India’s blue collar workforce is projected to grow significantly in the future, with a Mckinsey & Company report predicting that 70% of the 90 million anticipated new jobs in India by 2030 will fall under the blue-collar category. In view of this expected surge in the segment, a growing number of small and mid-sized hiring platforms are striving to empower the 450-million-strong blue-collar workforce by identifying gaps and potential niches that require addressing.
Take WorkIndia for instance, a technology-based recruitment marketplace for blue and grey-collar job seekers in India, which had a first-mover advantage when it entered this segment in 2015.
Speaking to FE, WorkIndia’s CEO and Co-founder, Nilesh Dungarwal explained how early penetration into the segment helped them grow, saying, “As a first mover, we’ve spent over seven years building deep technology tailored to this workforce. The blue-collar workforce has very different needs, and over the years, we have built technology, models, and systems specifically for them, from fraud detection to instant job discovery and a calling-based hiring model.”
The requirements of both blue-collar job seekers and such hiring platforms are inherently different from those of the white-collar segment. According to Nitin Chandel, Group VP & India Country Manager of cloud-based workforce management solutions company, Ultimate Kronos Group (UKG), these “unique” requirements could range from mobile accessibility to compliance and safety.
“Many blue-collar workers cannot access desktops during their shifts, which makes mobile accessibility necessary. This can help both the employer and employee carry out various functions, such as swapping, bidding and managing shifts, accurate time tracking and payroll mechanisms for workers, coupled with compliance tracking and recording,” he explained.
To usher a sense of organization in a sector that has largely been dubbed as unorganized, companies have integrated AI into several of their operations.
Dungarwal highlighted how the prevention of job fraud in the blue-collar segment is of pivotal importance at WorkIndia, saying, “One of the things we’re proud of is our fraud detection system as it’s the most extensive in the country for this space, processing 9.8 million data parameters to ensure a safer and more reliable experience for both employers and job seekers.” Additionally, the platform’s self-learning recommendation engine is said to have over 10.3 billion data attributes to ensure both employers and employees get relevant matches.
Taking it a step further is Apna.co, a professional jobs and networking market primarily catering to the blue and grey-collar segment. Nirmit Parikh, Founder and CEO of the company, opines that its AI-led functions serve as a differentiator from competitors. “Along with AI-powered tools for regular functions like auto-screening, shortlisting and skill-based candidate matching, we also have features such as hyperlocal hiring across 900 cities, which enable users to access jobs near their pin codes. Additionally, our multi-language interface empowers job seekers across different regions to find job opportunities in less time,” he said.
While these platforms list a diverse array of jobs on their platforms, companies such as Digital Labour Chowk (DLC) have a different approach. Spearheaded by Founder & CEO, Chandrashekhar Mandal, DLC connects people specifically in the construction sector, which is projected to grow to USD 2.13 trillion by 2030.
“The construction sector is one of the biggest markets in the blue-collar sector, with a CAGR of 9.8%. Within this vertical itself, there is scope for labourers, painters, plumbers and electricians to earn a dignified living.” So far, DLC has connected over 10,000 employers with job seekers crossing 2 lakhs for about 6,000 active job openings across India. Mandal explained that one of the biggest challenges in this sector is building trust and credibility, and how DLC tackles it.
“We have a team that verifies the authenticity of employers, ensuring that the wages they list adhere to the state’s minimum wage requirements. Additionally, employee testimonials and ratings also help build an employer’s credibility. Concurrently, employees can list their skills to get hired quicker with better pay.”
Mandal is currently in the third round of venture capital (VC) funding and aims to increase DLC’s users to 11 lakhs come year-end. “Once DLC has created a nationwide network for people in the construction sector, we aim to pivot into the automobile segment, textile manufacturing, and more,” he said.
It may be noted that Tier 1 cities are not the sole focus of such platforms, which continue expanding into India’s Tier 2 and 3 segments. Apna.co’s Work Q1 2025 report noted that over 40% of its new users came from cities such as Indore, Jamshedpur, Rajkot and Dehradun, while cities such as Warangal, Meerut and Prayagraj have emerged as key hiring hubs for freshers.. Apna.co’s Parikh said that such cities are witnessing a growing hiring demand, adding, “Cities such as Indore, Rajkot, Warangal and Jabalpur saw a 20-50% year-on-year (YoY) increase in hiring demand, especially for digital and support roles. Additionally, job applications by women have significantly grown in the past quarter, some by over 100% in Tier 2 and 3 cities.”
Concurrently, over 45% of WorkIndia’s daily active users come from Tier 1 cities such as Mumbai, Bengaluru, Pune and Delhi, 10% are from Tier 2 cities while the remaining share are from Tier 3 and 4 cities. DLC noted that while most of its job openings are from Tier 1 cities, its job seeker base comes predominately from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi NCR.