It is easy for job-seekers, hoping to land a white-collar job, to just login to a job portal on the Internet and connect with potential employers. Soon, housekeepers, carpenters, drivers and others in the unorganised sector too will be able to do this.
The website, >www.skillsconnect.in , aims to provide a neutral platform for blue collar job-seekers, employers and vocational training providers, making employment process in the unorganised sector just a click away.
The site is currently in the data acquisition stage.
The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), along with CHF International India and LabourNet, launched the portal here on Monday.
Speaking about the necessity of such a platform, N. Manjunath Prasad, Commissioner, Directorate of Employment and Training said, “There is a need for the Government and industry to work together. We hope to integrate our employment exchanges too in the future along with skill development initiatives that are underway.”
Demand study
Mr. Prasad also pointed out that a study was needed to assess the demand for skilled labour. “On the demand front, we are still groping in the dark as there has not been a concrete study in this regard. At present, we know of the top 10 sectors where youth can be employed and have started training candidates.”
Skill development
He also informed the gathering that he had had talks with the Chief Secretary about opening 1,000 skill development centres across the State.
S. Chandrashekar, CII chairman, Karnataka, said “the problem of acute and growing shortage of skilled people has assumed serious proportions in Karnataka where there is a dearth of skilled personnel in virtually every sector — construction, manufacturing and services.”
“First, there is a need to connect schools and colleges to vocational institutes and then connect the youth to jobs. There needs to be a lot of integration of sources for this,” he said.
In Kannada soon
Among the immediate plans that the stakeholders have for the newly launched portal are to introduce it in Kannada to cater to its target group better — candidates with qualifications below higher education — and to reach out to non-governmental organisations to bring more school dropouts into the loop.
