How Bhutan is Overcoming Skills Gap and Retention Concerns?

Skills gap and retention concerns will mark Bhutan’s development profile despite extensive efforts made by His Majesty the King as well as the government. Innovative programmes as Gyalsung, De-Suung and Pelsung are attempts to overcome these challenges which will show outcome in the medium to long term.

Information revealed that Bhutan continues to face a shortage of healthcare professionals. Although recruitment has increased in recent years, gaps remain. The Health Ministry is now developing a National Health Workforce Strategy to understand these gaps and plan for the workforce Bhutan needs.

Retention is another challenge as according to the Health Ministry, Bhutan loses around 200 health professionals every year due to retirement and resignation, among other reasons. Bhutan should have nearly 3,000 general doctors, specialists and nurses. Today, there are only 2,300, leaving a shortage of about 700. Meanwhile, there are more health assistants than required.

The civil service also faces frequent voluntary retirements. More than 2,500 civil servants left the civil service in the last financial year. The Royal Civil Service Commission, RCSC says the increase was mainly due to contract completions and retirements. But the voluntary resignations declined. Some 2,563 civil servants left the civil service in the last fiscal year. That is 186 more than the previous 2024-2025 year. But the RCSC says the rise does not indicate a decline in employee retention

To ameliorate concerns over skills gaps, three key programmes have been launched - Gyalsung (National Service) is envisioned as a one-year integrated training program mandatory for all youths attaining the age of 18. The training includes three months of basic military training followed by National Education, Life Skills and specialized training in various fields ranging from home construction technologies, computing and entrepreneurship to focused development of skills in agriculture.

De-suung (Guardians of Peace) trains volunteers extensively in disaster management, rescue operations, community service, and civic responsibility, often deploying during national crises, pandemics, and infrastructure projects.

Pelsung (Guardians of Prosperity) is a national youth capability platform to prepare young Bhutanese citizens to lead national transformation, bridge execution gaps, and drive projects like the Gelephu Mindfulness City (GMC) and the 10X Bhutan ambition which aims to increase the national GDP tenfold by 2050.

Overall Impact - Self Reliance

Together, these initiatives create a more skilled and resilient workforce, reducing dependence on foreign expertise and improving Bhutan's capacity to implement development projects domestically. They may also help slow emigration by creating stronger national identity and better employment prospects.

India Bhutan Relations

For India-Bhutan relations, the impact is likely to be positive. A more skilled and economically resilient Bhutan would become a stronger development partner for India, facilitating cooperation in hydropower, digital connectivity, education, healthcare and border infrastructure. Enhanced Bhutanese self-reliance is unlikely to reduce strategic ties with India; rather, it could make the relationship more balanced and sustainable. India may also benefit from joint skill-development programmes and greater availability of trained Bhutanese manpower for cross-border economic initiatives. Over time, these programmes could strengthen Bhutan's internal stability, which aligns with India's security and regional connectivity interests in the Himalayas.