GreenPepper Consulting India Private Limited

IT sector and Kerala

2011-03-26T01:45:00.000-07:00

If you are a B.Tech IT pass out student, people might be asking you that lots of engineers are getting passed out to the IT field, how come you get a good job? Tired of hearing this
friends? Not anymore, the answer for that is here! With the emerging trends in the IT sector due to the entrance of Smart City in Kerala and more Infoparks to be established
in various parts of the state, it is obvious that getting an IT job is quite easy because these
centres need lots of employees, not just employees, to be specific IT engineers, !
And guess what? Our government is also going to bridge the Government to Citizen gap
by implementing new technological ideologies so that our state can become the leading
IT destination in the country! Now this is something that’s going to be beneficial for the
government when election comes.
This can also help in bringing development to the
rural areas in a faster rate. Besides these, the IT sectors also provide amenities to the
employees like for instance, if you and your husband/wife work in the same IT company
then you get a house provided by the company for free. Now that’s something interesting
right? Although it’s a tactic of the company to cling the couple to the company, it is also
beneficial for the couple. So if you are an IT employee and you are feeling of getting
out dated, don’t you worry because the entire state is switching and depending on the IT
sector.

IT industry bracing up for new challenges and opportunities

2010-11-02T23:11:00.000-07:00

Bangalore: Indian IT industry might need to shore up local presence to serve clients to overcome the anti-offshoring wave, but as of now the low cost of services provided by it is its only key advantage, Infosys CEO and MD Kris Gopalakrishnan. The anti-shoring wave would be a challenge and could be dealt with by addressing it from the outside and by adapting internally, through innovation.

Increasing local presence could also be one of the solutions, he said at the Knowlege Summit organised by the All India Management Association. On whether India would retain the cost advantage, he said: "Cost is only one of the advantage we provide".

Much would depend on flexibility to scale up and down and use resources in times where contract cycles are of shorter duration." More than half of Indian IT industry''s revenue comes from offshore work, but off-late stiff resistance has been building up in the US to shipping out American jobs.

The IT and ITeS accounts for around 10 per cent of the country''s over USD 500 billion services sector. He said India would have to continue to provide the advantage of world class quality and talented resource, if it had to sustain the growth in the indutry.

"Focus on all the advantages we have. Cost could be a way to attract a company to test a model but to continue you have to have other advantagaes", he said.

Later talking to reporters, he said "client confidence was already lower in Europe than the US. Europe has been slower in recovery." He said the global IT budget for 2011 would range from being flat to slightly positive.

At the conference, Gopalakrishnan said the "industry will continue to be resilient and innovative." Cloud computing would enable small companies compete with big companies by enabling them leverage the infrastructure from the cloud, at lower cost and ensure greater reach to customers through the internet.

India would benefit from emergence of new competitiors. Existing companies will adopt to new competition, he said.

On the IT scenario, he said the industry was coming out of recession and results of two IT major companies was a positive indication. He said 50 per cent of new jobs in seven urban areas was directly or indirectly connected to the IT industry.

He said nearly 1.2 to 1.7 lakh new recruitments from colleges is expected to take place in 12 months with Infosys itself expected to take in 25,000 in the next 12 months.

Courtesy : siliconindia
URL: http://8bt.in/FW5ARv

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PSU banks to recruit 85,000 staff in next 3 years

2010-11-02T22:47:00.000-07:00

New Delhi: Job seekers in the banking sector would have something to cheer about as public sector lenders are going to recruit around 85,000 people in the next three years to meet the manpower shortage.

"The PSBs have a tentative plan of recruitment of around 34,000 officers and 51,000 clerks during the next three years for 2010-13," the government said in a background paper for Economic Editors' Conference prepared by Finance Ministry.

The system of recruitment through Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS) will be transparent, speedier and cost effective, it said. The government also informed that it has been decided to entrust IBPS the responsibility to conduct the common recruitment examination for PSBs.

The IBPS, established in 1984, is an autonomous body engaged in recruitment of personnel and internal promotion in banks and financial institutions. During the year 2009-10, IBPS conducted test for around 60 lakh candidates at 125 centres across the country for recruitment in PSBs.

The Indian Banks' Association (IBA) had recommended to the government that a common recruitment programme in public sector banks should be conducted by the IBPS.

In order to professionalise the human resources of the state-run banks and align them with the new and ever changing requirements of the banking industry, the government had constituted a committee under the chairmanship of A K Khandelwal, former Chairman, Bank of Baroda .

The Committee presented its report to the government on June 30 this year, making a number of recommendations on the HR issues.

Courtesy : siliconindia
URL: http://8bt.in/AfIJ0d
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India likely to see 2.3 lakh new jobs

2010-11-02T22:08:00.000-07:00

New Delhi: Six sectors, including healthcare and realty , are expected to create a whopping 2.3 lakh jobs in India in the last three months of 2010, according to global consultancy Ernst&Young.

Boosted by strong domestic economic recovery and improved global sentiment, most local industries are expected to increase their headcount in the coming months, E&Y said.

s many as 2.3 lakh jobs are estimated to be created in India in the fourth quarter of 2010 by six sectors, Ernst & Young's Partner, National Head and EMEIA Leader (People & Organisation) N S Rajan told PTI.

The six sectors are healthcare, real estate, IT/ITeS, education & training, manufacturing and Banking, Financial Services and Insurance (BFSI).

Among them, healthcare industry alone is projected to generate 60,000 jobs in fourth quarter of 2010, Rajan said.

Real estate and IT/ITes sector, each are expected to create 50,000 jobs.

Education & training industry is projected to generate 30,000 jobs. Manufacturing and BFSI sectors would each be churning out 20,000 jobs in the 2010 fourth quarter, E&Y said.

"This (robust healthcare) trend is expected to continue with a huge gap in demand and supply of healthcare services and increasing investment in the sector.

"Lifestyle changes, increasing rural penetration and various government schemes have ensured robust growth in this sector," Rajan noted.

Healthcare sector is estimated to have added 150,000 jobs in September quarter.

Pointing out that public sector companies are bullish on recruitment, he said that most of these large players are expected to increase hiring in the last three months of 2010.

"Similarly in public sector banks, expansion of existing branches and replacement of retired staff are driving significant increases in recruitment... Demand for talent across the public sector banks over the coming decade is estimated to rise to 500,000," he added.

The education market in the country, estimated to be worth USD 40 billion, is also expected to generate more employment opportunities.

Rajan said that a considerable demand for education and training is contributing significantly to job creation in the sector.

Courtesy : siliconindia
URL: http://8bt.in/0TPFtL
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Hiring forecast: India among top three nations

2010-10-17T22:28:00.000-07:00

India among top three nations in Employers in India are planning to hire at a robust pace in the next three months and public administration, education and services sectors are expected to see strong recruitment trends, says a survey.

Globally, India is the most optimistic in terms of recruitment intentions for the fourth quarter, after China and Taiwan, according to staffing services firm Manpower's Employment Outlook Survey released today.

The job market remains robust in India as a result of strong domestic growth and recovery from key global markets. But employers in other countries are reporting strong hiring forecasts, as well," said Manpower India's Managing Director Sanjay Pandit.

India's net employment outlook -- an indicator of employers' hiring intentions -- stood at 38 per cent on a seasonally-adjusted basis, for the next three months. For the third quarter, the outlook stood a little higher at 41 per cent.

The outlook fell slightly for the next three months as recruitment activities are relatively less in this period, mainly on account of festival season, Pandit noted. For the fourth quarter, China has the highest outlook of 47 per cent and is followed by Taiwan (40 per cent). Interestingly, for the 2010 third quarter, India was the most optimistic when it came to hiring intentions. Of the total of 36 countries surveyed by Manpower, 28 showed positive hiring trends for the next three months.

As many as 5,395 employers in India participated in the survey. In terms of sectors in India, public administration & education has the highest net employment outlook of 45 per cent, followed by services (40 per cent) and finance, insurance and real estate (34 per cent). As per the report, transportation and utilities, and wholesale and retail trade sectors, each have an outlook of 22 per cent.

"Once you combine strong domestic hiring along with improved International opportunities, we see one of the best scenarios that Indian job seekers could have imagined," he said.

With an employment outlook of 41 per cent, employers in the South have strong hiring plans for the fourth quarter of this year. Northern region has an outlook of 37 per cent, followed by East (36 per cent) and West (32 per cent). Going by the survey, the weakest hiring plans for the upcoming quarter were reported from Greece, Italy, the Czech Republic, Spain and Ireland.

Read more at: http://profit.ndtv.com/news/show/hiring-forecast-india-among-top-three-nations-95975?cp

Courtesy : ndtv
URL: http://8bt.in/Zdtbf2

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IT Sector Witnesses The Highest Ever Job Index In September

2010-10-17T22:17:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, October 06, 2010: The stability of the Naukri Job Speak index for the past four months clearly indicates a steady hiring scenario and improved business sentiment in the country. Although, the index for Sep-10 inched down marginally by 1.2% from 956 in Aug-10 to 943 in Sep-10, the three month moving average index indicates steady recruitment levels.
On a year on year comparison the job index moved up by 22% in Sep-10 as compared to the same time over a year ago.

Hitesh Oberoi, CEO and MD, Info Edge said “Hiring activity in the IT sector is back to the pre-recession levels. Key IT players in the country are acquiring multiple projects from India as well as overseas which has led to this boom. Software professionals can hence look forward to a favourable hiring environment over the next few months.

He further added “The dip in the insurance sector was anticipated as insurance firms have been groping for ways to reduce headcount, post IRDA regulations.”

Industry Sector Analysis:

An in-depth analysis of the index shows that the IT sector has significantly ramped up recruitment activities with the job index steadily moving in a positive direction for the past three months. In Sept-10 the index is at its highest ever and stands at 1047. A similar sentiment was echoed in the recently released Naukri Hiring Outlook Survey where in 78% recruiters from the IT sector indicated that new jobs will be created in the second half of 2010. In contrast, most of the other core industry sectors Auto, Construction, Oil & Gas and Banking registered dip in their indices within the range of 2% and 5%. The Insurance and the ITES sector in particular witnessed steep monthly declines of 29% and 15% in Sept-10 when compared with Aug-10.

