In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, over 4 million young professionals lost their jobs. This staggering figure calls for both government and corporate bodies to adopt large-scale measures to generate job opportunities for the youth, and keep education and training on track to avert further harm to the country's workforce. The pandemic has been particularly hard on young women, younger youth and youth in lower-income segments. Young people are concerned about the future and their place within it. 

Kool Kanya, a career-building platform for women, has taken up the initiative of  providing knowledge and support with respect to resumes, cover letters and essentially, the entire job hunt process. They have assembled a list of reputed specialists to conduct workshops on various topics that would be beneficial to a lot of people looking for guidance in the unprecedented current scenario. Planning higher education overseas, creating a resume using apps like Canva, drafting the perfect cover letter, how to make a great first impression, using LinkedIn to get noticed by recruiters and giving an interview with supreme confidence - these are topics on which some experts will hold extensive, informative sessions in order to aid young professionals put their best foot forward when it comes to finding suitable job openings.

Talking about the initiative, Vanshika Goenka, Founder, Kool Kanya said, "Ever since the pandemic hit and the lockdown was announced, several companies across sectors have taken to job cuts, along with salary reductions and leave without pay. The youth have been grappling with these issues, struggling to hold on to their careers that for most, are hanging by a thread. Young women especially lack the networks and access to expertise that can give them the confidence to keep charging ahead. That is why we decided to organize these workshops, once each week, and offer support to budding professionals to get them back on the wagon." 

"Salaried jobs, once lost are hard to retrieve especially amidst a crisis like the one we are facing. As the nation started opening in a phased manner from June, some jobs came back. But the recovery was largely in informal jobs. It is time we work in tandem to bring back normalcy in the job market and we believe one of the major steps to achieving this is readying the workforce for a new, remodeled system."

Also, as we now live and work in globally interdependent communities, infectious disease threats such as COVID-19 need to be recognized as part of the workscape. To continue to reap the benefits from global cooperation, we must find smarter and safer ways of working together. Organizations will also appreciate the cost-savings of replacing full-time employees with contractors who can stay connected digitally.

In light of this anticipated shift, we have begun to understand how the COVID-19 quarantines that required millions to work from home affected job opportunities, work productivity, creativity, and innovation. Thus, workshops and knowledge-sharing sessions such as these can go a long way in helping young women upgrade and optimize their professional journey.