App to Address Opportunity Inequality in Chhattisgarh

It has been often pointed out that unemployability is a larger problem in India than unemployment. Niti Aayog in its report Strategy for New India @ 75, about 53% of youth coming out of India’s higher educational institutions are not employable. In order to address the problem of employability, the government of India launched the National Skill India Mission in 2015.

National Skill Mission brought many more people under the umbrella of skilled youth. But it only increased the dissatisfaction among them, because despite being skilled they are unable to secure appropriate employment. Much of this is less because of the lack of opportunities than because of the inability to grab them. There have been numerous stories where a trained professional is looking for a job but did not know of a vacancy, and employers looking to fill in a position but unable to find trained candidates.

To bridge this gap created because of opportunity inequality, Chhattisgarh State Skill Development Authority (CSSDA) is introducing a mobile phone app ‘Rojgaar Sangi’. The app developed with the help of National Informatics Centre is aimed at helping the skilled and trained candidates at finding an appropriate job. The app will benefit 7 lakh students trained under 705 courses offered by CSSDA.

How the app works

Job seekers can register themselves on the app. They can then list themselves under a specific skillset and a geographical area. Employers can search for specific services as and when they need them. When the service required and the geographical area matches, the app notifies the candidate. The candidate can then contact the employer and offer their services to them.

The app can also be used to register online for the unemployment index. The registered users under this will be notified by the government when any employment generation scheme is launched by the government.

Benefits of the app

The app is extremely useful to the government for keeping track of their unemployed youth and providing them with employment.

It acts as an evaluation measure to analyse the success of an employment generation scheme.

It improves the governance of the employment generation schemes and ensures that deserving candidates are employed in them.

It is also very useful for start-ups in the state that are looking to hire office staff but can’t afford to pay to the hiring agencies.