Functional Area Analysis:

The hottest skill sets for the month of Sept were Software development and Sales & Business development where the index moved up by 3% and 2% respectively in Sept-10 over Aug-10. However the demand for professionals in Banking, ITES and Finance registered notable dips of 15%, 8% and 5% in Sept-10 over Aug-10.

City Wise Analysis:

A look at the hiring trends of the top cities of the country show that Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata and Chennai have seen steady hiring levels with their indices moving in a positive direction consecutively for the past two months. The index for Kolkata and Bangalore moved up by 5% and 4% respectively in Sept-10 as compared to Aug-10. On the contrary, Delhi and Pune witnessed a dip of 5% and 2% respectively in their indices in Sep-10 over Aug-10.

Overall, the index seems to be moving in a steady pace indicating a positive hiring sentiment for the year.

Courtesy : Efytimes
URL: http://8bt.in/KS0vq5

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India Inc hiring rises 22% in Sept: Naukri.com

2010-10-14T23:02:00.000-07:00

Hiring by India Inc surged by 22 per cent in September this year, driven by improved confidence in the economy, a report by job portal Naukri.com said.

According to the monthly Naukri Job Speak Index, hiring level rose to 943 in September this year from 773 in the same period last year.

"The stability of the Naukri Job Speak index for the past four months clearly indicates a steady hiring scenario and improved business sentiment in the country," the report noted.

However, when compared to the data in August (956), the job index in September has seen a marginal drop of 1.2 per cent.

As per data available with Naukri.com, the maximum hiring activity has been witnessed in IT sector, which has significantly ramped up recruitment activities with the job index steadily moving in a positive direction and touched its highest ever point at 1,047.

The sector moved up by 45 per cent from 718 in September last year.

"Hiring activity in the IT sector is back to the pre-recession levels. Key IT players in the country are acquiring multiple projects from India as well as overseas, which has led to this boom. Software professionals can hence look forward to a favourable hiring environment over the next few months," Info Edge CEO and MD Hitesh Oberoi said.

Apart from IT, telecom and pharma sectors also maintained steady hiring levels.

However, the insurance sector has witnessed the highest-ever decline in September. Hiring activity in the sector fell by 58 per cent in the period under review when compared to the same time a year ago.

As against August this year, the ITES and insurance sectors saw the steepest monthly decline with the index dipping by 14 per cent and 29 per cent, respectively in September over previous month.

Almost, all the other key industry sectors-auto, construction, oil & gas and banking- have registered a dip in their indices ranging from 2-5 per cent.

Among cities, Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata and Chennai saw an upsurge in jobs in September. On the contrary, Delhi and Pune witnessed a dip in the recruitment levels over the same time period.

Courtesy : ndtv
URL: http://8bt.in/Nl4Afm

Top IT Destination!: Infopark campus in Kochi may put Kochi on the world IT map

2010-10-14T22:42:00.000-07:00

Kochi, 19th Sept: The profile of Kochi as an Information Technology destination has undergone a sea change during the last decade. No longer are any eyebrows raised when talks are about attracting IT investments to the city.

A good part of the credit must go to Infopark Kochi. For it definitely repositioned the city in the map of global IT destinations. “In the last three years, the total turnover in terms of exports was close to Rs.1, 000 crore while growing at the rate of 85 per cent,” State Principal Secretary for IT, Ajay Kumar told us.

Infopark Chief Executive Officer Siddhartha Bhattacharya supports this stating that since its inception n 2004, the IT sector in Kochi has grown to nearly 15,000 employees and over 100 companies. He said that a number of developmental initiatives aimed at further accelerating the export growth of the city have been undertaken.

Mr. Bhattacharya said that Infopark now accounted for over a third of the State's total IT turnover. Given the significance of the city as a commercial capital, it is a major point of future customer base and hence will factor as an important destination of IT within Kerala, he said. Mr. Kumar hailed the research and development initiatives in IT undertaken by Infopark in the recent years.

One of the significant developments boosting the IT potential of the city is the perceptible improvement in the “employability” of its youth. Mr. Bhattacharya finds a “remarkable change” among the educated youth of the city when it comes to their competence for jobs in the IT sector.

“They are now more aware of the changing technology and also of the global culture and to cater to these needs the government as well as the private sector have begun various initiatives to ensure that they are updated on the latest trends in the global market. Programmes like Mass HR, ICT academies and model finishing schools are driving it up,” he said.

Besides, good connectivity, talent base, upcoming infrastructure, metropolitan culture, affordable cost of operations and initiatives for Kerala IT, the State government initiative for attracting IT investments to the State, are among factors that makes Kochi a favourite IT destination.

It, however, does not mean that the city has done everything to explore its full potential as an IT destination. There definitely is room for improvement and areas to focus on. Mr. Bhattacharya felt that the city could do more in improving soft infrastructure and round the clock world class amenities among other things.

He has no doubt that with its ever increasing base and current growth, Kochi and Infopark will be one of the top 10 IT destinations in the country in the next ten years.

courtesy : c2clive

URL: http://8bt.in/JV6f4j

India: the next big name in hospitality

2010-10-09T00:39:00.000-07:00

Hospitality is emerging as one the biggest industries when it comes to employment. Today, the
term ‘ hospitality' has gone beyond the borders of the hotel industry and has seeped into almost every sector of business.

Over the last few years, the industry has undergone a complete makeover and has become a crucial part of functioning of any company. If one looks closely at sectors such as entertainment, education and retail industries, hospitality plays a major role in supporting these sectors.

Weather you are buying tickets for the latest movie, or booking seats for a flight, hospitality is becoming the spine of businesses all across the globe. Being hospitable to clients is one of the major areas where companies are focussing on. If one observes on a trip to a restaurant, the waiter comes over to ask if the food served was good and is open to feedback.

Another thing which is noticeable in India is that most of the hotels offer a tour of their kitchen, which was never the case before. All these changes spell one thing- companies are going one step further in being more people friendly.

“The industry has been changing and its not just hotels and restaurants now. A lot of other industries such as transportation, real estate, hospitals, retail, casinos, banking, consultancy, education, theme parks and publishing houses need to be hospitable. This is because of every company has some element of hospitality involved in it, which helps the business grow,” says Pimo Mazurczak, Regional Admissions Director, Laureate Hospitality Education, Switzerland.

With a lot of hotels opening up in the country, India is being touted as the next destination for the hospitality industry. According to figures from the World Travel and Tourism Council, by 2019, there would be 275 million jobs pertaining to the hospitality industry. “Though there are still opportunities in the west, a lot of jobs will be generated in countries which include Brazil, Russia, India and China. The present and future of the hospitality industry is in these countries,” Mr. Mazurczak points out.

At present, in India, there are about 90,000 hotel rooms and given to the new hotels coming up, these numbers are bound to increase. “The figures could go up to over 2.40 lakh hotel rooms in India, which would also mean a lot of opportunity for hotel management graduates,” he says. With the spurt of entertainment companies and hotels, India has become a sought after destination for students not only from India, but also countries such as Brazil, China and Russia. “Owing to the boom in the industry here, many people are looking at India for jobs. An interesting trend that we noticed in the past few years is that a lot of foreign students come to India to intern because of the innumerable opportunities and diverse cultures across the country,” Mr. Mazurczak adds.

So all the young hospitality graduates, now you know where your future is! For more information on hospitality courses in Switzerland visit www.lesroches.edu or www.glion.edu

courtesy : Thehindu
URL: http://8bt.in/zi9a0q

Career Journal: Zooming to Jobs in the Auto Industry

2010-10-08T23:37:00.000-07:00

Looking to accelerate your career in to top gear?

India’s automobile industry is one of the fastest-growing in the world right now, thanks to increased purchasing power among Indians.

Reuters
Workers at a Maruti Suzuki factory clean new cars.

Car sales have been touching record highs in recent months, and the momentum is expected to continue as the Indian economy grows rapidly and more people in rural India get behind the wheel. To capitalize on this opportunity, many foreign companies are expanding their operations in India.

The result: auto, and especially car companies, are hiring em masse. For the right candidates, the pay is big. Jobs are available across almost all fields – engineering, research and development, finance, human resources, and information technology.

Auto industry experts walked us through the details of some popular senior-level jobs at car companies in India.

Head of Marketing

If you have the right experience and skills, this is one of the most highly paid jobs in the auto industry.

The head of marketing has to position the company’s brand and promote it, by planning and overseeing advertisements and promotional activities. He or she has to be closely involved in product launches. Afterward, the marketing director is expected to watch how well the product fares in the market, and how it compares with competitors’ products.

Expected Pay: Salaries range from 800,000 rupees ($18,000) to 5 million rupees ($111,000). Some major multinational companies pay as much as 10 million rupees ($224,000).

Qualifications and Experience: Most companies expect candidates to have a master’s degree in business administration, with a specialization in marketing. At least 10 years of experience is required to apply for this position, at least half of which should be in sales, marketing, customer relations or product development.

X-Factor: “The candidate should be able to think strategically and creatively and should possess interpersonal skills,” said Prince Augustin, executive vice-president of human capital, automotive and farm equipment sector at Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., in an email. “Good understanding of network development, and rural and urban marketing” is a plus, added Mr. Augustin.

Head of Vehicle Platform

The head of platform creates the basic skeleton, or platform, on which various cars are built. Depending on what engine or technology goes into this skeleton, we get different variants of a car. For instance, the platform for Maruti Swift and Maruti Dzire is the same, said Uday Sodhi, chief executive officer at job portal HeadHonchos.com.

Besides helping build the platform, the platform director should also keep up with changing technology and make improvisations, in order to keep costs low and stay ahead of the competition.

