Large-scale digitisation, automation, and new work models saw a four-fold rise in demand for blue collar and grey collar workers in 2022 across organisations, according to jobs platform Billion Careers, a subsidiary of Quess Corp. The number of job vacancies in the blue and grey collar industry increased by 301 percent to 10,542,820 in 2022 from 2,626,637 in 2021. Meanwhile the number of job seekers in the blue and grey collar industry also grew by 236 percent, showed data by Billion Careers.
"The job market trends of 2022, ranging from Great Resignation to the emergence of gigs, have shown that every segment will be more focused on hiring, including blue and grey collar workers. Organisations today also prefer hiring employees with tech-related skills, as digitisation has penetrated across India. Recruiters will optimise hiring processes through technology and address the demand-supply talent gap, focusing on employee engagement and retention." said Ajay Kumar Singh, Senior VP and Chief Business Officer of Billion Careers (a Quess subsidiary).
The report, which includes data from November 2022 versus November 2021, shows that companies are focusing on skill-based mass hiring to boost productivity. In the post-pandemic era, organisations across sectors sought digital and analytical skills.
Blue collar jobs were most in demand in metro cities like Delhi (11.57 percent) and Bengaluru (11.55 percent), while tier 1 cities like Mumbai (10.21 percent), Hyderabad (7.78 percent) and Pune (5.8 percent) also saw strong hiring trends.
Additionally, approximately 60 percent of blue collar and grey collar hires were freshers with 0-3 years experience. According to the findings, most organisations prefer to hire freshers who are technologically proficient and efficient.
The top job profiles that saw an increase in demand compared to 2021 included BPO/customer care (up 21 percent), field sales (up 7 percent), business development roles (up 19 percent), admin and human resources (up 31 percent), and security guard (up 110 percent). On the other hand, there was a slight decrease in demand for job roles in data entry and back office (down 18 percent), counter sales and retail (down 7 percent), and delivery and driving (down 25 percent).
The data also suggested that there is high demand for workers with technical and digital skills in the blue and grey collar sectors, such as expertise in machine learning, robotics, 3D printing, and artificial intelligence. In terms of salary, the highest-paying job profiles in the legal, IT, healthcare, telecom, and customer care industries offer an average salary of Rs 8,000-25,000 per month for fresh hires.
