The Hindu Business Line : CARD to help IT job aspirants in AP

THE Andhra Pradesh State Council for Higher Education (APSCHE), in association with the Nasscom, is organising a career awareness and recruitment drive (CARD) to hone the skills of graduates aspiring to enter the IT industry.

At a press meet here on Friday, Prof K.C. Reddy, the Chairman of the APSCHE, said the programme was the first of its kind in the State and the country. It was meant for final year students and unemployed (and underemployed) graduates. "It will bring together the IT companies and the graduates. Even graduates from a rural background will stand a chance in the race to get jobs in the IT companies," he said.

The programme would be organised here on Saturday and several IT companies, including the HSBC, would participate in it. In other parts of the State, such as Vijayawada, Tirupati, Warangal and Anantapur, such programmes would be organised later in the year.

He said the APSCHE was also conducting a basic graduate employability test (GET). The fees for IT test would be Rs 750 and for ITES Rs 550. "We hope the companies will insist on GET as a pre-requisite for an interview. It will reduce the financial burden on them, as at present there is large-scale interviewing and disproportionately small recruitment," he explained.

Prof L. Venugopala Reddy, Vice-chancellor of the Andhra University, and Col S.V. Ramachandran, Regional Director, Nasscom, also spoke.