15K repatriated Indian migrant workers sign up for skill mapping in a week

SWADES database helps migrants find employment; 59% had lost their jobs

Under pressure from a rising pandemic, job loss, and a hasty return, more than 15,000 repatriated Indian migrant workers and professionals have signed up for a government database that aims to help them find a job. 

In a week, the Skilled Workers Arrival Database for Employment Support (SWADES), being run by the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), have seen 15,634 returnee migrant workers and professionals opting to have their skill set mapped. 59 per cent among them have lost their jobs and are currently unemployed, official data reviewed by Business Standard showed.

The initiative aims to create a data vault for Indian returnees, which can be shared with states, industry associations and companies both at home and abroad, to help find a job for them. Citizens are expected to fill up a SWADES skill card online. Launched on June 3, the scheme has seen major response from returning migrants with policymakers estimating the number of registrations rising exponentially in second week.

According to Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, more than 80,000 people have returned to India as of June 13 and over 20,000 people have flown out on Vande Bharat flights since May 6. While regular figures are not available, the Ministry of External Affairs said on June 7 that of the total number of repatriated citizens, 17,485 are migrant workers, 11,511 students, and 8,633 professionals.

 

The government is prioritising those who are of a more advanced age, as compared to younger citizens, sources say. “Our assessment shows that of the people who reported to be currently unemployed, the majority need to find a job within a week,” said a person in the know.

The highest share of migrants who returned belong to the construction sector at more than 15 per cent. The rapidly worsening economic state of Indian laborers in the Gulf’s vast construction industry — many of whom have lost their jobs recently — led many to prepare for a hasty return. However, based on job roles, accountants, drivers, and electricians have opted the most for the initiative, followed by draughtsmen and welders.

The NSDC data shows that 47 per cent of registered returnees have a graduate degree while 36 per cent have studied up till the 13th standard. On the other hand, about 47 per cent have worked for more than 10 years abroad and 27 per cent have worked for 5-10 years, indicating established companies suddenly going under as economic uncertainties worsen.

To prune the list of millions who want to return home soon from across the world, the government has adopted strict criteria to distinguish those are the most ‘distressed’. 

Indians who have faced sudden loss of employment, end of contractual employment, expiry of visa or have been declared as illegals, have the best chances of making the list as of now. India’s embassies are in touch with the local diaspora and tentative lists are being prepared based on this method, sources confirmed.