The Centre on Wednesday said that it has launched a new initiative Skilled Workers Arrival Database for Employment Support (SWADES) to conduct a skill mapping exercise of the citizens returning to India under the Vande Bharat Mission.

SWADES is a joint initiative of the Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, the Ministry of Civil Aviation and the Ministry of External Affairs which aims to create a database of qualified citizens based on their skillsets and experience to tap into and fulfil the demand of Indian and foreign companies.

“The returning citizens are required to fill up an online SWADES Skills Card,” an official statement said.

“The collected information will be shared with the companies for suitable placement opportunities in the country,” the statement added.

“The card will facilitate a strategic framework to provide the returning citizens with suitable employment opportunities through discussions with key stakeholders including State Governments, Industry Associations and Employers,” it added.

“MSDE’s implementation arm National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) is supporting the implementation of the project,” it further added.

The online form available on www.nsdcindia.org/swades which has been created to gather required details of the returning citizens contains the details such as those related to the work sector, job title, employment, years of experience.

A toll-free call centre facility has also been set up to support the citizens for any queries related to filling the form.

Commenting on the collaboration, Mahendra Nath Pandey, Union Minister of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, said, “These are testing times and it is crucial that the entire country comes together and supports the Centre in its efforts to address the challenges posed by the economic downturn caused by the COVID–19 pandemic.”

The SWADES Skill Form (online) was made live on May 30and has garnered around 7000 registrations till June 3.

Amongst the data gathered so far, the top countries from where the citizens are returning are UAE, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.

As per the skill mapping, these citizens had been primarily employed in sectors such as oil & gas, construction, tourism & hospitality, Automotive and Aviation.

The data also suggests that the States which have shown highest returning labour are Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Telangana.