Draft National Human Resource Plan for Disaster Management

[Anil Kumar Gupta]

Dear Colleagues,

Sharing herewith the draft national human resource and capacity development plan for your comments/suggestions particularly on higher education and university education aspect of the HR plan. Since disaster management is now a well recognised specialization of environmental studies and management, in particular along EIA and natural resource management, or environmental law and policies, Central Universities have already envisaged a Centre for Disaster Management under their School for Environmental Studies.

However, a systematic approach and support system is to be worked out with support of UGC, AICTE and research programmes.

Regards

Anil K Gupta

([e-mail])

[Ninad Bodhankar]

Thanks for sharing the comprehensive analysis. The hard-work is admirable. No doubt, UGC is promoting courses in DM, but the pertinent question that students often ask is, "Where are the jobs?". 

[Anil Kumar Gupta]

DM and DRR are now part of any business, in government departments, and in agriculture, and in any sector, and people with advance knowledge on this aspect are required. Yes, I agree with you that 'disaster manager' kind of job will certainly not be available in huge numbers, and therefore, UGC committee has proposed DM as a specialization and super-specialization and not as separate from environmental studies.

DM is actually a new flavor of environmental management with more emphasis on reducing the vulnerability, knowing hazards in advance, protecting and preventing the occurrence of a damaging event, and reducing impacts, and organized emergency management, along with maintaining the preferred ways of integrating it with development, environmental action and sense of sustainability.

Jobs are certainly opening there, more and more, in each and every sector asking for knowledge and skills on disaster risk management related specializations and expertise. Just look at the job sites, magazines and vacancies openings even on the internet. If one looks only for a kind of government job - then the jobs otherwise also shrinking as the working word is going towards contact service, privatization and diversification and we need to prepare for that as well.

[GOPI KANTA GHOSH]

Thanks for sharing...there is further need for grass root empowerment

[Anil Kumar Gupta]

thanks for suggestions.