Fate of Employment Exchanges across India

Fate of Employment Exchanges across India
12th May 2018 From India, New Delhi

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A good write-up on the role of Employment Exchanges in India with reference to the contemporary unemployment problem. In India, though the State remains to be the single largest employer, admittedly, the State alone can not create its own employment generation but it can accelerate employment generation through its industrial policy by encouraging the formation and growth of SMEs across the entire width and breadth of the country. If we analyse the role of the State in employment generation, it was considerably more during the first two Five Year Plan periods because of the thrust given to the formation of the new State-owned Core industries and the nation wide expansion of agricultural irrigation projects. As these projects required large no of skilled and semi-skilled labor, the Employment Exchanges played an important role in recruitment. In fact, the services of the Department of Employment and Training originally came into existence way back in 1945 to rehabilitate the servicemen who were thrown out of employment due to post-war demobilization. Hence the formation of the Directorate General of Resettlement and Employment (DGRE) and Employment Exchanges were gradually opened in several parts of the country. By early 1948, the services of Employment Exchanges were thrown open to all categories of job aspirants and the DGRE was renamed as Directorate General of Employment and Training. Simultaneously, the Union Public Service Commission and State Public Service Commissions were formed and most of the jobs relating to the sovereign functions of the State and Central Governments were gradually brought under the purview of these recruitment agencies. Moreover, as mentioned in the article, the formation of Govt's own recruitment agencies for subordinate cadre services like the S.S.C, Banking Services Recruitment Board, Teachers Recruitment Board etc, reduced the role of Employment Exchanges along with the emergence of professional recruitment agencies in the Private Sector. If I were right, no Private Enterprise prefers the sponsorship of Employment Exchanges in their recruitment process for the obvious reason that the EEs restrict their role to registration of job seekers, periodical collection, compilation and preparation of Statements of Employment and Unemployment based on the returns filed under the Employment Exchanges ( Compulsory Notification of Vacancies ) Act,1959. I feel that both the Central and State Governments should consider revamping of the role of this Department in the wake of Globalisation that offers a vast scope of employment generation in the Private Sector. This department can be manned by professionals to give proper carrier guidance and effective coaching to the educated unemployed belonging to the still unfortunate rural areas.
15th May 2018 From India, Salem