Professional networking firm LinkedIn said it will partner with vocational training company IL&FS Skills Development Corporation to bring blue-collar workers onto its platform as part of the government’s Skill India programme, LinkedIn co-founder Allen Blue said on Monday.
The partnership will help upskill and improve employability of blue-collar workers and job-seekers in the country.
“LinkedIn traditionally has focused on white-collar jobs…This is an opportunity for us to understand and work with those companies who are interested in hiring all throughout the skills sector,” said Blue.
Under the programme, IL&FS Skills will design and provide skilling modules and training environment, while LinkedIn will help the students find a job.
Through an interface powered by LinkedIn, students will be able to create a profile, access learning content, build their network by connecting with classmates, seniors and instructors and get a job.
An initial batch of 400 people will be trained in the hospitality sector. The programme will be extended to other industries later.
“India has a massive blue-collar workforce, one that can be a game-changer for businesses and our economy. We hope that this partnership will help narrow the gap between the demand and supply of talent,” said Akshay Kothari, Country Manager and Head of Product at LinkedIn India.
Ministry of Skill Development And Entrepreneurship Secretary K P Krishnan said skilled wage premium has been absent in India, primarily a result of information asymmetry.
“I have no way of signalling I am a qualified skilled person to a potential employer. Technology hugely helps in addressing this asymmetry,” Krishnan said.
The training material will have a Hindi voice over, but is not available in other languages as of now. LinkedIn has a user base of 42 million in India, its second largest market after the US. While LinkedIn has usually been known to cater to white collar or professional jobs, this is among its first few attempts to foray into blue collar or manual work.
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