The Employment Service came into existence in India under the stress of postwar demobilization.
Towards the end of the Second World War, the need for a machinery which could handle orderly re-absorption of civil life, of a large number of service personnel and war workers who were about to be released was keenly felt.
In accordance with a scheme that was agreed upon by the central and State Governments, the Directorate general of Resettlement and Employment (D.G.R.& E) was set up in July 1945 and Employment Exchanges were gradually opened in several parts of the country.


Till the end of 1946, employment service facilities were restricted to demobilized service personnel and discharged war workers. In 1947, consequent upon the partition of the country, the Employment Exchanges were called upon to deal with the settlement of large number of persons who were displaced as a result of partition. Based on the recommendations of the Training and Employment Services Organization Committee headed by Sri Shiva Rao, the day to day administration of the organization was handed over to the State Governments with effect from 1st November 1956.


The Employment Service is now the joint concern of the Central and State Governments. The administrative control of the department is by the State Government. To ensure the uniformity in the functioning of the Employment Exchanges all over India, the policies and procedures to be adopted in the functional activities of the Employment Exchanges are prescribed at the national level by the Directorate General of Employment & Training, New Delhi. In the above backdrop, the Employment Organization in different States was established. In Odisha the Directorate of Employment functions under the direct supervision of the Department of Skill Development & Technical Education Govt. of Odisha. The Directorate handles the activities of both Employment Exchanges and State Employment Mission. The Directorate is basically a regulatory body that ensures effectiveness of work, implementation of policy and procedures and takes appropriate action to bring about necessary improvements in the employment scenario. The Director of Employment is the head of the Employment Organization and also functions as Project/Mission Director of State Employment Mission in the State.