact is imperative for a nation like ours, saddled as we are with the largest youth demographic on earth? Well, the way forward is neither simple nor straightforward, but it is certainly doable. What we need to do is embrace a four-pronged approach that looks at the entire solution holistically and traces out a pathway that creates a convergence of positive effects across multiple layers and practices. The four key pillars on which such a blueprint will be anchored include:

From titles to roles: fluidity with regard to functionality:

The premise here is very simple: roles and functions need to become decentralised and de-hierarchized, with significant importance given to both vertical and horizontal mobility with an emphasis on continuous and consistent skilling. One doesn’t need to accomplish long and expensive educational degrees to place oneself in roles requiring a high level of mental and cognitive functioning. A supervisor, or mason, should also be given the opportunity to become a civil engineer or architect through proactive learning and skill training on the job.

Learning that delivers: The effective embrace of digitization:

The aim here is to create a truly skilled, digital, and AI-ready workforce that can create value for itself and the space as a whole. A skill-oriented, dynamic, and streamlined learning methodology can actually deliver the goods here, creating opportunities for growth that are truly open, accessible, and transformative. A digital-first perspective, on the whole, would be a perfect fit for meeting the needs enumerated above, ensuring that learning becomes truly on-the-go.

Incentivizing performance: the need to look beyond the ‘experience’ prism:

When it comes to the realty sector overall, the entire remuneration paradigm is still very archaic and restrained by classical perspectives. This leads to a situation where the impetus for improvement and skill development is relatively low. This needs to change for a narrative where employment actually creates a real disruption beyond just the mere numbers. I earnestly believe that ability, passion, and deliverables should determine the pay scales here, rather than just experience or position, to create a culture where going beyond the average is actually rewarded.

Decentralising the growth paradigm through localised employment generation:

Go to any project site in the major metropolitan cities, and you will discern that most of the rank-and-file is made up of migrant labourers from other areas, often very distant and far-flung. This needs to change through a more equitable tapestry of growth, where the major action shifts from Tier 1 and 2 cities to other regions across the board. A more distributed narrative of progress across both urban and semi-urban geographies would create a more balanced employment saga, as workers living and working in the same area would have greater bargaining power with regard to improved working conditions, viz-a-vis migrants.

All in all, to conclude, I would simply say that real estate indeed plays a very crucial role with regard to the overall employment landscape in India. But its effects are more felt quantitatively than qualitatively, and this needs to change because a job, just for the name of it, doesn’t add up much. It’s time for all the stakeholders to give some thought to the human side of things. It’s time for all the stakeholders to give some thought to the human side of things, which should include activities such as nutritious mid-day meals, crèches for the labourers’ children and habitable living and sanitary conditions.

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