Blue-Collar Job Portals: Experience is the Key Differentiator

The demand for Blue-collar workers, their demeanor, and the way they seek jobs have seen a complete turnaround over time. From the industrial revolution till the day, the sector has experienced gradual and continuous enhancements; whether it is in the technology used by job seekers & employers or the hiring criteria of a blue-collar worker. It is a regularly booming market segment. Presently there are 450 million blue-collar workers in India and constant advancements in artificial intelligence further shape their market horizons.

While looking for jobs earlier, blue-collar workers only had traditional sources like referrals, and some newspaper listings to rely on. Their expectations from jobs were also low. All this has changed with time. 

In the last 4-5 years, owing to the massive digitalization of all aspects of employment, the workers have become more self-reliant and confident. With the improvement in job-seeking methods, their expectations from jobs and employers have also risen. Blue-collar workers now, also focus on the extrinsic components of the job like security provisions, salary, rewards, and promotional opportunities. Given how important these workers are for the economy and the normal functioning of businesses, industries are working on methods to bring improvement in blue-collar employees' overall productivity and working standards.

There is no denial of the fact that daily tasks will be hindered if skilled workers aren’t available to the problem areas. Some profiles are more in demand as compared to others, given the change in the way people avail of some services. Aggregators like Zomato, Swiggy, and other similar businesses hire a huge blue-collar workforce.

But the growing demand for blue-collar employees is leading to disorganization in the economy. Some even face the consequences already. Therefore, segregation has taken place based on the types of industries through the help of systematic job portals. These job portals deliver maximum results in gaining a positive customer experience for blue-collar workers, but there is a certain degree of scope for improvement.

Platform Preference of blue-collar employees for job seeking

Millions of people, especially from blue-collar jobs, have struggled with a difficult financial phase during the pandemic. The white-collar employees got easier access to online platforms for looking up new jobs. But the blue-collar workforce went for the unreliable mode of job hunting, which gave them no satisfactory results. The role of smartphones has enhanced the overall experience of daily life problems such as looking for jobs. With the introduction of blue-collar job portals, the workforce got the ease of applying to potential employers without the fear of getting defrauded. Now that job seeking has become convenient, some people are opting for blue-collar jobs as part-time gigs as well.

Offline vs Online - Better way to search for jobs

Earlier, job seekers used to search for jobs offline, which is now gradually shifting to online methods. The rate of this shift increased during lockdown also since there was no choice but to become tech-savvy. The offline job-seeking mode in the blue-collar workforce connected through referrals, newspapers, consultancy firms, and walk-in interviews that always needed to pass through mediators. 

-        Earlier ways for availing of new jobs were through consultants or references. 

-          The main reason to switch to the online mode of job seeking is due to the heavy commission charged by the brokers, which even deteriorates the joining salary.

Pros of Online Mode Job Search

-          Online mode simply bridges the gap between candidates and employers by eliminating the process of middlemen. 

-          Online job portals erase all these issues by providing ample opportunities according to the needs, qualifications, and skill sets. 

-          Employees feel motivated by grabbing the jobs based on their skills and abilities rather than depending upon some reference. 

-          Pincode search has mutually benefitted both job seekers and employers. It enables them to connect with locals easily.

-          Here the job application can happen with a few clicks, any time from anywhere. They are not bound by geographical limitations.

Spreading awareness for the online job portal

Blue-collar workers comprise great numbers in the total percentage of the workforce in the country. However, the problem lies in the disorganization of this massive pool of blue-collar employees. Technological upgrades are working as a solution to this problem by providing complete end-to-end recruitment solutions for the complete blue-collar workforce chain. Through the help of online portals, blue-collar employees can enjoy –

-          Single platform for up-skilling and training 

-          While searching for the desired jobs as per the level of interests

The current scenario reveals upward growth of blue-collar space in the upcoming months and years. One recent report states the rise of blue-collar jobs will turn up to 90 million by the year 2028.

Challenges faced by Job Seekers

The major hurdle while searching for an authentic job is the lack of trust due to several fraud cases faced by job seekers-

-          Charging of heavy commissions for promising the confirmed jobs in the name of form-filling fees. 

