CHENNAI: The US travel advisory and second wave of Covid pandemic have worried IT consultants who were hiring skilled manpower for the United States. PR Vignesh Raja of Chennai-based Fusion Global Solutions Pvt Limited says any travel advisory will impact hiring process.
“Although a full ban is not yet announced, people are in the wait and watch mode. Those in US fear they will be stranded and those leaving from Chennai are waiting for the condition to improve,” he says.
“The companies will wait for a week and then look for other resources,” says Vignesh, adding the second wave will impact his firm’s revenue by 15 to 20 per cent. Neethi Sharma, president and co-founder, Teamlease Edtech, says it is too early to comment on the impact on hiring. There is a huge demand for teachers as classes are going online, she says.
Aditya Narayan Mishra, CEO, CIEL HR Services, a staffing firm, says: “As of now, the focus is on how the country will implement vaccination for all those above 18 years. If the implementation is poor, there could be a lockdown and it will impact recruitment process.” Hoping that things could improve by July-August, he says that recruitment is still on in sectors other than travel, media, hospitality and entertainment.
A report by the International Labour Organisation states that the pandemic has exposed deep-rooted labour market fragilities and structural inequalities, with low-paid workers, young people, women, ethnic minorities, self-employed and informal and fixed-term workers among the hardest hit. It adds that policymakers must begin to think beyond policies for the recovery and start on the task of building a future of work that is safer, fairer, greener and more effective in cushioning the consequences of future crises.