Blue-collar jobs on recovery path led by delivery segment: Placement firm

After witnessing an overall dip in blue collar jobs due to the coronavirus induced lockdown, there has been a sharp recovery led by delivery segment, including food and grocery, according to start-up placement firm Vahan.

The demand for blue-collar workers is back to 100 per cent of pre-COVID-19 levels in the food and grocery delivery segment in the post lockdown phase and the delivery sector is now creating 2.5 lakh-3 lakh delivery jobs every single month buoyed by IPL and the festive season, the company said.

Citing data captured by Vahan's app, the company said the hiring from delivery segment is followed by that from manufacturing, ancillary and BPO sectors.

Commenting on the development, Vahan Co-founder and CEO Madhav Krishna said, "Demand for blue-collar jobs, which saw an overall dip during the covid lockdown, has witnessed sharp recovery led by the delivery segment which include food as well as grocery delivery."

This trend points to growing consumer optimism in India about economic recovery amid the pandemic, he added.

"Blue-collar industry is an underserved market in India. At Vahan, we are leveraging the power of technology to create India's employment exchange 2.0 that seamlessly connects employers and job seekers effectively, with speed and at an unprecedented scale," he said.

Vahan, which uses WhatsApp-based virtual assistant to automate hiring of blue-collar workforce, said it saw a rapid surge in uptake of its technology solution by both job seekers and job providers looking to get connected.

The company said currently, it has over 4 million users from over 1,200 cities and has already placed 70,000 people across India.

It is targeting to place 25,000 people a month by the end of next year and thus become a major player in the segment. It is currently working with clients across sectors, including retail, hospitality, healthcare, logistics and warehousing among others. Some of its clients include Shadowfax, Amazon, Zomato and Swiggy.