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Jobs in the banking sector continue to lure people irrespective of the age. However, unlike earlier times, such jobs are not a career option. The unemployed youth have been opting for these jobs out of sheer desperation to be placed and, in the case of retired officers, it is an option to make extra money.
Industry insiders told BusinessLine that highly qualified youngsters join the banking industry not because they love to work in a bank but due to their circumstances.
A closer look at the job profile and educational qualifications of these youngsters reveals that the industry has not really capitalised on the their strengths.
Siva (name changed) is a research associate who does errand jobs such as taking photo copies and helping out customers fill forms at a PSB. Lakshmi, a post-graduate, works as a sweeper at a nationalised bank.
A cross-section of officials said that several youngsters join PSBs for various reasons such as job security, parental pressure, and societal standing, among others.
“There is a highly-qualified (M Phil) lady, working as a clerical staff in my branch. There have been times when I’ve felt delicate about asking her to do errands like getting some file or staying back to complete some petty job,” said the manager with a PSB in Coimbatore.
“Engineers drawing hefty sums in the IT industry used to quit their jobs to join the banking industry for a much-lower package citing job security. Though the number of such job-seekers has come down significantly in recent years, youngsters with management and post graduate degree are willing to take up clerical postings,” said the leader of a bank union.
Retired officers
And that’s not all. While the desperation of young job-seekers has not gone unnoticed, the country’s largest bank, State Bank of India, continues to offer jobs such as ATM facilitators, tele-callers, business correspondents and investigating officers to retired officers. They have invited applications from retired SBI award staff for “assisted model for passbook printing”, on contract basis, for a monthly remuneration of ₹20,000.
Though the exact number of such appointees is not available, information sought under RTI shows that 137 retired officials have been engaged in SBI Hyderabad Circle (Telangana State). These include 18 ATM facilitators, 33 tele-callers, 47 investigating officers, and 39 business correspondents and facilitators (BCF).
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