Moving away from the traditional modes of job-hunting, blue-collar candidates have been increasingly adopting digital modes for placements, even as the lockdown hampered supply of fresh hands.

The number of blue-collar job-seekers has risen by about 2.8 per cent to 72.57-lakh as of May from 70.62-lakh in January this year, with Uttar Pradesh (which maintained it top position since January) ranking first. The rise, though marginal, is despite the closure of many training centres for skilled labourers across the country.

Much like Uttar Pradesh, the top seven States also maintained their position in the pecking order as of January, with Maharashtra coming in second with 10.96 lakh applicants, followed by Delhi (5.93 lakh), Tamil Nadu at 5.83 lakh and Haryana with 5.66 lakh at fifth position, according to listings available on the Aatmanirbhar Skilled Employee Employer Mapping (ASEEM) portal.

ASEEM was launched in July 2020 by the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship to help skilled people find livelihood opportunities.

Digital adoption

The portal is maintained by Bengaluru-based Betterplace Safety Solutions in collaboration with National Skill Development Corporation.

"This growth is attributed to the referral job-seekers who have registered on the platform, with many also responding to various digital outreach programmes we had launched.

“The rise is attributed to the digital adoption among the blue-collared workforce when scouting for jobs, who are moving beyond the traditional methods of reaching out to friends, families and agents to find a job of their preference,” Manish Pansari, Chief Business Officer at Betterplace, told BusinessLine .

In May, apparels topped the charts with 8.5 lakh applicants, followed by electronics and hardware (6.43 lakh), while IT and ITeS came in third with 5.64 lakh candidatures, closely followed by retail 5.39 lakh. In January, apparels had topped the charts with 9.27 lakh, followed by electronics and hardware (6.63 lakh), and retail (5.95 lakh) and IT-ITeS (5.73 lakh).

“As for the Indian industries, some sectors like e-commerce and delivery will continue to be top job-creators, while other sectors will get either adversely impacted or remain stagnant. Since Indian companies have gone through a lockdown before, they are better prepared to handle the current situation,” Pansari added.

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