Mumbai: After helping migrant workers reach home during the COVID-19 lockdown, actor Sonu Sood has now launched a platform, Pravasi Rojgar, to help at least two crore people get jobs over the next five years.
The platform will support migrant workers by connecting them with employers for entry-level blue-collar jobs.
Sood has tied up with Learnet Skills, a joint venture between Schoolnet India and National Skill Development Corporation for this initiative.
“Every time I sent someone home, they would say that they will come back if they get work. They would call me from their villages and say ‘sir kaam dila do’ (please help in getting a job). I realised that there was a gap in their skillsets and the jobs that were available. Most of them did not have access to information on jobs either,” Sood told Economic Times.
The actor reached out to his friends with professional qualifications to set up the platform. The initiative will have a website to connect job seekers and providers. Also, call centres will be set up to help migrant workers remotely.
Pravasi Rojgar aims to tap into Learnet Skills’ physical centres to reach out, train and counsel the migrant workers. The initiative will be partnering with local community-based organizations, NGOs, panchayats and government-supported entities in this regard.
“We have commitments for almost one lakh jobs in hand from companies like Amazon, Flipkart, Havells India, Motherson Sumi, among others. A total of 450 employers from different sectors are on board,” said RCM Reddy, managing director and chief executive officer of Schoolnet.
In the first 24 hours of its launch, the initiative has already received 50,000 requests from migrants.
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