Expected Pay: Salary starts from 2.5 million rupees ($56,000) a year to 8 million rupees ($178,000) in larger or multinational companies.

Qualifications and Experience: Apart from a bachelor’s degree in engineering, the candidate should ideally have a master’s degree in engineering or technology, with specialization in either mechanical or automobile engineering. A candidate aspiring for this role should have “good technical skills and an exposure to design and manufacturing,” said Mr. Sodhi.

Top companies require about 15 years of experience, with some experience in design and engineering of platform systems like chassis, suspension and brakes.

X-Factor: “The candidate should possess a keen sense of aesthetics,” said Mr. Augustin.

Head of Vehicle Integration

As the name suggests, this person’s main job is to ensure that the different parts of a vehicle are work well together. This involves overseeing the assembly of all components manufactured in-house and those purchased from vendors. The head of vehicle integration works closely with people in product design, and helps build the vehicle architecture virtually.

Expected Pay: Salary ranges from 1.5 million ($34,000) to 5 million rupees ($112,000), depending on the company.

Qualifications and Experience: This technical role requires candidates have a graduate degree in engineering or technology, with a major in mechanical or automobile engineering. To get this position at a small plant, you need about 15 years of experience but larger plants may require as much as 25 years of experience.

X-Factor: Aspiring candidates should have a “strong understanding of latest manufacturing practices and the knowledge of production engineering and machinery operations,” said Dr. Ganesh Shermon, partner and country head of people and change practice at KPMG Advisory.

Financial Analyst

Recruiters say there is a lack of enough skilled people to fill this particular position.

A financial analyst plays a key role in preparing the company’s business plans, and is involved in the vehicle’s pricing and suggesting ways to reduce cost of production. In addition, he or she monitors the progress of the product and reports its financial performance, while also keeping an eye on the performance of competitors’ products.

Expected Pay: Depending upon the company, the annual salary varies from 3 million ($67,000) to 7 million rupees ($156,000).

Qualifications and Experience: Companies typically look for candidates with a post-graduate degree in commerce, or master’s in business administration with a major in finance. Fifteen to 20 years of experience is needed to apply for this position.

X-Factor: The ideal candidate would “have good analytical skills,” said Pandiyan Vairamani, vice-president of human resources at car-maker Ford India.

Head of Logistics/Distribution

The head of logistics is responsible for ordering raw materials and for purchasing various components of a vehicle. After the vehicle is assembled, the person oversees its proper distribution. This would involve getting the vehicles into containers for shipping, and clearing customs, said Ashish Sinharoy, vice president of communications and corporate affairs at Renault India Pvt. Ltd.

Expected Pay: Annual salary ranges from 500,000 rupees ($11,000) to as much as 3.5 million rupees ($78,000).

Qualifications and Experience: A post-graduate degree or master’s in business administration with a major in logistics/supply chain or material management. Top companies look for experience of five to 15 years.

X-Factor: “Ability to scan the market for new sources and should possess strong negotiation skills,” said Mr. Shermon.

courtesy : blogs.wsj.com
URL: http://8bt.in/MWxzX8

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Indian job market bound to rise with growth in IT

2010-10-08T22:57:00.000-07:00

The Indian job market is bound to grow with the growth of information technology, says Ben Noteboom, Chairman, Randstad Group.

Mr. Noteboom felt that India would be a bigger bet for major recruitment solution companies across the globe. Today, the Eastern part of the world was the focus of the economy. With the advent of IT, Indian job seekers were bound to get employment across the world.

Randstad Group's latest survey indicated that job projections from industries such as pharmaceuticals, healthcare and life sciences were bound to grow and it had also predicated that recruitment was happening in the hospitality sector too. Since the U.S. was still the major contributor of jobs for Indian companies, outsourcing and the jobs related to that would grow in the future, he added.

In an interaction with The Hindu group of publications on Tuesday, Mr. Noteboom said though the U.S. job market saw a dip due to the recent economic slowdown, the Indian or Chinese markets did not see any dip. The recent hiring trend in the U.S. market had made it clear that the U.S. market would not see a second dip in the near future, as the blue collar jobs were on the rise, he added.

He said by 2050, nearly 32 million jobs would be created across the globe. But this would not be sufficient to meet the world economic growth. He also pointed out that more jobs would be created in countries with growing young population such as India and China, compared to a couple of Western countries. E. Balaji, Director and President, Mafoi Randstad, said Internet would take a lead role in the recruitment solution. It would pave way for social networking mode of recruitment and similarly web-based application would become a part of the recruitment solution. Randstad specialises in solutions in the field of flexible work and human resources (HR) services.

courtesy : Thehindu
URL: http://8bt.in/fa4mnc

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After TCS, Oracle to set foot in Kerala

2010-10-08T22:22:00.000-07:00

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: It is now official -- software and hardware systems company Oracle would be the next IT major to set up shop in Kerala , a top IT official said here Friday.

Speaking on the condition of anonymity, a state IT official said the decks have been cleared and Oracle is arriving to set up shop in the state capital.

"The question now is the scale of their operations -- if it is going to be a big one or a medium-scale operation," said the official.

Headquartered in Redwood Shores, California, Oracle Corporation specialises in developing and marketing enterprise software products -- particularly database management systems.

As on July, they employed more than one lakh professionals across the globe.

Oracle officials held talks with government officials here and the details are likely to be known after the local bodies polls are over Oct 27.

"Oracle has been confirmed and another IT major which we are expecting to get a favourable decision to set up shop here is IBM. With TCS already signing up early this month to set up their biggest training centre at the proposed Technocity campus near Technopark, IT initiative for the state is moving in the right direction," said the official.

Last week, Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan handed over to TCS the government order allotting them 82 acres of land to set up their training centre which would have facilities to train 15,000 professionals.

If it was Technopark which led from the front of being the most sought-after IT destination since it began operations in the late nineties, Kochi, the commercial capital of the state, was the second destination which the state government decided to earmark for IT development by opening the Infopark IT campus.

And during the present Left government, besides expanding the IT campus at Technopark and Infopark, it also gave the green signal to set up IT Cyber Park in Kozhikode, for which work has begun.

Both the Technopark and Infopark campus have a record 40,000 professionals working in more than 200 IT companies.

The only blot in the efforts to promote IT as the major industry after tourism is the deadlock in the talks to resolve the issues between the government and Smart City Dubai, who are contracted to build the proposed Rs.1,500 crore Smart City Kochi IT project, which is hanging fire for the past three years.

courtesy : Economictimes
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IT jobs trickling down to rural India

2010-10-08T21:34:00.000-07:00

Workers at the Rural Shores centre in Bagepalli. Only a small fraction of India's 1.2 billion people work in the country's predominantly urban-based IT and services sector.

Photograph: Mary Fitzgerald

MARY FITZGERALD, Foreign Affairs Correspondent in Bagepalli, southern India

A call centre company called Rural Shores is trying to bring the two Indias a little closer together

WITH FANS whirring lazily overhead, several lines of young men and women peer at flickering computer screens as the sound of hundreds of fingers tapping on keyboards fills the room. At first glance, the scene could be that of any office in the high-tech hubs that have mushroomed in many of India’s cities over the past decade, helping propel an economic growth rate of almost 9 per cent this year.

But this is Bagepalli, a sleepy town of some 20,000 people deep in rural Karnataka. In the dusty market, barefoot traders sell their produce to locals who depend mostly on farming and labouring to make a living. Some two hours’ drive – and a world – away is the bustling city of Bangalore, India’s Silicon Valley and home to IT giants Infosys and Wipro. When a company named Rural Shores began data processing operations here in Bagepalli two years ago, it was an attempt to bridge those two worlds and bring urban and rural India just that bit closer.

“We asked ourselves: instead of bringing the people to the jobs, why don’t we just bring the jobs to the people?” says Rural Shores chief executive Murali Vullaganti.

Only a small fraction of India’s 1.2 billion people work in the country’s predominantly urban-based IT and services sector. Given that 70 per cent of Indians live in villages and small towns like Bagepalli, the question of how to bring the boom beyond the cities is crucial to India’s future prospects.

“Unless economic development happens at the rural level, the growth that India is experiencing today is not going to be sustainable in the long-term,” says Vullaganti.

Since the Bagepalli centre opened in 2008, Rural Shores has moved into several other Indian states. It plans to establish 500 centres across India by 2017. Each will employ 150 to 200 people.

The company’s literature boasts of its aim to “assimilate rural India into the knowledge economy”. Most of those who work at the low-slung Rural Shores building near an ashram on the outskirts of Bagepalli are the first in their families to experience anything beyond agricultural work, let alone office life. The majority have completed secondary school, and some have begun to study for degrees by correspondence course. “When they started here, around 90 per cent, while they knew what computers were, had never seen one before,” says Ganesha Subramanian, a manager from Bangalore. “But they are fast learners, and we have learned much from them too.”

Surrounded by walls hung with posters carrying slogans emphasising success and customer service, the employees, mostly in their 20s, handle data entry work for Indian and multinational companies, including insurance and logistics firms. They also answer customer queries through e-mails.

To get to the Rural Shores centre, M Venkatesh (24) travels more than 40km from his village every day on his scooter. “There are no other opportunities for young people in this area,” he says. “I have learned to type and my English has improved through talking to managers. Having a guaranteed monthly pay cheque means a lot.”

V Aruna (21) was one of the first people employed by Rural Shores when it opened. “Before, people had to go to Bangalore if they wanted to find this kind of job. Life there was expensive and very often people felt lonely so far from home. Now we can do this work without moving out of our comfort zone,” she says. “We can stay living with our parents – that is very important for us.”

For E Pushpa (20) the work gives her a sense of independence she once only dreamt of. “My parents wanted me to get married as quickly as possible but I would like to become a social worker,” she says. “I give half my salary to my parents, and use the rest for a correspondence course. Having money I have earned myself is very liberating.”

