The ineligible Bhutanese

June 11, 2012Posted inEmployment, Government45 Comments
What would you do if you found out that there's this job opening that would pay three times more but would be less demanding than your current job? You'd probably apply for it, right? How could you pass up an opportunity to earn three times your pay for actually doing less work? What would you expect if you found out that that job was in a government project, financed by government funds? You'd expect to get that job, right? And if you don't, you'd expect a more qualified and experienced fellow Bhutanese to get it. That's exactly what happened.…

Explaining our absence

August 27, 2011Posted inGovernment15 Comments
I got back yesterday. My tour to the eastern and central parts of our country was quick yet fruitful. So the first thing I did today was to visit Dechenphug Lhakhang, my favorite monastery. I went there to thank Ap Gengye, one of our foremost guardian deities, for granting us protection and safety during the tour. In Dechenphug, I met several groups of recent graduates. They had attended the recent National Graduate Orientation Program, and, as they prepared to enter the real world of work, most of them were still weighing their options. They could sit for the Royal…

Wanted: more guarantees

December 5, 2010Posted inGovernment
I am impressed with Lyonpo Dorji Wangdi’s confidence. When the labour minister called for a ban on drayangs, he guaranteed jobs for all the women who currently work in drayangs. And I’m quite sure that, if he had to, he could keep this promise. But here’s something he should think about: the women working in drayangs already have jobs. So they don’t need his bold assurances. Unemployed youth, on the other hand, would welcome his guarantees. After all, they are the ones who are desperate for work. So provide out-of-school youth with gainful employment. Then they themselves would choose…