Brics labour initiatives may aid cross-border hiring, remote work: Industry

Industry says Brics initiatives on skills forecasting, remote employment and worker mobility could improve skills alignment and expand access to international jobs

Industry has welcomed the Brics push for greater cooperation on skills forecasting, remote employment, and cross-border worker mobility, saying the initiatives could help strengthen skills alignment and expand access to international jobs. The New Delhi Declaration adopted at the Brics Summit on September 12 called for cooperation in forecasting skills needs by analysing labour market trends in digital, green, care, and other priority sectors. It also adopted the Brics Connect (cooperation network for capacity building, employability, and new skills and technologies). Sonal Arora, country manager for India at global human resources firm GI Group Holding, said Brics Connect could help address the shortage of comparable labour-market intelligence and forward-looking skills data across member econ-omies. But, its more immed-iate impact was likely on domestic workforce planning, skills mapping, and training pipelines rather than directly driving cross-border hiring. “Over time, better visibility and greater align­ment on skills could support cross-border hiring and worker mobility, but this will depend on factors beyond skills forecasting, including visa regimes, recognition of qualifications, wage diffe­rentials and social-security arrangements,” she added. Rajeev Juneja, president of the industry body PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PHDCCI), said Brics Connect can provide a  plat-form for anticipating emerg-ing skills needs, as techno-logy, artificial intelligence (AI) and the green transition reshape jobs, skills and employment opportunities. “Skills development must become more closely aligned with actual industry needs, with employers playing a stronger role in identifying emerging skills and occupati-onal needs”, he added. The declaration also noted an initiative to establish an international digital platform for remote employment for Brics countries. Arora said this could provide a new route for Indian technology talent to access international employment without relocating, particularly as tighter visa and immigration regimes in destinations such as the US made remote work more attractive. “For the platform to become more than a job-matching marketplace, the supporting ecosystem will be critical. This includes reliable verification and recognition of skills and qualifications, clarity around employment status and worker protections, social-security arrangements and portability of benefits, as well as clear rules for cross-border taxation, payments and employer compliance,” Arora added. Brics countries also committed to protect the rights of workers moving across borders, ensuring portability of benefits and avoiding double coverage of social-security contributions. PHDCCI said cooperation on recognition of qualifications and social-security portability may facilitate labour mobility by reducing transaction costs for businesses and workers. 

 

 “A balanced approach can strengthen worker security without creating excessive compliance burdens for enterprises. Industry bodies, MSMEs, employers, and skilling institutions should be directly involved in designing skills programmes, identifying emerging occupations, and developing practical pathways for reskilling and upskilling workers,” said Ranjeet Mehta, chief executive officer and secretary general at PHDCCI. He added that harmonised and transparent frameworks would reduce transaction costs for businesses and workers while enabling more efficient utilisation of skilled manpower. Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham) Secretary General Saurabh Sanyal said Brics Connect and the proposed remote employment platform could boost industry-skilling partnerships, expand employment opportunities, and support more technology-driven labour markets across Brics economies. On gig and platform work, the declaration recognised the need for innovative and nationally tailored approaches to increase social-protection coverage. Juneja said social protection needs to be expanded while retaining the flexibility that had enabled the platform economy to generate employment, without creating excessive compliance burdens for enterprises. The grouping also called for closer links between vocational education and training institutions and industry. It recognised the BRICS TVET cooperation alliance as a platform for information exchange and joint development of technical and vocational training. The declaration further backed mutual recognition of qualifications, academic and professional mobility, and the safe, ethical and human-centred use of emerging technologies, including AI. 

“The focus on joint skills forecasting is important because labour markets are changing faster than traditional skilling systems can keep up,” said Balasubramanian A, senior vice president at TeamLease Services. “Digital, green and care are three areas where demand for talent is likely to grow significantly, and having a better understanding of where those skills will be needed can help employers, governments and skilling institutions prepare ahead of the curve.” 

Balasubramanian said better skills forecasting could support greater cross-border hiring over time, but would not by itself drive worker mobility. “Recognition of qualifications, immigration rules, social security and other regulatory issues will also need to evolve,” he said. “I see this more as an important foundation for greater talent mobility rather than an immediate trigger for cross-border hiring.”

 

On the proposed digital platform for remote employment, Balasubramanian said it could expand the talent pool available to employers while giving workers access to opportunities beyond their domestic markets. 

 

However, he said the platform’s effectiveness would depend on the systems built around it. “Simply connecting employers and workers is not enough,” he said, adding that there would need to be clarity around “verification of skills and credentials, contracts, payments, taxation, data protection and social security.”

 

“If these issues can be addressed, the platform could become a meaningful enabler of cross-border remote work rather than just another employment portal,” he said.