Stories like that of Pushpa help illustrate how India’s economic growth is also ushering in something of a quiet revolution in terms of values and aspirations, particularly for young women.

But in the conservative heartlands of rural India, there is much wariness when it comes to what is sometimes referred to as “call-centre culture”. Several Indian films and novels have portrayed the life of a call centre worker as one of endless office flirtations and even premarital sex – still taboo in a society where most marriages are arranged. The weight of tradition in rural areas means companies like Rural Shores must tread carefully. Managers have met with local elders to assuage concerns, and the centre does not operate an overnight shift. “Some convincing was required at the beginning because parents of young women were concerned about the image this kind of work sometimes has in the cities,” says Vullaganti. “We need to be careful that we only bring the jobs, not import the culture. We must be conscious of the fact the social fabric here is different from the cities.”

Rural Shores was one of the first companies to explore rural India’s potential for business process outsourcing (BPO). Much of the impetus stemmed from the need to keep the industry – worth almost €9 billion in India – competitive, particularly as other countries, including the Philippines, tried to muscle in. “Outsourcing the outsourcing” to rural India means operating costs are cut by half. Pay scales at Rural Shores start at 3,400 rupees (around €60) per month. The same work in Bangalore would command double that amount. But, managers argue, the cost of living in Bagepalli and its environs is much less – the average monthly household income here is 2,500-3,000 rupees.

Several other companies have followed the example of Rural Shores, opening similar operations in different parts of India. The firm has received several awards. The government has made offers of partnership.

“They are asking us how they can help us grow further, and in other states,” says Vullaganti. “The idea has now gone mainstream.”

courtesy : Iirishtimes
URL: http://8bt.in/E3e2wh

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Higher growth produces more jobs in India

2010-09-20T02:27:00.001-07:00

The higher growth rate of the Indian economy is being reflected in a significant increase in employment generation as well.

According to a finance ministry official, the latest figures based on a sample survey of eight sectors show that as many as 10.66 lakh jobs were added between March, 2009, and March, 2010.

The sectors include information technology (IT), information technology enabled services (ITeS), gems and jewellery, handloom, textiles, leather, metals, engineering goods and automobiles.

These are labour-intensive sectors that cater mainly to the export markets and had seen massive job losses in the aftermath of the global financial meltdown triggered in October 2008.

The automobile sector, which is dependent essentially on the domestic market, has shown a spectacular growth rate on the back of new models being launched and buoyant demand.

This, in turn, has led to the generation of more employment. According to earlier studies carried out by the ministry of labour, employment had declined by 4.91 lakh during the October- December, 2008 quarter.

Employment had then increased by 4.97 lakh during the July-September, 2009 quarter as the economy started showing some greenshoots of growth.

A later survey showed that employment had improved by about 6.38 lakh during December 2009 over September 2009 due to substantial increase in employment of 5.7 lakh in the IT and BPO sectors.

The labour ministry's figures also show a net addition of 12.6 lakh during December 2008 to December 2008.

While jobs had been axed and salaries slashed as firms tightened their belts to survive during the economic downturn, the revival of the industrial growth rate has led to more employment being generated once again.

The total employment in the Indian economy during 2009-10 has been estimated at 506 million with an average annual growth rate of 1.97 per cent for the period 2004-05 to 2009-10.

The total labour force in the country for 2009-10 has been estimated at 520 million and the figure is expected to go up to 574 million in 2014- 15, which means that 10 to 11 million new entrants are expected to join the labour force each year.

The estimates indicate that employment must grow at least at 2.5 per cent a year for the next five years so that most of the open unemployment, including the additions to the labour force due to the increasing population, may be taken care of.

According to projections worked out by the labour ministry a nine per cent economic growth rate of the Indian economy results in a 2.5 per cent increase in employment at the current level of absorption.

Thus, while the government talks of inclusive growth it is essential to ensure a high growth rate of the economy as well if a worthwhile livelihood is to be provided to the people.

Meanwhile, the government's chief economic adviser Kaushik Basu said on Friday that he expected the economy to comfortably clock an 8.5 per cent growth rate during the current financial year.

"The economy has grown at 8.8 per cent during the April-June quarter of the current financial year. I expect second quarter (Q2) growth to be lower than this and the Q3 growth again to be high and the year to end with a growth of 8.5 per cent," Basu said.

"The reason why the mediumto long- term growth prospects are even better for India is that the manufacturing sector is experiencing buoyancy rarely seen before," he remarked.

Job generators:

Information technology (IT), information technology enabled services (ITeS), gems and jewellery, handloom, textiles, leather, metals, engineering goods and automobiles

Bouncing back:

These are labour-intensive sectors that cater mainly to the export markets and had seen massive job losses in the aftermath of the global financial meltdown triggered in October 2008.

Latest surge:

The total employment in the Indian economy during 2009- 10 has been estimated at 506 million with an average annual growth rate of 1.97 per cent for the period 2004-05 to 2009-10.

Total count:

The total labour force in the country for 2009- 10 has been estimated at 520 million and the figure is expected to go up to 574 million in 2014- 15, which means that 10 to 11 million new entrants are expected to join the labour force each year.

The projection:

According to the labour ministry, a nine per cent growth rate of the Indian economy results in a 2.5 per cent rise in jobs. Government's economic adviser Kaushik Basu said the economy will grow at 8.5 per cent.

courtesy : Indiatoday
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India to see strong hiring trend in next 3 months: Manpower

2010-09-20T01:58:00.000-07:00

NEW DELHI: Employers in India are planning to hire at a robust pace in the next three months and public administration, education and services sectors are expected to see strong recruitment trends, says a survey.

Globally, India is the most optimistic in terms of recruitment intentions for the fourth quarter, after China and Taiwan, according to staffing services firm Manpower's Employment Outlook Survey released on Tuesday.

The job market remains robust in India as a result of strong domestic growth and recovery from key global markets. But employers in other countries are reporting strong hiring forecasts, as well," Manpower India's Managing Director Sanjay Pandit said.

India's net employment outlook -- an indicator of employers' hiring intentions -- stood at 38 per cent on a seasonally-adjusted basis, for the next three months. For the third quarter, the outlook stood a little higher at 41 per cent.

The outlook fell slightly for the next three months as recruitment activities are relatively less in this period, mainly on account of festival season, Pandit noted.

For the fourth quarter, China has the highest outlook of 47 per cent and is followed by Taiwan (40 per cent). Interestingly, for the 2010 third quarter, India was the most optimistic when it came to hiring intentions.

Of the total of 36 countries surveyed by Manpower, 28 showed positive hiring trends for the next three months. As many as 5,395 employers in India participated in the survey.

In terms of sectors in India, public administration & education has the highest net employment outlook of 45 per cent, followed by services (40 per cent) and finance, insurance and real estate (34 per cent).

As per the report, transportation and utilities, and wholesale and retail trade sectors, each have an outlook of 22 per cent.

"Once you combine strong domestic hiring along with improved International opportunities, we see one of the best scenarios that Indian job seekers could have imagined," he said.

With an employment outlook of 41 per cent, employers in the South have strong hiring plans for the fourth quarter of this year. Northern region has an outlook of 37 per cent, followed by East (36 per cent) and West (32 per cent).

Going by the survey, the weakest hiring plans for the upcoming quarter were reported from Greece, Italy, the Czech Republic, Spain and Ireland.

Read more: India to see strong hiring trend in next 3 months: Manpower - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/India-to-see-strong-hiring-trend-in-next-3-months-Manpower/articleshow/6511548.cms#ixzz103gYkxty

courtesy :Timesofindia
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Healthcare, hospitality lead in job creation

2010-09-20T01:25:00.000-07:00

The organised sector in India would create about 320,000 jobs between July and September, according to the Ma Foi Randstad Employment Trends Survey. There is optimism in the economic scenario across all sectors and most of the new jobs created are in services, it says.

Conducted among 650 companies across 13 industry segments that included eight Indian cities, the survey revealed 418,000 jobs were created between January and June, with the healthcare sector creating 121,000 jobs, with another 63,000 in the hospitality sector. The top five sectors leading the boom are healthcare, hospitality, real estate and construction, information technology and IT-enabled services, and education, training and consulting.

New Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai were the cities leading on jobs, by creating 112,000 between January and September. Kolkata, Bangalore and Hyderabad follow, creating 30,000-plus during the same period.

Real estate and construction leads with the highest growth in number of people employed. It also expects growth in average salary by about four per cent, followed by pharma (3.5 per cent) and healthcare (3.4 per cent) during the third quarter.

Bangalore expects a rise in average salary by about 4.9 per cent (the highest), followed by Delhi and Pune (both 3.5 per cent) during the third quarter.

The estimated proportion of experienced workforce is the highest in the pharma sector, 87 per cent. Healthcare is estimated to have the highest percentage of freshers,at 38 per cent. Kolkata has the highest estimated percentage of experienced workforce, at 82 per cent, and New Delhi the highest estimated percentage of freshers(35 per cent).

Ben Noteboom, chief executive officer and chairman of the executive board at Randstad, said: “We see positive trends across many economies across the globe, such as USA, Germany, France, Asia-Pacific and parts of Europe, which are clearly growing. India would continue its economic growth and employment generation,fuelled by its domestic consumption and stabilising global economy.”

K Pandia Rajan, managing director & CEO, Ma Foi Randstad, said: “We see a clear trend of increased optimism in hiring spread across all sectors, and the service sectors like healthcare and hospitality, spearheading the boom by adding a significant number of jobs. The buoyant economy has given a boost to real estate & construction, which has demonstrated the highest growth in employment figures. We are positive that this trend will continue in the next quarter, too.”

courtesy : business-standard
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Wanted: CEO for Infopark

2010-09-20T01:06:00.000-07:00

Kochi: Kerala IT requires a Chief Executive Officer for Infopark. The CEO, Infopark will report to the Principal Secretary, the Department of IT, Government of Kerala and the Board of Governors of Infoparks, Kerala. He will be responsible for the administration, management and implementation of various schemes at Infopark Kochi and Koratty and also the upcoming Infoparks at Cherthala and Ambalapuzha.

