National Career Service (NCS) project is an initiative launched by the Ministry of Labour and Employment (India)Government of India as a Mission Mode Project for establishing quick and efficient career related services. It was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 20 July 2015 as part of government’s focus on providing right skills and generating employment.
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The key success factors of NCS initiative revolve around strengthening the existing employment exchange ecosystem with an ICT enabled platform and reaching out to masses through multiple delivery channels and partnerships with existing job market players. Caught in a vicious cycle of decreasing job seeker registrations and vacancy notifications by employers, these exchanges needed a transformation for better delivery of employment services. Employment exchanges have been transformed to focus more on counselling related needs of candidates with establishment of career centers
The Career Centres will serve as a platform for addressing all career related needs of the youth and students seeking counselling, job search assistance services and employment.
NCS is the converging point for Government of India's three major initiatives, Skill India, Digital India and Make in India, that aim to provide skilled manpower, improve digital infrastructure and generate employment opportunities for all.
NCS Program
Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the National Career Service program on 20 July 2015 at the Forty Sixth Labour Conference with an objective of supporting varied stakeholders with better career information, easily available/readily accessible jobs and other employment related services. Its vision is to provide a national platform for interface between stakeholders for responsive, transparent and efficient employment services in order to meet skill needs of a dynamic economy. The NCS program is accessible through web based/mobile interface and provides a large number of employment related services to the Indian populous. These services are supported by a call center/helpdesk and are accessible through a network of institutions like CSCs (Common Service Centers), Career Centers etc. It provides various career related services like - job search, career counselling, information on skill training programs/career options, job postings,organize and participate in job fairs, finding blue collared local service providers (LSPs) like plumbers, electricians etc. This ambitious project, aspires to be a one-stop-solution for all job seekers as well as employers.
Focus areas
i. Enhancing career and employment opportunities
ii. Enhancing quality of workforce
iii. Enhancing female labour force participation
iv. Entrepreneurial endeavours
v. Engaging with rural workforce for higher productivity
vi. Re-employment (second-life) opportunities
vii. Transition of workforce from informal to formal sectors
The above list is indicative (and not exhaustive) and the Central Government may add to this list from time to time based on the needs of the economy and society for improving the employment market.
History
Presently, there are 978 Employment Exchanges (EE) and University Employment Guidance Information Bureaus in India. These exchanges assist job seekers in finding jobs on the basis of their qualifications and experience. Prospective job seekers can pre-register themselves for various vacancies listed within the respective states. Registered candidates also have the option of updating their resume. Employers too can list their vacancies with the EEs and select candidates according to their requirement. The Employment Exchanges (Compulsory Notification of Vacancies) Act, 1959, makes it compulsory for all establishments with 25 or more employees to notify their vacancies to the respective State Employment Exchanges. Despite such provisions the exchanges fell short of catering to the rising and changing aspirations of the country’s youth. Caught in a vicious cycle of decreasing job seeker registrations and vacancy notifications by employers, these exchanges needed a transformation for better delivery of employment services.
Integral components of National Career Service
- NCS Portal
The NCS Portal has been developed as a one-stop-solution to facilitate registration of job-seekers, job providers, private placement organizations, counsellors, skill training providers, local services etc. The Key features of the portal are:-
- Nationwide (India) opportunities and Aadhaar/PAN verified candidate database
- PAN verified institutions
- Rich career content
- Network of counsellors
In order to maximize reach, the NCS facilities have been made accessible through Common Service Centres (CSCs) and a multilingual call center. Though NCS portal does not charge candidates for any of its services, some nominal charges may be levied on the candidate when the portal services are accessed through the CSCs, details of which are displayed at all CSCs.