India / Delhi govt launches job portal; 50,000 sign up for it

The Indian Express : Jul 28, 2020, 02:24 PM
New Delhi: Within hours of its launch on Monday, a Delhi government portal meant to connect job seekers and job providers recorded over 50,000 registrations for jobs, while 1,071 employers had posted as many as 18,585 vacancies, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s office said.

While launching the portal at noon, Kejriwal spoke about the extent of job losses during the lockdown, which he said had pushed many people to the brink of starvation despite government assistance in terms of arranging cooked meals at makeshift centres and ration for workers not holding PDS cards.

“Many migrants had left Delhi in recent months. Now, they have started returning in large numbers. Many traders and contractors are not getting hands to reopen shops, resume construction work, reopen factories. On the other hand, people who lost their jobs are not getting hired. To match them, we are launching the portal,” Kejriwal said.

Registration figures, released around 6 pm, was an indication of the magnitude of the unemployment crisis, senior government officials said. Most vacancies available were in the category of “back office/data entry” (17,527), said the official statement.

Vacancies are available under 32 categories on the website, jobs.delhi.gov.in, ranging from construction labourers to web designers. There are categories for cooks, drivers, network engineers, interior designers and several other professionals to apply.

“As per data from the Employment department, the Rozgar Bazaar site has attracted massive response in the first six hours. 51,403 job-seekers had registered, whereas 1,071 employers posted 18,585 vacancies. The portal provides for job seekers to connect with employers via phone or WhatsApp. In the first six hours, 26,722 connections had been initiated,” the statement said.

Employment Minister Gopal Rai appealed to people to assist those who may not be able to handle the online registration process, which requires signing up with a mobile phone number. Rai also appealed to industry bodies to get employers to register on the portal in large numbers. He said even government contractors are struggling to engage workers to resume construction work at various sites.

In 2017, the government had launched a portal, which it said would act as a common platform for employers and job seekers. That portal was disbanded last night.

Over the years, employment exchanges, similar to a job portal, under the Delhi government have lost relevance — between 2013 and 2016, the number of employers registered at the 12 exchanges dropped from 438 to 289.

Earlier this month, the Delhi government had set up a committee to accelerate economic recovery in the city.

The head of the committee Jasmine Shah, who is also heading the Dialogue and Development Commission, has been meeting business owners from different sectors to discuss ways to help businesses that have been hit by the pandemic.

Rozgar Bazaar: Logging in

How does one log in?

Type jobs.delhi.gov.in on any browser — phone or laptop. The home screen of the bilingual portal, in Hindi and English, has two self-explanatory options — I want a job and I want to hire.

How does a job seeker register?

On clicking ‘I want a job’, one has to enter their mobile number and then enter an OTP to log in. The next page has 32 categories of jobs to choose from — from accountant to construction to event management. The next step is to create a profile by entering details such as name, qualification, work experience.

How is one connected to employers?

An individual will be introduced to a range of jobs depending on their qualifications. Once a person applies for a job, they will be connected with employers over WhatsApp or voice call.

What prompted the government to launch such a portal?

According to the CM, the pandemic wrecked the economy with people losing jobs in large numbers, factories shutting down, resulting in widespread distress. “People need jobs, businesses, income. We need to focus on the economy now,” he said. He suggested that with migrants returning in large numbers, labour crunch should not act as an obstacle for traders looking to lift shutters. More than a demand-supply gap, the issue was about connecting job seekers with job givers. This portal is meant to bridge that divide.

What else is being done to revive Delhi’s economy?

The Delhi government has been vocal in pushing for resumption of Metro services. However, a decision on this can only be taken by the Union government. Among other steps, the government has allowed street vendors and hawkers to restart businesses. A slew of other measures are expected over the course of the week.

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