Engineering graduates, in the age group of 35-45, with an MBA from an institute of repute and a minimum seven years experience in the IT / ITeS industry, of which at least five years should be in a senior management position, are eligible for applying for the post of the CEO. The candidate should have excellent communication, judgement and interpersonal skills to interact with highly successful CEOs of MNCs to influence them for prospective investment.

The Infoparks at Kochi and Koratty, near Trissur hosts about 90 IT / ITeS companies with about 11,500 professionals. With the work on Infopark Phase II expected to start soon, Kerala IT is on the look out for a highly competent and energetic professional for immediate appointment. So if you think you have it in you, mail your detailed resume to the Principal Secretary (IT) & Chairman, Board of Governors, Infoparks, Kerala.

Anil Philip
Kerala IT News

courtesy : keralaitnews
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TCS to invest Rs 1000 cr on training campus

2010-09-20T00:39:00.000-07:00

The Indian job market has picked up, yet only one out of 10 graduates seeking employment will find a job, says a survey on hiring trends in 2010. "This year over 10.5 lakh (1.05 million) jobs are being created across sectors but one crore (10 million) aspirants are coming into the market," managing
related stories

* IT/ITes is no hot sector for job seekers post meltdown
director and CEO of Ma Foi Randstad K Pandia Rajan said on Wednesday.

Ma Foi Randstad, an international human resource service provider, conducted the survey among 650 companies across 13 industry segments in eight Indian cities -- Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkota, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Pune and Ahmedabad.

The survey revealed that 418,564 jobs were generated in the first six months of 2010.

"The study also projected creation of 320,400 jobs the next three months (third quarter of the year) and an equal number for the fourth quarter too, taking the total job creation to over one million this year," Rajan said, releasing the findings of the survey.

The economic meltdown hit the global market early 2007, resulting in loss of thousands of jobs and cut down on hiring. Indian IT/ITes companies put hiring on hold in 2008 and 2009.

"The market has not returned to the same buoyancy of pre-recession days," said the CEO of HumanCapital B S Murthy.

The Bangalore based firm is into career consulting.

"It has slowed down, and hence less number of jobs and more seekers," he said.

Murthy said the trend is likely to continue for a decade unless there is growth in every sector in India.

While information technology and enabled services, mainly business processing office (BPO) and call centres, created a major chunk of jobs five years ago, the retail and telecom industry added numbers in recent years, he noted.

The job generation depends on investment and the investment is only in trickles, Murthy aid.

"The difficulty, however, is limited only to the freshers," Kris Lakshmikanth, the founder of The Head Hunters, said.

"It is easy for those who have already been in the industry and are looking for a placement in a different company," he added.

courtesy : The Economic Times
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Only one in 10 graduate employment seekers will get jobs

2010-09-19T23:14:00.000-07:00

The Indian job market has picked up, yet only one out of 10 graduates seeking employment will find a job, says a survey on hiring trends in 2010. "This year over 10.5 lakh (1.05 million) jobs are being created across sectors but one crore (10 million) aspirants are coming into the market," managing

related stories

* IT/ITes is no hot sector for job seekers post meltdown

director and CEO of Ma Foi Randstad K Pandia Rajan said on Wednesday.

Ma Foi Randstad, an international human resource service provider, conducted the survey among 650 companies across 13 industry segments in eight Indian cities -- Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkota, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Pune and Ahmedabad.

The survey revealed that 418,564 jobs were generated in the first six months of 2010.

"The study also projected creation of 320,400 jobs the next three months (third quarter of the year) and an equal number for the fourth quarter too, taking the total job creation to over one million this year," Rajan said, releasing the findings of the survey.

The economic meltdown hit the global market early 2007, resulting in loss of thousands of jobs and cut down on hiring. Indian IT/ITes companies put hiring on hold in 2008 and 2009.

"The market has not returned to the same buoyancy of pre-recession days," said the CEO of HumanCapital B S Murthy.

The Bangalore based firm is into career consulting.

"It has slowed down, and hence less number of jobs and more seekers," he said.

Murthy said the trend is likely to continue for a decade unless there is growth in every sector in India.

While information technology and enabled services, mainly business processing office (BPO) and call centres, created a major chunk of jobs five years ago, the retail and telecom industry added numbers in recent years, he noted.

The job generation depends on investment and the investment is only in trickles, Murthy aid.

"The difficulty, however, is limited only to the freshers," Kris Lakshmikanth, the founder of The Head Hunters, said.

"It is easy for those who have already been in the industry and are looking for a placement in a different company," he added.

courtesy : Hindustantimes
URL: http://8bt.in/hyZ5rf
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Job outlook is positive: Survey

2010-09-19T22:49:00.000-07:00

BANGALORE: The organised sector in India is set to create about 3,20,400 jobs between July and September 2010, reveals the latest results of Ma Foi Randstad Employment Trends Survey. There is optimism in the economic scenario across all sectors and services sector has created most of the new jobs in the country.

The survey was conducted across 13 industry segments that included eight Indian cities. The top five sectors leading the boom are healthcare, hospitality, real estate & construction, IT & ITeS and education, training & consulting.
The top management and senior HR personnel of 650 companies were queried about their hiring intentions in present quarter vis-a-vis the last quarter and their views about the whole year.

The survey reveals that a total of 418,564 jobs were created between January and June 2010 with healthcare sector creating over 121,000 jobs followed by Hospitality sector creating close to 63,000 jobs.

New Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai are the leading job generators creating 112,987 jobs for the period of January to September 2010. Kolkata, Bangalore and Hyderabad follow closely creating 30,000 plus jobs during the same period.

Real estate & construction sector leads the pack with the highest growth in number of people employed by the sector; not surprisingly, the sector expects growth in average salary by about 4% followed by pharma (3.5%) and healthcare (3.4%) during the third quarter.

Amongst the cities, Bangalore expects increase in average salary by about 4.9% followed by Delhi (3.5%) and Pune (3.5%) during July-August-September period.

Estimated proportion of experienced workforce is the highest in the pharma sector, which is 87%. Healthcare sector is estimated to have the highest percentage of freshers at 38%. Kolkata has the highest estimated percentage of experienced workforce (82%) and New Delhi has the highest estimated percentage of freshers (35%), found the study.

Commenting on the Indian job market scenario, Ben Noteboom, CEO, Randstad Holding, “We see positive trends across many economies across the globe, such as the US, Germany, France, Asia Pacific and parts of Europe which are clearly growing. I expect India to continue its economic growth and employment generation fuelled by its domestic consumption and stabilising global economy.’’

K. Pandia Rajan, CEO, Ma Foi Randstad, said, “We see a clear trend of increased optimism in hiring spread across all sectors. We see the service sectors like healthcare and hospitality spearheading the boom by adding significant number of jobs. The buoyant economy has given a boost to real estate & construction sector, which has demonstrated the highest growth in employment figures. We are positive that this trend will continue in the next quarter too.’’

courtesy : The Economic Times
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NCR highest job creator among metros in Apr-Aug 2010: Assocham

2010-09-19T22:15:00.000-07:00

NEW DELHI: The National Capital Region has emerged as the highest job generating city among the four major metros in India in April-August 2010, industry body Assocham said.

According to a survey by the chamber, NCR has created 34.2 per cent employment followed by Mumbai (12.70 per cent), Chennai (6.12 pc) and Kolkata (4.19 pc) in a sample of 2,40,314 employment opportunities generated in 60 cities during the period.

"The job creation is happening at all levels including senior, middle and junior management and executives," Assocham General Secretary D S Rawat said, adding the growth is expected to continue for the next six months.

The sectors, which created most jobs included IT, engineering, textile, real estate, infrastructure, aviation and education.

The IT and IT-enabled services accounted for 57.07 per cent of the total job openings, it said, adding healthy recovery in the export and import activities also helped in creating employment.

However, telecom, FMCG, banking and logistics sectors recorded marginal decline in job creation during the period.

courtesy : The Economic Times
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UST Global & Cisco pact for Smart Campus

2010-09-04T11:36:00.000-07:00

Thiruvananthapuram, August 31, DHNS:

Technopark-based UST Global has tied up with Cisco Services to set up a smart and intelligent campus with the latter’s Smart + Connected Real Estate Solutions.

The solutions provide for optimising resource utilisation through a single connection for building management and IT systems thus significantly reducing capital expenditure.
The first phase of the new campus would come up by 2011-end near the new Infosys campus here.

Oracle may arrive at Technopark

2010-09-04T11:20:00.000-07:00

THIRUVANATHAPURAM: Oracle, one of the global IT giants, is gearing up to spread its wings to God’s Own Country. It is learnt that Oracle is planning to send a delegation to Kerala by the end of this year to take further measures in this direction. The new developments are the outcome of a recent video conference attended by a delegation representing the State and senior officials of Oracle. While former Union Minister and Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor led the State delegation, the Oracle team was led by its Executive Vice President Thomas Kurian. During the video conference that lasted more than 30 minutes, Kurian indicated that a delegation from Oracle would be sent to Kerala by November to have a first-hand feel of the facilities av
ailable. ‘’Kurian, who directly reports to Oracle CEO Larry Ellison, is also likely to take up the matter during the discussion on finalising the global development plans of Oracle which is likely to take place by November,’’ sources in the IT Department told Expresso. Technopark Chief Executive Officer Mervin Alexander, who also took part in the discussion, said that things were moving in the right direction. ‘’We are quite hopeful over the developments. It seems that Oracle is quite impressed at the facilities that we are offering. Though they may not go for a full-fledged campus, we expect that Oracle would take a decision on setting up a unit in Technopark without much delay,’’ Mervin told this paper. The video conference was held from the video conferencing facility of UST Global at the Technopark on August 13. The conference, that began by about 9.15 pm, lasted till around 10 pm. Thomas Kurian joined the video conference from Oracle’s headquarters in the US. Ajay Prasad of the Trivandrum Development Forum was also present at the video conference. Oracle, at present, has development centres at Bangalore, Hyderabad and Gurgaon in India. Sources close to Tharoor said that Tharoor was also instrumental in attracting HCL to Technopark. HCL has already taken steps to commence its operations from here. Mervin also said that there have been a lot of queries from several leading players in the IT and related sectors on the upcoming Technocity project.

