The rise of the gig economy in India has increased employment opportunities for blue- collar workers, as it facilitates in the discovery of jobs through gig work platforms.
The Digital Ecosystem for Skilling and Livelihood (DESH) Stack e-portal, announced in the Union Budget 2021-22, would provide a unified portal for such platforms to help match blue-collar gig workers with the right job opportunities. The DESH-Stack e-portal has the capabilities to facilitate skilling and employment for blue-collar gig workers through digital credentialling, job discovery and up-skilling opportunities.
Digital credentialling would equip gig workers with proof of skill and proof of work done across gig work platforms, helping them to enhance their bargaining power in the labour market. Integration of gig work platforms, placement agencies and job seekers through DESH-Stack would help improve job discovery for gig workers.
The DESH-Stack eportal would also act as a centralised portal for information on short-term courses offered by government and private training institutes, enabling upskilling through micro-credentials. The portal could be helpful not only for gig workers but also for job providers, aggregators and placement agencies, as demonstrated through use cases in this perspective and by extension the gig economy too. Philanthropic organisations also have a pivotal role to play as enablers in the ecosystem, by encouraging digital credentialling, and financing up-skilling initiatives.
Authors: Abhishek Modi and Pramiti Lonkar
