● Pravasi Rojgar, an initiative of Sonu Sood and Schoolnet, has already onboarded 10 lakh job seekers and thousands of employers within 4 months
● GoodWorker to expand Pravasi Rojgar’s horizon by leveraging technology to deliver job matching, upskilling, financial and other services for 10 crore blue-collar workers
Bengaluru, 25 November 2020 – As India steers through the COVID-19 crisis towards self-reliance and growth, there is an urgent need to address the challenges faced by the blue-collar worker community in the areas of employment and empowerment. To bridge this gap, GoodWorker, a digital job matching platform, has come together with noted actor, Sonu Sood and Schoolnet, a leading education and vocational skills provider, to form a joint venture with an initial investment of Rs. 250 Cr (~US$ 34M).
The technology platform aims to reach 10 crore Indians by providing access to good jobs and career progression through upskilling services, followed by financial, healthcare and social security services. The initiative will also help employers in recruiting and retaining verified blue-collar workers, which will result in productivity gains, improved profitability and sustainable operations.
The platform uses decentralised technology built by Affinidi, also founded by Singapore investment company Temasek, and will provide workers and their families with digital identities and verifiable credentials. They will have greater control of their data, and improved access to employment opportunities and life empowering services.
Pravasi Rojgar was launched by Sonu Sood along with Schoolnet in July 2020 as an employment portal for job-seekers, especially migrants, after millions lost jobs in the pandemic. This initiative has received an overwhelming response from all stakeholders, onboarding over 10 lakh job seekers and thousands of employers within just 4 months of its launch. Pravasi Rojgar’s scope is now being expanded beyond job matching in partnership with GoodWorker, building on the combined strengths in migrant outreach, education, skilling and technology. The strategy centres around a core digital platform supported by Schoolnet’s physical network spread across India. The joint venture will formally launch its product offerings early next year.
Ekam Advisors, an investment banking firm out of Mumbai has been instrumental in bringing all the partners together and advised on the strategy for this initiative.
Announcing the partnership, Pradyumna Agrawal, Board Member of GoodWorker, said, “The cutting-edge technology that GoodWorker brings will allow businesses in India to effectively expand their operations by finding the right talent, and also allow workers to have control over their data while widening access to digital products and services. With digital transformation accelerating against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, GoodWorker’s investment reflects our optimism towards trends in India that are underpinned by technology and digitalisation.”
RCM Reddy & KK Iyer, Board Members of Schoolnet, said “Schoolnet, as a market leader in education and skilling services, reaching more than 1 crore students, youth and enterprises, along with its deep domain knowledge and execution track record, is uniquely positioned to realise this mission of creating a community of an empowered blue-collar workforce.”
Sonu Sood, whose philanthropic services for migrant workers have been widely recognized, said “This partnership will help in realising my dream of providing a better life and securing livelihood for millions of youth. I am fortunate to partner with this socially relevant technology platform, as it helps institutionalise and scale Pravasi Rojgar's humanitarian efforts.”
This partnership is expected to complement the Government’s initiatives to spur economic growth, create employment opportunities and support inclusive development through the use of technology at scale.
About GoodWorker
GoodWorker is a job matching platform that connects blue-collar workers and potential employers in India with one another. The platform provides blue-collar workers with a digital, verifiable profile to empower them to more efficiently seek employment. It enables employers to have full confidence in the authenticity of employment credentials presented by potential employees. GoodWorker is built using Affinidi, an open and interoperable technology that enables users to have control of their verifiable data. GoodWorker and Affinidi have been founded by Temasek, a global investment company headquartered in Singapore. GoodWorker is based in Bengaluru, India, and Affinidi is based in Singapore with a hub in Berlin, Germany. For more information, please visitwww.goodworker.in and www.affinidi.com.
About Pravasi Rojgar
Pravasi Rojgar is a job portal launched by Sonu Sood and Schoolnet in July 2020 to support migrant workers, and has onboarded 10 lakh job seekers. Pravasi Rojgar's primary aim is to provide employment opportunities to job seekers in the skill-based work sector, linking youth to companies for entry-level jobs and providing mentor support in helping them through the entire journey. For more information, please visit www.pravasirojgar.com.
About Schoolnet
Schoolnet India Limited (formerly IL&FS Education and Technology Services Ltd) is one of India’s largest EdTech and skilling companies, which focuses on leveraging the demographic dividend through initiatives related to 3Es: Education, Employability and Employment. It provides a wide range of services and opportunities for lifelong learning and skilling of students, young adults and youth, in alignment with UN SDG 4. Schoolnet, through its initiatives, has created significant impact at scale, leveraging its diversified intellectual properties comprising teaching learning devices, digital platforms and content, and multi-stakeholder partnerships. Having established its presence across 400 districts, in more than 40,000 schools, 200 Institutes of Skills and 100 industry clusters (impacting 10,000 industry units), Schoolnet directly impacts 15 million people on a daily basis. For more information, please visitwww.schoolnetindia.com.