Suyati Technologies on a hiring spree

2010-08-23T07:35:00.000-07:00

Kochi: Infopark based Suyati Technologies, an IT software services company, is on a recruitment binge and plans to double their workforce by the end of this month. Beginning April 2009 as a start-up, Suyati has come a long way to itself as a company that delivers innovative product development and creative solutions.

With over five decades of cumulative experience in outsourced technology service offerings, Suyati’s dedicated Global Teams focus on creating, innovating, and supporting product development for companies globally. With offices in US and Germany, Suyati is expanding rapidly. Suyati also owns ContentCrossroads, an online marketing platform.

Apply to responsekochi@greenpepper.in or call 0484-2374 222/223/224

Government portal for job seekers

2010-08-23T07:32:00.001-07:00

KOCHI: The State Government proposes to set up an electronic portal for skilled and semi-skilled job seekers to help them land in right jobs.
Inaugurating the one-day workshop at the HR Impact 2010' on 'Challenges and Future Directions' in Kochi, Labour, Rehabilitation and Environment Secretary KB Valsalakumari said all those who had and had not registered in the Employment Exchange can register on the website.
"We plan to bring in companies to register in the portal and thus make use of it," she said.
She said the state's image as an industrial-friendly state had grown over the last four years as there were very few hartals and bandhs. The Labour Secretary said the government planned to organise a full-fledged 'Career Fair' that would bring all the major companies to participate. She sought the help of the CII in conducting the fair on the lines of the one organised by the Karnataka Government where 2000 companies and almost 2.5 lakh job-seekers had attended.
Valsalakumari said that the department planned to organise a workshop to discuss the 'skill mapping report' which was submitted by the CII to the government. Pradeep Chakravarthy of Infosys Leadership Institute, AS Girish, Head (HR Admin, Apollo Tyres Ltd), Jose Dominic (Vice Chairman, CII) and Kerala state council and NMP Jeyesh (CII) spoke. The conference discussed the role of human resource in the changing competitive market environment.

Technopark aims to be among top 5 IT investment locations

2010-08-23T07:30:00.001-07:00

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Two decades since its launch as India’s first technology park, the Technopark here is aiming to be one of the top five IT investment destinations in the country, and offer facilities that would cater to the requirements of IT companies across the world.

The foundation stone for the first building at Technopark was laid in 1991 by the then chief minister EK Nayanar, and in 1995 the then prime minister PV Narasimha Rao formally dedicated the facility to the nation. The project itself was conceptualized as an autonomous body under the state government’s IT department.

In terms of the value of IT exports, the park may trail other locations but Technopark continues to lay claim to being the single largest IT park in the country with a built-up area of 4.5 m sq ft, from where 180 IT/ITES companies operate with a combined staff strength of about 28,000.

Kerala IT secretary Ajay Kumar says the state was among a few that withstood the recent global downturn, and that Technopark continues to attract international IT brands on the strength of its infrastructure offering.

Over the past two decades, IT majors including TCS and Infosys have set up operations in the Technopark campus and the latter has set up its own campus over 50 acres in the Technopark Phase II facility, and presently employs 3,000 at the state capital. Technopark CEO Mervin Alexander says the park has been successful in nurturing a number of homegrown companies including Toonz Animation India, IBS Software Services, UST Global, NeST and SunTec Business Solutions.

Alexander says the park is aiming to be a location that will cater to “any need of an IT company in every aspect”, and that it was estimated that by 2015 Kerala would have 2 lakh direct jobs in the IT/ITES industry, and Technopark would be one of the top five IT investment destinations in the country.

The park offers a Smart Business Centre, a plug and play facility that has attracted international companies to set up their software development facilities, and houses the Indian Institute of Information Technology, Kerala (IIITM-K). Technopark has acquired 92 acres of land for its Phase III expansion and 450 acres of land for setting up an integrated township in the fourth phase, named TechnoCity. The park is also developing a 44-acre campus at Kundara near Kollam, as one of the spokes for which Technopark will act as the hub.

Technopark IT firms optimistic

2010-08-23T07:28:00.000-07:00

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Amidst reports that the proposed steep hike in US visa charges would badly hit the Indian IT Sector, industry leaders in the State capital are quite optimistic that it would not have much of an impact on the State’s IT sector as a whole.
“I don’t think the hike in the visa fee is going to make any impact whatsoever on the Indian IT companies. The US has hiked the fees in the past too and this is not the first time,” said Technopark Chief Executive Officer Mervin Alexander.
Any changes in the US laws concerning the IT sector would have its direct implications for Kerala as 69 percent of the IT exports from the State are to the US. The National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) and other leading players in the IT sector like Infosys and Wipro have already expressed concerns on the US Senate’s move as part of the proposed Border Security Bill to hike the visa fee by about US $ 2,000.
While UST Global, one of the leading US-oriented firms operating from the Technopark, is yet to give its view on the issue, IBS, another leading Technopark firm, feels that a steep hike in the US visa fee may have its impact on the Indian IT companies. But, since IBS already has sufficient number of US-origin professionals stationed in that country, the need for people in India to travel to the US in limited, said Mathew Joshua, Head - Corporate Communications of IBS.
“The proposed hike in the US visa charges has come at a time when Indian IT companies are shaking off the effects of a full-blown recession and hence it would hurt Indian companies. The additional expense is likely to put pressure on their margins,” he said.
“IBS is a product-led company and, hence, unlike conventional IT services companies, large-scale deployment of people at customer sites is seldom required. Besides, we have three offices in the US - at Atlanta, Boston and Denver. Hence, there are sufficient people of US origin stationed in that country. The need for people in India to travel to the US is, therefore, limited. About 50 persons from IBS avail the US visa annually,” said Mathew.
Toonz Animation Chief Executive Officer P Jayakumar is also quite optimistic and said that the fresh developments would not have an impact on the Indian IT sector as a whole. “A hike in the US visa fee may not affect the industry as a whole, but might have an impact on firms that have a major section of employees based out of the US. As far as Toonz is considered, though 90 percent of our market is in the US, we don’t have many employees in the US and hence there won’t be much of an impact,” he said.

GTECH to tap Scandinavian markets

2010-08-18T09:54:00.001-07:00

The Group of Technology Companies (GTECH) will help small and medium IT enterprises in Kerala identify new market opportunities for growth and expand their reach, especially in Scandinavian markets.

'The UK and the US markets are the current targets for the Kerala IT Industry. But with the economies of these countries slowing down, there could be a cut on the IT spend of companies located here. The need to look at newer markets has never been greater. The Scandinavian countries present a fantastic opportunity for the Kerala IT companies to tap,' said Anoop Ambika, secretary GTECH.

Recently delegations from Denmark and Sweden visited Technopark here and Infopark, Kochi, to dentify the potential business areas for the IT Companies in the state.

The new emerging sectors like clean technology, health and life sciences have been identified as the thrust areas.

Currently there are close to 40,000 software professionals working in around 250 IT companies at Technopark campus here and Infopark in Kochi.

i-Green makes recruitment process faster

2010-08-17T21:15:00.001-07:00

i-Green, developed by GreenPepper, a professional HR services provider is a web enabled performance management software which changes the way recruitment consultants work. It helps to give clients faster services, candidates faster response and consultants to improve productivity. The program is coded by a team of freshers from Rajagiri School of Engineering and Technology. This can help a recruitment consultant to work for multiple clients across the world and provide sharp attention to their specific requirements. After working with more than 160 companies in last 3 years, GreenPepper developed this program to meet the new demands of their clients across the world. “This helps to shorten the recruitment process time, thereby achieving the talent acquisition targets of our client companies faster”, says Krishna Kumar, CEO of GreenPepper Consulting India Private Limited.

GreenPepper Consulting - Your HR Partner

2010-07-29T07:15:00.000-07:00

Put Your Employees First

2010-07-24T08:50:00.000-07:00

Put Your Employees First

The Hindu : Education : Head-hunters back on the prowl

2010-07-20T06:08:00.000-07:00

The Hindu : Education : Head-hunters back on the prowl

i-Green, enhances speed of recruiters at GreenPepper

2010-07-05T00:18:00.000-07:00

A new web enabled software named i-Green is changing the way we work at GreenPepper. Our recruiters who handle multiple assignments of clients across geographies and levels find it useful to deliver services faster than before. It helps in internal coordination and helps in giving our clients lightening speed services. It was launched at GreenPepper, and it is on a beta run now.

After jobs, pay hikes are back

2010-05-16T07:33:00.000-07:00

India Inc. is decidedly rescinding salary freezes and even making up for ground lost during the downturn. The increments that companies started talking about gingerly late last year are becoming a reality in 2010. Sectors that experienced maximum job squeeze are also making a recovery, though not to the same extent as fast-growing sectors.

A salary increase survey conducted by HR consulting firm Hewitt Associates across 465 companies points to organisations resuming pay raises. Salary increase on average for 2010 in India is projected to be 10.6 per cent, the highest in Asia-Pacific. China and the Philippines follow India with a projected increase of 6.7 per cent and 6.4 per cent respectively.

The projected increment of 10.6 per cent is a three-fifths increase from the actual increase of 6.6 per cent in 2009, according to the survey. Indian-owned companies will in all likeliness outperform MNCs with a projected average increase of 11.4 per cent as against 10.2 per cent by the latter, it says.

