Unskilled expats out and about

THE general discussion around ‘Pakistani’s leaving Pakistan’ tends to assume that highly skilled and highly educated individuals are quick to “get out fast” lest the high cost-of-living, political uncertainties, and social insecurity bring them down, which may well be true to some extent. However, arguably the largest segment of society that tries to make a break for it abroad is the unskilled labour force. The country faces a complex problem when it comes to the labour force. First there’s the ‘too many people, not enough high-value jobs to go around’, but then you also have ‘too many people, not enough high-paying skills to make a comfortable living’. Once upon a time countries like the UAE, Dubai, and Saudi Arabia used to be hubs for unskilled workers who would fly out and find any manner of jobs to earn foreign currency (still far more valuable than the rupee) and when all else failed, they’d beg.