CHENNAI: A chatbot to help people verify overseas job offers and avoid illegal recruitment agents was launched by the Office of the Protector of Emigrants (PoE), Chennai, on Monday at the Tamil Nadu Overseas Mobility and Employer Partnership Summit. The second phase of the safe migration campaign, ‘Paathu Ponga’ 2.0 was also rolled out.
The chatbot, available through PoE Chennai’s social media platforms, provides guidance on overseas job procedures, licensed recruiting agents, emigration clearance and job verification, and is intended to help applicants access reliable information without relying on informal agents.
M Rajkumar, PoE of TN, Puducherry and Andaman-Nicobar Islands said, “The campaign, launched last year to warn people against illegal migration and cyber-related job scams, has led to a sharp fall in such cases. Incidents linked to fraudulent overseas recruitment and cyber-slavery type traps have come down from triple digits to single digits over the past year.”
Paathu Ponga 2.0 will not just warn migrants but will also expand access to legitimate overseas employment. The summit, jointly organised by PoE Chennai and the Tamil Nadu Skill Development Corporation (TNSDC), drew around 1,000 participants, mostly students from polytechnic, technical and nursing institutions, besides recruiting agents, foreign employers and government officials.
TNSDC Managing Director Kranthi Kumar said, “Overseas demand is strongest for candidates from polytechnic, technical and nursing streams, with around 50,000 people from TN migrating abroad each year through formal channels mainly to Gulf, Southeast Asian and some African countries in sectors such as construction, logistics, hospitality and healthcare.”
He noted that migration remained largely driven by recruiting agents, with wide variation in fees and limited clarity for candidates.
The State is also strengthening language training and employer partnerships, particularly with countries such as Germany and Japan. Discussions during the summit covered employment pathways in Germany and the UK, with similar engagement planned with Japan, Singapore, Malaysia and Russia.