Oil and gas along with the power sector has the highest projected salary hike of 12.8 per cent. "Not only have these sectors continued to grow, but are currently witnessing a talent gap," says Sandeep Chaudhary, Leader, Performance and Rewards Consulting for Hewitt in India, explaining high levels of pay hikes.

Salary hikes in banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) have made a smart return—banking is set to give double-digit increments while in financial services it is still in the region of 8-10 per cent. Average increment in banking was subdued last year and salary freezes ruled across sectors. This year is a different story. "Since Indian arms are contributing to the growth of MNC banks, it's translating into rewards for employees," says E. Balaji, CEO, Ma Foi Management Consultants.

Merit-based increases are getting more aggressive. Says Gautam Chainani, Chief People Officer, Aditya Birla Financial Services, "In financial services there is a move towards aggressive variable pay." The company is handing out 8-12 per cent hikes as against five per cent last year.

Increments in IT services are muted, however.

"That's because business and cost productivity pressures are still high," says an HR executive in an IT services firm, adding, "hikes will be more in the range of six to eight per cent on average."

Temp jobs go niche

2010-05-16T07:32:00.000-07:00

Call it a ripple effect of the meltdown that annihilated jobs across the world last year. Temporary (temp) jobs, that in the past have mostly been nonspecialised, entry-level roles, are gradually morphing into specialist, niche profiles and organisations across various sectors have started putting a premium on this talent. That's what a study conducted by TeamLease Services Solutions, India's leading staffing agency, brings to the fore.

Salary growth is appreciably higher for profiles with specific skills, according to TeamLease Annual Temp Salary Primer 2010. Industry is handpicking skilled profiles at a much higher increment than the rest. The indemand skills include research specialisation in agriculture, exposure to sales functions across various sectors, exposure to product development in industries such as information technology, and business development expertise in insurance.

Says Rajesh A.R., Vice President (Temporary Staffing), TeamLease Services: "Skilled professionals are getting big hikes and are being sought after." TeamLease has close to 67,000 temps on its rolls.

While general staffing market in the US is an important economic barometer of growth, it's still a nascent market in India.

According to Labour Ministry estimates, the size of the labour force in India is about 420 million, of which the organised workforce accounts for 30 million. Of this, 20 million are government employees, while 10 million are employed in private sector. Of these 10 million, close to half a million workers are employed through staffing agencies, says E. Balaji, CEO, Ma Foi Management Consultants, one of the leading players in staffing.

Despite the current pick up in demand, the market for temp jobs is yet to go back to its pre-meltdown levels. Sectors like telecom, FMCG, power and energy have accelerated hiring on the back of expansionrelated demand. Telecom and energy are, in fact, the new growth engines. Telecom companies in Bangalore, Chandigarh, Delhi, Mumbai and Pune as well as energy businesses in Hyderabad, Mumbai, Pune and Bangalore gave out a high 10 per cent plus increment for several profiles.

Manufacturing and construction, too, are stepping up hiring, but gradually. "Construction will take some more time to stabilise as the increased demand, created by the Commonwealth Games, is likely to disappear," says Rajesh.

India's hottest young executives: India Today - Latest Breaking News from India, World, Business, Cricket, Sports, Bollywood.

2010-04-03T05:58:00.000-07:00

India's hottest young executives: India Today - Latest Breaking News from India, World, Business, Cricket, Sports, Bollywood.

Did they lift from GreenPepper?

2010-04-02T08:23:00.001-07:00

Blackberry's new ad - "Do what you love; love what you do"! 3 years back, GreenPepper designed catch line 'Do what you enjoy, enjoy what you do' and trademarked it. Did they lift from us?

Jobs are back: ICICI hiring 4,000

2010-03-10T17:18:00.000-08:00

After slamming the brakes for 18 months since mid 2008, India's leading bank, ICICI is accelerating its pace again. And the best proof that it is gearing up for growth is its increased recruitment.

The bank's HR Chief confirmed it has employed 2000 more people in the past 2 months and plans to recruit 4000 more people by March 2011.

The proposed recruitment will take its head count to 40,500 - the peak level that it had touched in the rara days of March 2008.

Starting from April 2008, the bank had begun preparing for the inevitable slowdown. Its work force fell to a low of 33,000 people in the 18 months to October 2009.

But after a quarter of wait and watch it is back in recruitment mode.

Deposit collection is the segment seeing the most new hires. Mortgages rank next.

The other growth areas for the bank are infrastructure and corproate lending that don't require large numbers.

ICICI officials say they never stopped their campus recruitment of about 450 management graduates annually. But now non-campus recrutment will also pick up both for growth and to replace those who leave.

Companies set to hire 10 lakh in '10-11

2010-03-10T17:15:00.000-08:00

It's official. Jobs are back. The organised sector in India is set to create close to a million new jobs in 2010-2011, according to a Ma Foi Employment Trends Survey. However, hiring intentions of employers are not really loud and clear in the immediate future. Most of them are cautious for the next four months but optimistic about the new financial year.

The focus is on smaller cities like Ahmedabad and Pune. Among the metros, Chennai is leading, followed by Bangalore and Kolkata. Mumbai and Delhi are yet to recover fully from the impact of the slowdown.

The survey was conducted earlier this year among 1,000 companies across 11 industry segments in India — banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI), education, energy, health, hospitality & travel, IT, ITeS, real estate & construction, trade, transport and manufacturing. The survey asked these companies on their hiring plans over the next three months and over the next year.

"There seems to be a cautious approach by employers. They want to see if the recovery trends are sustainable since most of their revenue models are based on western economy and in the US and across Europe there are still conflicting signals. So while medium to long term plans look robust, no one wants to get caught on wrong foot," said E Balaji, CEO of Ma Foi Management Consultants.

Balaji is bullish about the employment growth in pharma, healthcare and manufacturing sector (which is expected to generate 68,000 jobs). "In the BFSI sector, where we expect 46,000 new jobs, bulk of them will be generated by PSU banks," he said.

"In the IT\BPO sector, growth will be muted in the near term. Consequently, retail too is likely to lie low for sometime, since those in the IT\BPO sector are their biggest spenders and this time around, these lot of people are likely to be more cautious about their spending habits." However, the IT industry is likely to generate 97,000 jobs. Incidentally, only a couple of days ago, Infosys said the IT industry will create 3 lakh jobs over the next 12 months.

Healthcare is on top of the list expecting to generate 2,95,000 jobs, followed by the hospitality sector (1,37,000). Real estate follows closely with 1,36,000 new jobs.

Kochi gets a big slice of budget pie

2010-03-10T17:06:00.000-08:00

Though the Union Government is yet to give its final nod for the Metro Rail Project, allocations in the state budget for the project will give impetus to the preparatory work. In the budget Rs 50 crore has been set apart for the work. Besides Rs 5 crore has been earmarked as a token for equity contribution.

The State Government has almost completed the survey work of the project. But land acquisition can be started only after the project gets clearance from the Union Cabinet. An office of the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) has already been opened in Kochi. “We have given a proposal for the preparatory work to the State Government. But we are yet to get a reply,’’ said a top official with the DMRC. The work in the proposal includes widening of Banerji Road, rebuilding of North Railway Overbridge (ROB) and construction of a new ROB near the KSRTC stand. “If funds are allotted the Rs 150-crore preparatory work can be started immediately,’’ he said.

The State Government has earmarked Rs 5 crore for Vyttila mobility hub. Funds for the Rs 300-crore project will be collected from the JNNURM scheme and the GCDA. The amount allotted in the budget can be used for the initial work. “The fund can be used for land development and acquisition of land for entry and exit roads,’’ said a project official. KITCO is preparing a detailed project report of the mobility hub. As the JNNURM scheme doesn’t have the provision to spend its funds on land acquisition, the amount will have to be raised from other agencies. The steering committee of JNNURM headed by the Chief Minister has decided to approve the proposal which has been forwarded to the Central Screening and Monitoring Committee which is to give the final nod. If included in the scheme, most of the components of the project will get a Central Government grant of up to 50 percent of its total cost. The State Government has constituted a Vyttila Mobility Hub Society headed by the District Collector. The meeting of the Society had devised plans to mobilise Rs 40 crore from GIDA and GCDA so that work can start even before the funds from the JNNURM are allotted.

IT’s looking bright

The state budget 2010-11 has put special emphasis on the IT sector in Kerala. Development of IT parks, Infopark in Kakkanad and Smart City project have found a place in the budget.
There’s an increase of 77 percent in the allocation for the Information Technology department compared to last year. A total of Rs 153 cr has been earmarked for IT and IT-related projects in the state compared to Rs 86 cr in the previous budget.
The Finance Minister said that Rs 70 cr has been set apart for the development of IT parks in Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram, Infopark in Kochi and Cyber Parks in Kozhikode, Kannur and Kasargod.

An amount of Rs 22 crore has been allocated for the development of State Data Centre and Network Operation Centres in Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode.
The project work related to Athulya IT complex at Infopark with an area of 5.5 lakh sq ft will be completed in 2010-11 itself, the minister said.
Reiterating the government’s commitment to the Smart City project once again, the Minister said “The project is indefinitely getting delayed due to the demands raised by TECOM that were not in the original agreement.” The Finance Minister said that Infopark would initiate a project which can generate one lakh employment opportunities.

“An amount of Rs 50 crore is earmarked for the initial expenses. A suitable business model will be formulated in the line of CIAL or VISL for the second phase,” he said.

Cheers for realtors

The budget seems to have given a boost to the real estate sector which has been slowly recovering from the impact of economic recession.

The decision to introduce separate tax slabs for stamp duty on land and apartments is the most applauded one among the real estate circle. The proposal to cut down the stamp duty of land is also a positive development.

“It has been a long standing demand of builders that a separate stamp duty should be introduced for apartments. This is a welcome move,’’ said Najeed Zachariah, president, Confederation of Real Estate Developers Associations of India (CREDAI).
The stamp duty which had been 10, 12.5 and 13. 5 percent in panchayats, municipalities and corporations respectively has come down to 9, 10 and 11. The stamp duty for apartments has been fixed at five percent plus two percent registration fee. Until now builders had to pay stamp duty for apartments on a par with the stamp duty on land.

