A new element that has recently emerged due to loss of jobs in metros like Delhi and Mumbai, courtesy COVID-19, is that people are looking for jobs near their hometowns.jobsgaar.com, a web platform that connects the workforce with job opportunities at their native place or nearest district/town has recorded high visits from job seekers especially in these times.
According to Atul Pratap Singh, Founder, “Post March, we have recorded almost a 30 per cent hike in people who have signed up at our website from Tier II, Tier II cities. These figures deviate mostly towards graduates and 10th-12th pass. Post graduates still prefer metros to earn their living.”
The company in its Phase 1 strategy has focused on Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Assam localities. “We see a lot of migrant population from these three states, hence Phase 1 is dedicated to these states. As per India’s geography, after every 100-150km there is a town/district which can fetch more jobs. We made sure to include those,” says Singh.
The idea of creating such a website occurred to Singh as in his own town Sitapur, near Lucknow, where people move for better income but are not paid much.
“Whenever I would go to Sitapur from Ghaziabad in Delhi, now my new home, I would feel perplexed as many people from the town would go to Tirupur near Chennai to work in the textile industry, making only 8-10K per month. I felt if this is the amount of money they are getting, they can at least stay close to their family and look for a job nearby.”
Singh’s family is also in MSME and the idea further took shape when his family also didn’t find people to work with them.
"My brother used to tell me they are short of marketing or sales personnel and I found out that it is the right time to create more opportunities. So, the platform was established in 2017."
Although he wants to make a category for jobs for underrepresented communities in India such as LGBTQIA+, Dalits, and the differently-abled, according to him, “the opportunities are really low in Tier II, Tier III cities, as acceptance is yet to reach there.”
It appears that the COVID-19 crisis has highlighted the problem and impact of the migration to the bigger cities, now the local employers can leverage it in the near future.