-          In maximum cases, these ill-informed workers got duped by the job brokers in the name of guaranteed jobs. These fraudulent brokers demand huge sums of money in the name of fees and false traps, but they don’t offer any jobs or deliver other jobs than what is promised. 

As per the factual data, 90% of the blue-collar workforce belongs to the unorganized sector of the economy which makes it tough for skilled workers to find out the correct jobs. The introduction of online job portals also leads to a completely transparent method for searching for perfect job vacancies.

Expectations from the job portal

Searching for jobs online isn't a new thing. The true differentiator is how easy and approachable these portals have become. Job seekers in the blue-collar segment have been facing a huge gap in connecting with employers directly as the traditional solutions included middlemen or consulting agencies that were ineffective, complicated, and expensive. Today, several online job portals are available for blue-collar employees, offering them an easy search of the work with a hassle-free user interface to eliminate this problem.

-          Include customized searching tools on location, skills, salary, and interests. 

-          Deliver an inbuilt resume feature and messenger that leads to authentic communication under a one-stop platform. 

-          Learning add-ons designed like social media infographics and short films that target skill improvements like training for the interviews, prep the best resume, etc. 

-          These short videos are an amazing tool for delivering ideas and information with a twist of fun and robust instructions. 

Job portals have impacted the blue-collar workforce by transforming the whole job process into easy hiring under multiple categories. 

-          Online job portals have assisted the workforce in gaining confidence to directly connect to employers based on their skill sets. 

-          More data-driven portals have educated and trained about the basic technical insights which were earlier unknown to the blue-collar employees, like preparation for interviews, etc.

-          Receives verified job information that is free from extra fees or any third-party involvement.

-          Accurate filters for picking up the right choice of language and the availability of updated jobs.

Online job portals have contributed to boosting the confidence and morale of job employees. It provides them with the correct knowledge and technical training without any payments.

Search Experience of the Job Seekers on Online Portals

It is evident that there is a positive rise in the usage of online portals for blue-collar job searching. Also, a visible increase in the number of people relying on blue-collar jobs as a source of income.

In addition to these, some surprising points came out through a study done by QDegrees about the search experience:

-          On any portal, profile-building experience matters a lot. Any site that has tedious forms and too many questions are likely to be skipped by the users.

-          Talking about information sharing during profile building, there is a huge contradiction between what job seekers are willing to share and what employers consider credible. For instance, a blue-collar worker is not comfortable sharing details like AADHAR number. On the other hand, employers will find a verified profile more trustworthy.

-          Rather than typing everything out, users are more inclined towards portals that offer incredible voice search features. That combined with local language support is a win-win. Not all the blue-collar workforce is that comfortable with English.

-          Once the profile is built and job preferences are set, portals that have strong AI algorithms can offer the best solutions. These portals are then preferred by the users.

-          Paid ads also play a significant role in bringing users to the job portals repetitively. Once they sign up, they see several ads from the same and other portals that act as clickbait.

Experience of the job seekers while browsing through online portals

The experience has turned out as a complete revolution for blue-collar workers. They are surprised with every single upgrade making them more confident. The purpose of blue-collar employees is to get to work without walking to different mediators. The online job portals have delivered long time trust for the blue-collar employees because now they can work smoothly without the fear of personal rivalry. For example, the job can be affected if the employee gets into a fight with the referral person or broker.  

-          Blue-collar employees can even choose jobs outside the local communities.

-          The ease of normal and smooth process in job application and selection.

-          A clear understanding of filling out the resume details and profile without facing any challenges.

-          As a skill-based employee, upskilling and development is the most critical factor, leading to market stability and growth prospects.

-          These online job portals provide market-driven content, updated learning courses, or explanatory videos to enhance the skills and knowledge of blue-collar employees.

-          The great advantage of the blue-collar job portal has led to gender neutrality. For example, there are women workers at the petrol pump station.

-          Many portals have the feature of English and regional languages with accurate regency in their reviews of job credibility.

Conclusion

The blue-collar employees never expected such an increased level of exposure to job-seeking methods. The market will continue to expand for blue-collar employees through the help of online job portals. There is still a great potential for enhancement in the online job portals for a blue-collar segment. 

Sources: QDegrees, News articles