The Hindu Business Line : Bring `em into focus

Government-run employment exchanges are not on the recruitment radar of tech companies. It's time to bring youngsters registered with them into the picture.

MISSING OUT on what is near - S.R. Raghunathan

As IT/ITES/BPO companies continue to look for new pastures to hire from, are they overlooking India's largest database of talent? With over 35 lakh management and technologically qualified candidates (as of December 2004), government-run employment exchanges are not on the recruitment radar of technology companies. There are over 2 lakh engineering graduates and about 10 lakh science graduates registered across various employment exchanges in the country.

eWorld spoke to some technology companies for their take on this issue. When asked why they did not look at employment exchanges for manpower, mass recruiters such as Infosys Technologies, Wipro Technologies and Cognizant Technology Solutions did not wish to comment. Satyam Computer Services, and HCL Technologies did not respond to eWorld's e-mails. Other companies eWorld spoke to perceive employment exchanges as catering only to government jobs. Further, they believe that only unskilled candidates register at these exchanges.

For the record

The Web site of the Department of Employment, Government of India, can be accessed by private companies and not just government organisations or public sector units. Further, under the Employment Exchange Act 1959, all public sector companies and those private sector companies that do not work in areas related to agriculture, are required to notify most of their vacancies to the nearest employment exchange.

A look at the Web site of an employment exchange indicates no notifications by any IT/ITES/BPO company. When asked why companies do not notify the employment exchange, the Nasscom President, Kiran Karnik, says it is because companies do not see value in it. "Employment exchanges do not provide a talent pool of employable individuals. Further, they are positioned as catering to lesser skilled candidates only," he says. Under the Department of Employment, engineering and management graduates are registered separately at the Professional & Executive Employment Office (PEEO). Postgraduates, arts, science and commerce graduates are registered separately as are unskilled candidates.

`Poor quality' perception

Companies feel that the quality of candidates registered with employment exchanges is poor, especially in areas such as communication and IT-related skills. Prameela Kalive, Global Head, Human Resources, Zensar Technologies, has assessed applications from employment exchanges and says these candidates were rejected, as they did not have multiple skills such as technology and domain knowledge. Shobha Balsubramaniam, Vice-President, People Department, Aditi Technologies, says candidates from employment exchanges could not clear even written tests conducted by the company.

Accessing `Live Register'

This issue aside, the real barrier to approaching employment exchanges is the lack of IT infrastructure that makes it difficult to access the talent pool, say companies.

As of now, the PEEO maintains an online database called `Live Register' (updated every three months) that contains candidate details such as resume and contact addresses. It can be accessed by employers and candidates. Further, candidates can directly update their profiles on the Web site, similar to any other private Web portal. Despite this facility, companies say it is difficult to access talent. According to Ranga Reddy, Chief Executive Officer, Maveric Systems, an independent testing company, the `Live Register' does not have adequate facilities to shortlist candidates. "The Register' provides very limited background information on candidates. We would like to have access to the complete candidate resume like how it is in any other online job portal," he says.

Companies also believe that it is difficult for candidates to update their profiles online.

Pramod Jajoo, Managing Director, Xora, a mobile workforce management solutions company, says, "Government exchanges have a very tedious method for a candidate to update his or her qualifications when compared to commercial job portals".

He also feels that matching of available skill sets with company requirements is difficult on the employment exchange database. "Nasscom's National Skill Registry initiative is a more pragmatic solution", he says. This skill registry is a database with details of IT and BPO employees. The `first registered first serve' basis on which employment exchanges work is also seen as a hurdle for companies who require only fresh graduates. Mass recruitment on the lines of campus placements is not possible as government rules give priority to older candidates over newly registered candidates for a job opening.

However, officials from the PEEO in Chennai say companies can access the `Live Register' directly (without seeking the exchange's help) and choose freshers by looking through the candidates' registration details. "If companies seek our help in matching candidate skills with their requirement, we have to send them a mix of candidates based on seniority of registration," they say. As government exchanges are not permitted to shortlist more than 20 candidates per vacancy, it is difficult for freshers to be shortlisted.

Wanted: Change of image

Despite these barriers, some companies think employment exchanges are a valuable talent pool and need a brand makeover. Vardhman Jain, Managing Director, Perot Systems - Business Process Solutions India, says the company will look at employment exchanges if they reposition themselves on the lines of online portals such as Naukri.com or Monster.com. "Employment exchanges today have no brand name. They must invest in IT infrastructure so as to become efficient like other job portals", he says. Some facilities that exchanges could incorporate include technology to interact with candidates through the database. "To fulfil our targets, we see about 600 resumes a day and make instant decisions filtering candidates for the next level. Exchanges do not have facilities to communicate these decisions online to candidates and organise interviews", says Jain.

Janakiraman Ramachandran, Chief Operating Officer, NTrust Infotech, an IT solutions and KPO services provider, says exchanges will attract companies only by getting proactive in their recruitment process.

Companies also suggest that employment exchanges tie up with training institutes to improve the employability of registered candidates. As of now, PEEOs have a training facility to help candidates brush up skills for writing competitive government exams.

Nasscom is working with State Governments on its Assessment of Competence (NAC), a test to determine the BPO employability of candidates. But it does not plan to conduct any skill enhancement programmes, says Karnik.

However, as a follow-up to the NAC, it may consider accrediting training institutes that will help candidates strengthen their skills, he says.

Prameela Kalive of Zensar says the company would like to explore tie-ups with hiring companies that could train candidates from exchanges to suit their job roles. Reddy of Maveric says the company is open to looking at employment exchanges to source candidates from districts that do not have access to urban centres. Maveric's training division will train chosen candidates in technical, domain and language proficiency, he says. Ravi Chandran, Vice-President, Talent Acquisition, GCI Solutions, says if employment exchanges could capture talent from lesser-known engineering institutions then his company could partner with a training organisation to mould these candidates to suit its requirements.

Sources from Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) say if exchanges could provide the required skill sets, the company might look at hiring from them if the need arose. TCS recently tied up with the Gujarat Government — Department of Education and Department of Science and Technology — to train and assess technology and programming skills besides communication and presentation skills of students from select universities in the State. However, there may not be similar plans involving employment exchanges, say sources.

Open to the idea

As talent becomes scarce, some companies are planning to look at employment exchanges this year. R. Vaithiyanathan, Vice President - Operations and human resources, Allsec Technologies, says the company plans to evaluate candidates from employment exchanges if not recruit them. "Besides (exchanges) providing a new talent pool, the cost of recruitment from exchanges is negligible compared to the huge costs incurred through consultants, campus placements and advertisements," he says.

Ajuba International, a healthcare outsourcing services provider, will also approach employment exchanges this February. Shankar Narasimhan, Director - Human Resources, Ajuba, says the company will meet authorities to understand the profile of candidates registered with the exchange. "We will work with exchanges to shortlist candidates who meet our eligibility criteria and later conduct the recruitment process," he says.

archana@thehindu.co.in

More Stories on : Employment | Human Resources | Insight

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Stories in this Section
Bring `em into focus