Employment Exchange: A change in perspective

Rebranding Employment exchange is currently viewed as an archaic institution associated with central planning when government was viewed as the primary job provider. Employment exchange will have to break out of this image and rebrand itself to appeal to the youth as a relevant and modern option. It should come to be viewed as user friendly, convenient and effective option for seeking employment opportunities.

Accessibility Common man should know how, when and where to approach. Employment Exchange should have offices or dedicated desks in college campuses or local self governance bodies where youth can submit the required documentation with ease. Employment Exchanges should reach out to people and get connected by becoming more convenient and accessible. To reduce the need for increased personnel, tasks which can be delegated to existing citizen service agencies (Bangalore One for example) should be handed over wherever possible. This will bring benefit to citizens by ease of access as well as reduce the burden on employment exchange offices.

Interaction & Responsiveness Employment Exchanges should use digital media to become more interactive and responsive. SMS and messages should be used wherever possible to notify applicants and also to interact with them. Employment exchange offices coming into contact with citizens should have structured, organised and polite way of dealing with them. Use of appointments and token system should be implemented. Employment Exchange should have a dedicated portal and monthly digital newsletter which should be up to date. Every registered applicant can be issued with a username and password to access the portal. Applicants should be able to use the portal interactively to view only data and notification relevant to them.

Tweak to be effective The renewed Employment Exchange should be made a part of all other associated employment and skill generation initiatives of the government. For example a workshop on imparting skills should include registration with Employment Exchange, which in turn can have dedicated schemes to fast track the deployment of skilled man power in selected industries, in line with government policies. Government should actively use and promote Employment Exchange portal for recruitment and disseminating information on job opportunities. Private sector should also be encouraged to use Employment Exchanges for recruitment. Employment Exchange should partner with private sector to identify the skill sets required by employers. It should aim to become the preferred agency in the country for providing a vast and ready pool of relevant talent for recruiting agencies. Since the services of Employment Exchange comes free or for a nominal fee citizens will switch instantly from paid services to Employment Exchange portal, provided its quality of service will match up to the standards set by private players.

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