Kerala now has a Pravasi Employment Exchange, which will help expatriates find suitable jobs. The online job portal will identify talented professionals with skills and experience from amongst non-resident Keralities who were forced to return home after losing their jobs during the pandemic.
This virtual exchange will be of use to the Keralites working outside India, those working in states other than Kerala within India, and those Keralites who lost their jobs during the pandemic and had to return to Kerala. The portal will arrange for the registered applicants to participate in job fairs.
Labour Minister V Sivankutty launched the portal on 24 May 2023 after the idea was mooted in 2020.
A detailed report was also presented to the State government by the employment director explaining why such an employment portal was required to help NRKs and how it would help NRKs in self-employment, even while offering career advice.
Non-Resident Keralites (NORKA) Department has revealed that over 15 lakh Keralites were forced to return home after losing their jobs abroad post the lockdown. About 71 per cent of those who returned, that is, about 11.13 lakh people had come home after being terminated from their jobs.
The maximum number of Keralites, that is, about 9.2 lakh, returned from the UAE. About 1.78 lakh came home after losing their jobs in Saudi Arabia, while over 45,000 returned from Bahrain and 53000+ from Kuwait. About 1 l.4 lakh and 1.5 lakh returned from Oman and Qatar, respectively and over 57,000 from other countries.
At the time, the Kerala government had also offered financial support of Rs 5,000 each to the returnees, with over 1.75 lakh Keralities applying for this monetary aid.
This new exchange will save NRKs the trouble of travelling to physical employment offices. .
The minimum age limit for registering on the exchange is 18.
