Why graduates and PGs are lining up to become couriers

In the good old days, courier boys did nothing more than deliver packages. But, today, the new breed does much more. Couriers are involved in the entire process, right from booking to delivery. This involves handling electronic payments, GPS, tracking and package management hardware, and document scanners.

And that’s pushing international express service providers such as DHL and TNT to look for people with the skills to handle such work.

As a result, these companies are hiring more graduates than those who have cleared just the tenth or 12th standard.

Nearly 40 per cent of DHL Express India’s 600 couriers are graduates or post-graduates, says RS Subramanian, Senior Vice-President and Country Manager.

With an entry-level salary of ₹15,000 and those with some experience earning as much as ₹50,000, a courier’s job has become attractive even for well-educated people, says Subramanian.

In the 1980s and 1990s, a courier’s job was limited to delivering documents and light-weight or low-value samples. However, in recent years, courier companies have been moving large parcels and commercial shipments for export and import.

The evolution of transport from surface or rail to air has also meant that parcels can now be sent internationally in a few hours as opposed to days, says Subramanian.

Being involved in the entire process requires workers with a higher level of skills. For couriers, this sometimes involves analysing data on their handheld devices and updating customers on tariffs and regulations in various countries.

Nearly 20 per cent of TNT India’s 200 couriers, called Ground Service Assistants (GSAs), are graduates, says L Venkateswaran, Managing Director. TNT India does not actively fill this position with graduates, but fresh graduates are keen to take up the role as an entry-level job.

A number of graduates who joined as GSAs have gone up the ranks and are in managerial positions. The annual entry-level salary of a GSA is about ₹2,00,000.

The GSAs contribute to enhancing customer experience when it comes to having knowledge on Customs regulatory practices in international markets and the accompanying requisite documentation. Their knowledge is helpful to speed up the entire process, from booking to despatch, he said.

In a country where 90 per cent of the jobs require skills and not knowledge and where over 58 per cent of the youth are unemployed or underemployed, it is not much of a surprise that a large number of engineers and graduates are veering towards jobs in logistics, opines Rituparna Chakraborty, President, Indian Staffing Federation.

There are two simple reasons for this she adds; a formal job is better than no job, and the assurance of earning at least ₹10,000-15,000 a month is enough for many to take up this line of work.

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