Kerala Plans Global Job Watch Tower to Track Emerging Employment Trends

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:
Kerala is planning a Global Job Watch Tower to track emerging employment trends, identify future skills requirements and help align the state’s higher education and skilling ecosystem with the rapidly changing labour market.

The proposal was discussed at a three-day Round Table Conference, which began here on September 16, as part of the government’s deliberations on flagship developmental and transformational projects under the ‘Reimagining Keralam initiative.’

Higher Education Minister Roji M John chaired the session, which was facilitated by Dr B. Ashok, and moderated by Johnny Edward.

The proposed Job Watch Tower is envisaged as an intelligence layer over existing labour-market databases, particularly the Digital Workforce Management System (DWMS) operated by the Kerala Development and Innovation Strategic Council (K-DISC) under the Kerala Knowledge Economy Mission.

The platform is expected to track changes in occupational demand, qualification and skill profiles, employment-driven migration and shifts in domestic and global job markets. The intelligence generated would be used to guide universities, skilling agencies, employers, job seekers and career counsellors.

The meeting brought together senior officials from the Higher Education and Information Technology Departments, representatives of Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM), Kerala Development and Innovation Strategic Council (K-DISC), NORKA, Additional Skill Acquisition Programme (ASAP Kerala) and Kerala State Planning Board, besides representatives from IBM, TinkerHub, industry, academia, skilling agencies and the startup ecosystem.

In his introductory remarks, KSUM CEO Anoop Ambika outlined four categories of jobs that the proposed system should track — jobs that exist and are known; jobs that exist but are unknown; jobs that are known but do not yet exist; and jobs that are neither known nor existing.

Participants stressed that the system should look beyond conventional job-market data and identify occupations and opportunities that remain unfamiliar to students and educators. Machine-learning careers open to mathematics graduates were cited as one example. They also noted that many existing occupations could undergo significant changes over the next five years.

The growth of data centres and global capability centres (GCCs) was cited as an emerging source of demand for traditional technical trades, including fitters and electricians, which could offer well-paid opportunities. The need to identify employment opportunities for women, persons with disabilities and other groups was also highlighted.

PM Riyas, Executive Director, K-DISC, said the DWMS currently has more than 20 lakh registered job seekers, 7,000 employers and 54 lakh jobs aggregated through LinkedIn and Foundit. Around 800 programmes offered by 27 skilling agencies have also been mapped on the platform. At present, about 4,000 registered users are active job seekers.

It was suggested that the DWMS could be used as the base layer for the Global Job Watch Tower while adding advanced analytical capabilities to identify where the labour market is heading. Integration with EPFO and ESIC data was suggested to provide a more accurate picture of actual employment growth.

It was also pointed out that Kerala’s higher education system produces graduates who are more employable than graduates from other states; however, the state also records the highest educated unemployment.

The discussions also focused on global mobility and international skill-development programme. The participants highlighted the need to systematically utilise feedback from international employers, particularly on language proficiency, cultural orientation and workplace readiness, to improve the employability of candidates from Kerala.

The Kerala-Germany nursing programme was cited as an example of a structured global mobility pathway. Nurses are trained in Kerala in geriatric care, German language and cultural orientation before being directly employed in Germany, with certification recognised by both governments.

Participants also flagged the need for better post-placement tracking and greater use of the global Malayali diaspora as a source of labour-market intelligence.