Sixty two-year-old Hari Singh retired as a bank manager. He spends his retired life by running 10 km marathons and working out at the gym. Though retired, Hari Singh feels that he is energetic enough to do a job. Moreover, a survey conducted by the government also affirms this thought that it was found that more than 50% of senior citizens are found ‘active’ and were willing to do a job. With these findings, the government chose to build an IT platform called ‘Senior ability Citizens for Re-Employment in Dignity (SACRED)’ to serve as a job exchange for engagement-seeker ability senior adults. Launched by the Central Government on October 1, 2021, senior citizens above 60 years of age and interested in employment can register in the Senior Citizens Employment Exchange portal
The site will connect job seekers and companies based on virtual matching preferences, with the purpose of developing strategies to ensure that Senior Citizens live healthy, happy, empowered, dignified, and self-sufficient lives. The government would invest Rs. 10 crore in platform development and Rs. 2 crore in maintenance grants over the next five years.
Even if they are equally capable of completing work-related activities, active senior persons feel alienated at home due to a lack of engagement. As a result, the government has resolved to establish strategies for creating a society in which older adults can live lives that are healthy, joyful, empowered, dignified, and self-sufficient. In order to give older people with employment prospects, the government plans to involve the entire society in the effort, notably the following stakeholders.
i) Private firms/ Corporates;
ii) Educational institutions;
iii) Government Sectors and local Bodies for consultancy services;
iv) The Non-Profit, Non-Governmental Associations, Societies/ Trusts, etc.; and
v) The Media and finally the Public at large.
Scope of the SCARED Portal
An IT portal to bring the employment seeker senior citizens and employment providers on one platform will be developed and maintained by an agency identified through a transparent process.
ii) An individual senior citizen will get oneself registered on the portal with his relevant education, past experience, skills and the areas of interest. The person will also select keywords regarding expected tasks, which will enable the job providers find them automatically. Details can be updated by the Senior citizens.
iii) Any job provider – individual/ firm/ company/ partnership/ Voluntary Organisations, etc. can also register on the portal. The job provider will specify the task involved and the number of senior citizens that are required to complete it.
iv) Voluntary Organizations will help the senior citizens in applying for these jobs. No user charges will be taken from any of the senior citizens by any Voluntary Organizations. Therefore, the Employment Portal will serve not only the senior citizens seeking employment, but also the employers, the SHGs, the senior citizens gaining skills, and other agencies/ individuals.
v) The Employment Exchange Portal will not be a guarantee for getting a job/ employment or selling of the products of the SHGs, or for any other activity. It will act as an interactive platform where stakeholders meet each other virtually and decide on the course of action with mutual respect, consent and understanding.
vi) Any individual/ firm/ company/ agency will seek the services of the senior citizens in respect of those tasks where experience can naturally outweigh hiring new personnel and providing them training, etc. Example can be short term employment, contract for a project, teaching, counselling jobs. The Employer and the employee may extend their partnership beyond the short term, too, on mutual consent and respect basis.
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