The term ‘blue-collar’ refers to people who are involved in hard manual labor, typically in agriculture, manufacturing, construction, mining, and maintenance.
Some blue-collar workers may be required to perform physically demanding tasks. Mostly, blue-collar workers do not possess any kind of degree or diploma.
They may work outside, with heavy machinery, or with animals. Workers can be either skilled or unskilled. Skill acquisition can occur on the job or, more commonly, at a trade school.
Any industry is built on the backs of blue-collar workers. If not for the blue-collar workforce, companies would suffer significant losses. Therefore, even successful companies never wish to overlook their blue-collar workforce.
State of Blue-Collar Workers in India
Since India is a densely populated country, there has been a gradual decrease in the employment rate over the years.
By examining key factors such as population, literacy rate, and employment rate, it is easy to conclude that the blue-collar job category is critical for our country’s improvement.
In the given scenario, blue-collar jobs can be game changers for the unskilled or uneducated population.
Even before the devastating pandemic shook the world, technological advancements had begun to alter the shape of the job market for blue, grey, and white-collar professionals.
The lockdown-induced uncertainty caused by the spread of the COVID-19 virus had a significant impact on blue-collar workers.
Demand for this workforce is increasing in telecom, logistics, and e-commerce, as well as traditional industries such as infrastructure, manufacturing, and construction.
The blue-collar crisis in India
Various factors, such as a lack of literacy and skills, the unorganized nature of the workforce, and the resulting gaps in the processes developed to effectively address their issues, have only added to the growing problems that Indian blue-collar workers face. Collectively, these factors are pushing workers toward a crisis. Here’s a rundown of some of the most important ones.
1. Fraudulent Activities
Due to increased automation, low job availability, and acute financial needs, blue-collar workers are especially vulnerable to fake jobs created by fraudulent recruiting agencies. They unwittingly become involved in debt traps and, in extreme cases, data theft.
2. Heavy impact of automation
To make matters worse for blue-collar workers, advances in AI, machine learning, robotics, and 3D printing pose new challenges to their performance and employability.
There are few opportunities for blue-collar workers to be trained and upskilled in these fields. When compared to their white-collar counterparts, this makes it more difficult for them to stay current and retain their jobs as technology advances.
3. Job Security
There has been a proliferation of online job platforms, forums, and other reliable and simple methods to scout and gain employment in recent years. Nonetheless, blue-collar workers continue to rely heavily on time-honored methods of finding work, such as informal referrals and middlemen.
Thus, blue-collar workers live in constant fear of losing their jobs, as well as the uncertainty of regaining them, and current processes and systems only add to their woes.
Is Upskilling Really Important?
Workers fled cities in large numbers during the early pandemic period in 2020, causing many businesses to shut down. These workers are no longer regarded as a replaceable labor force, but rather as a long-term investment.
The demand for blue-collar workers is ever-growing, as a result, it is critical to fill skill gaps and provide timely training to keep them productive. AI, machine learning, and data analytics knowledge will be required for these positions.
As the world advances into the age of automation, blue-collar workers are concerned about their job security. Upskilling ensures that workers are skilled according to the evolving environment. New jobs play a vital role in AI, machine repair, customer service, and many more.
Meraqui conducts hashtag#apprenticeship program under hashtag#NEEM and NAPS scheme. Through our training programs, our mission is to fill the skill gap while also developing high-caliber staff.
Conclusion
The e-commerce sector has provided opportunities for employment during the pandemic. The growing demand for logistics workers has created local employment opportunities for blue-collar workers, with the added benefit of reasonable pay with lower living costs and achieving financial security.
We at Meraqui understand the significant disparity in the availability of HR solutions for blue-collar and are actively working to close the gap between blue-collar and white-collar employees. Our approach is specifically designed to address the problems and issues that blue-collar workers face on the job and help them improve their productivity.
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