UP MSMEs flag loopholes in skill mapping database of migrants

Lucknow: Micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in Uttar Pradesh have flagged a number of loopholes in the skill mapping database of migrants received from the government, complaining of “improper” data collection characterised by mismatch of skills and workers, and incorrect contact information, which they said posed a challenge for matching labour needs of firms with workers willing to be employed. They also said that a lot of migrants who had were called were not interested in working in industries.
A centralised list has been given to the MSMEs that will address their issues, principal secretary of MSME department, Navneet Sehgal, told ET.

The Indian Industries Association (IIA), which had signed a memorandum of understanding with the government for providing 300,000 jobs to migrants in a year, had written to the MSME department of the state drawing attention to many operational issues. ET has seen a copy of the letter.

Officers, on their part, said the data provided to them by the District Industries Centre (DIC) was not proper. They said skills were not mapped correctly and there was a mismatch of skills, with a construction worker, for example, being listed as an electrician. Secondly, since the officers of each district were given a list of migrants only available in that district, it posed the problem of that set of migrants not having the skill required by units in that district.

A centralised list will help the units get in touch with labourers from across the state which match the skill required, an IIA spokesperson told ET, adding that the department has also promised that the cost of transportation of migrants from one district to another will be borne by the state.

UP received more than three million migrant workers from across the country and had accordingly started an elaborate skill mapping exercise to help them find work in their native state. The MSMEs that are part of IIA said in many cases the contact numbers listed were wrong or belonged to other people like the village pradhan. Hundreds of workers who could be contacted have not shown an interest in working, they said.

He said around about 4000 workers have also been employed by the MSMEs and the organisation is looking at employing about 50,000 such workers in the next one month.

The association has offered to the government the use of an online portal developed by it, which can serve as a platform to bring together interested workers as well as industries. It has also suggested widespread publicity of the entire exercise through print and electronic media so that suitable job seekers can get in touch with job providers.