Recruitment Manager – Blue-Collar Manpower

Department: Human Resources / Recruitment
Employment Type: Full-time
Location: Kochi, Kerala

Job Summary

We are looking for an experienced Recruitment Manager with solid expertise in blue-collar and industrial manpower recruitment. The candidate will be responsible for planning and managing the complete recruitment process for skilled, semi-skilled, and unskilled workers across marine, shipbuilding/ship repair, oil & gas, pipeline, civil construction, fabrication, and industrial projects.

The ideal candidate should have proven experience in bulk blue-collar hiring, manpower mobilization, recruitment team management, labour contractor coordination, and developing strong worker sourcing networks across multiple locations.

Key Responsibilities

- Lead and manage the blue-collar recruitment function and recruitment team.
- Plan manpower requirements based on project and operational requirements.
- Develop and execute recruitment strategies for skilled, semi-skilled, and unskilled workers.
- Recruit workers for trades including welders, fitters, fabricators, electricians, plumbers, masons, carpenters, painters, riggers, helpers, technicians, supervisors, and other industrial trades.
- Build and maintain strong networks with labour contractors, manpower suppliers, worker groups, trade contacts, and local recruitment sources.
- Develop direct sourcing channels through labour markets, industrial areas, shipyards, workshops, construction locations, worker communities, referrals, and field recruitment drives.
- Manage bulk recruitment and urgent manpower requirements within specified timelines.
- Lead recruitment drives across Kerala and other states as required.




- Coordinate worker screening, trade testing, documentation, background verification, selection, and mobilization.
- Negotiate wages, availability, joining dates, and deployment terms with candidates and manpower sources.
- Coordinate with Project, Operations, HR, and Site teams to understand manpower requirements and deployment schedules.
- Monitor candidate pipelines and ensure timely closure of vacancies.
- Track requirement vs. sourced vs. shortlisted vs. selected vs. joined manpower.
- Reduce candidate dropouts through effective follow-up and pre-joining engagement.
- Maintain recruitment MIS, manpower databases, sourcing reports, and daily/weekly recruitment dashboards.
- Monitor the performance of recruiters and field recruitment staff against hiring targets.
- Identify new manpower hubs and recruitment sources to strengthen the company's worker database.
- Establish long-term relationships with reliable labour contractors and manpower suppliers.
- Ensure proper documentation and verification of workers before deployment.
- Handle manpower mobilization, including coordination related to travel, joining, accommodation, and project deployment, where required.
- Conduct regular recruitment reviews and report manpower status, challenges, and recruitment forecasts to management.





Required Experience

- 5–8 years of experience in blue-collar / industrial manpower recruitment, with at least 2–3 years in a recruitment leadership or managerial role.
- Strong experience in bulk hiring and manpower mobilization.
- Experience recruiting for construction, shipyard, marine, oil & gas, pipeline, fabrication, engineering, or industrial projects is highly preferred.
- Strong existing network of workers, labour contractors, manpower suppliers, and industrial recruitment sources.
- Proven ability to manage recruitment teams and achieve manpower targets.
- Experience handling recruitment across multiple locations will be an advantage.
- Candidates with primarily corporate/white-collar recruitment experience will not be preferred.

Required Skills

- Blue-collar manpower recruitment
- Bulk manpower hiring
- Industrial worker sourcing
- Recruitment team management
- Labour contractor coordination
- Manpower supplier management
- Worker mobilization
- Trade-wise manpower planning
- Salary and wage negotiation
- Recruitment MIS and Excel
- Strong networking and field sourcing skills
- Excellent communication and follow-up skills
- Target-oriented approach

Preferred Candidate Profile

We are specifically looking for a hands-on Recruitment Manager with strong blue-collar recruitment experience and an established network of workers, labour contractors, and manpower sources.

The candidate should be capable of building a recruitment network, leading recruiters, handling bulk manpower requirements, and ensuring timely mobilization of workers for projects.

Work Location: In person

📌 Recruitment Manager – Blue-Collar Manpower (Kochi)
🏢 Western interiors and marine contractors
📍 Kochi