“Now a person who buys a Rs 20-lakh flat will get a relief of about Rs 1.7 lakh,’’ Najeeb said. The decision to set apart funds for sand mining from dams on a large-scale will be a relief for builders suffering from acute shortage of river sand.

Who says 'no development in Kerala'?

2010-03-02T17:45:00.000-08:00

The fourth phase of the Technopark here, branded TechnoCity, is expected to generate 50,000 direct jobs and provide indirect

employment to 2 lakh, according to officials of the Kerala IT department.

The state IT department has announced completion of all formalities pertaining to acquisition of the 451 acres required for TechnoCity. In addition to 205.11 acres of land acquired by June 2009, 245.89 acres have been acquired since then, completing the land acquisition exercise. Officials said the state government had finalized the rehabilitation package for evictees affected by the project.

TechnoCity is proposed to be a complete IT city, with space set aside for residential, commercial, hospitality, medical and educational facilities, besides the infrastructure for IT/ITES companies. Officials said the project would be a self-dependent satellite city, without putting a constraint on the resources and infrastructure of the state’s capital.

Kerala IT principal secretary Ajay Kumar said, that in addition to IT, focus areas of TechnoCity would be biotechnology, nano technology, high-end manufacturing and R&D. He said the entire project would be developed through multiple special purpose vehicles, in association with leading developers, adding that TechnoCity would be an integrated township.

Technopark CEO Mervin Alexander said land acquisition for the project was completed without any major hiccups. He said Technocity was a fast track project and that the project would now gain momentum and work on infrastructure development like power, water supply and internal roads would be undertaken immediately.

New block for Infopark Kochi, Athulya!

2010-03-02T17:43:00.001-08:00

KOCHI: Infopark, Kakkanad, is on a major expansion mode. New IT complex Athulya is getting ready at Infopark and will be allocated by April. The complex has state-of-the-art infrastructure, workspaces, support facilities and lifestyle amenities.
Situated on 7.1 acres of land, Athulya has a built-up area of 5.5 lakh sqft. The complex has a software development block of 3.5 lakh sqft, a cafeteria building and a multi-level car parking facility. The total seating capacity of the building is 4,000.
Once operational, the new complex will provide world-class infrastructure to companies.
"We have already received enquiries from some known IT/ITeS companies for taking space here. We believe that Athulya would play a vital role in the growth of the state's IT sector in 2010-11," said IT Department principal secretary Ajay Kumar.
The new complex has been designed as an energy efficient building. The facilities planned in the building include preventive maintenance with 24x7 back-up, large and efficient floor plate with design flexibility, uninterrupted power supply, effective housekeeping facility, security and water treatment system.
IT firms setting up offices at Athulya will have SEZ facilities.
"We have announced a pre-launch offer of Rs 25 a sqft and expect the entire space to be sold out soon. Some IT/ITES companies have already approached us for booking space and are in the process of setting up their units at Athulya," said Infopark CEO Siddhartha Bhattacharya.
Athulya will have facilities like incubation centres, training rooms, direct four-lane road connectivity and 10 elevators. With an average floor plate size of 50,000 sqft, the complex will have a multi-level parking facility for 111 cars.

Jobs are back, says Naukri.com. What do you say?

2010-03-02T17:40:00.000-08:00

KOCHI: The famous Hari Sadu advertisement is back with a new tagline ‘Bye bye recession’, an indicator that jobs are back in the Indian market. This along with campus recruitments in the city have lifted the spirits of final year students.
M Basi, placement coordinator and professor at the School of Management Studies, Cochin University of Science and Technology (Cusat), said that the placement scenario was brighter when compared to previous years.
“There is a 20-30 percent increase in the number of companies visiting our campus,” he said. So far six banks like the IDBI and HDFC have come for placements and Basi expects 15 more companies before mid- March.
“In Cusat’s School of Engineering more than 300 final year students have already been placed in major IT firms like Accenture, TCS and Infosys,” said George Mathew, faculty incharge of the training and placement cell.
In arts and science colleges like St Albert’s College the recruitment scene is just reviving.
P A Gerald, placement coordinator, said that because of exams not many students could attend interviews. Infosys selected only 11 students from the college.
But he expects many more companies to visit the campus by the end of March.
Though the recruitment process was in full swing in 2009, many students who were selected could not join as companies were downsizing owing to recession.
Anil V, an engineering graduate, was offered a job with Tata Consultancy Services, but hasn’t received an appointment letter even after a year. Like him many have decided to take up less-paying jobs in other sectors, especially in BPOs and as faculty members in colleges.
“It is better than sitting at home waiting for the offer letter that might never come,” said a former student of Toc-H Institute of Science and Technology, who is now working as a college lecturer.
Many students feel they were cheated by corporates.
It is doubtful how these companies can absorb from the current batch when the previous batches are still waiting for jobs.
But recruitment officers are confident that most of the students will be placed in good companies.

50 interview questions - be a professional recruiter

2010-02-03T08:24:00.000-08:00

Tell me about yourself.
Tell me about your experience.
What is your most important accomplishment to date?
How would you describe your ideal job?
Why did you choose this career?
When did you decide on this career?
What goals do you have in your career?
How do you plan to achieve these goals?
How do you personally define success?
Describe a situation in which you were successful.
What do you think it takes to be successful in this career?
What accomplishments have given you the most satisfaction in your life?
If you had to live your life over again, what one thing would you change?
Would you rather work with information or with people?
Are you a team player?
What motivates you?
Why should I hire you?
Are you a goal-oriented person?
Tell me about some of your recent goals and what you did to achieve them.
What are your short-term goals?
What is your long-range objective?
What do you see yourself doing five years from now?
Where do you want to become ten years from now?
Do you handle conflict well?
Have you ever had a conflict with a boss or professor? How did you resolve it?
What major problem have you had to deal with recently?
Do you handle pressure well?
What is your greatest strength?
What is your greatest weakness?
If I were to ask one of your professors (or a boss) to describe you, what would he or she say?
Why did you choose to attend your college?
What changes would you make at your college?
How has your education prepared you for your career?
What were your favorite classes? Why?
Do you enjoy doing independent research?
Who were your favorite professors? Why?
Why is your GPA not higher?
Do you have any plans for further education?
How much training do you think youll need to become a productive employee?
What qualities do you feel a successful manager should have?
Why do you want to work in the _____ industry?
What do you know about our company?
Why are you interested in our company?
Do you have any location preferences?
How familiar are you with the community that were located in?
Are you willing to relocate? In the future?
Are you willing to travel? How much?
Is money important to you?
How much money do you need to make to be happy?
What kind of salary are you looking for?

Soft skills, a hard reality!

2010-02-03T08:20:00.000-08:00

Define the soft skills that are of greatest value to your organization. Look at highly effective employees and see what makes them good at what they do. Label such skills as "professional development training" or "communication skills training" if you want to avoid the soft skill stigma.

Establish an internal champion at the executive level. Since measurement can be elusive, it's best to have somebody who recognizes the innate value of the skills without the need to "prove" value.

But measure what you can; 360° feedback can help zero in on individual needs, and climate surveys may help an organization get a feeling for communication effectiveness, management competency and teamwork. Metrics can be tied to the compensation of managers.

Focus on the competencies most critical to your organization's or department's success. In some cases, teamwork will be key. In other cases, time management or written communication will be more important. Look at your performance needs and then prioritize accordingly.

www.hrworld.com

Are you an IT professional? Time to celebrate!

2010-01-19T01:18:00.000-08:00

Vishal Dubey (name changed) is delighted at his luck. An oracle database expert, he has just landed a job at Accenture for double the salary he was getting from Wipro, where he was working as a contract employee.

Only six months ago, Vishal like many other IT sector employees couldn't have dreamt of such a situation. At that time, due to the global economic downturn, he had no choice but to patiently wait, even as his employer cut all his benefits and acted pricey. But now, the tables have turned. Employees are once again in demand, and to top that, companies are poaching the experienced and specialized professionals from their rival firms by offering a 100 percent hike.

For instance, Vishal was being offered around six lakh per annum, as a contract employee working for Wipro. Although he was offered a hike of around 40 percent by Wipro, he still left the firm as he was offered a 100 percent hike at its rival, Accenture. With the economy reviving, companies are willing to pay double the salary as they compete to hire the best.

At this point it might seem like Accenture has scored a point over Wipro. But, while Accenture may have gained with this hiring, the truth remains that the attrition rate at this firm is also very high. According to a top official at Accenture who wished to remain anonymous, the firm recently standardized the salaries of all its employees, over which it is offering a 40 percent hike. Yet the IT firm is losing its employees, as other IT biggies offer a 100 percent hike.

But this hike is not for all. It is especially being offered to mid level executives with around three to six years experience, in demand for their specialized skill sets like Java, Dot Net and Oracle Database. According to Tuhin Chatterjee, a former Project Manager at Satyam Computers, while there are enough engineers with such specialized skills, not all are employable.

Neelabh Shukla, who manages the mid level hiring at CareerNet Consulting agrees. "What is lacking in these 'could be potential employees' is the conceptual clarity. So although they may have done a course in Java, companies prefer to go for experienced professionals, as they are looking to build a matured workforce," says Shukla. In fact, with U.S. firms continuing to outsource most of their work, it is the Java programmers who are in top demand.

Another reason for the hikes being offered is that, most employees did not receive their appraisals last year due to recession. Now that the demand supply equation is changing, employees feel more comfortable in demanding a double digit hike, says Shukla.

Employees also prefer to opt for lateral hiring instead of a contract based hiring. While contract based hiring was never a very popular trend in India, companies during recession mainly benefited through this mode of hiring. But now that the employment situation is reversing, it is the turn of the employees to act pricey.

Source: Silicon India

Make yourself visible in your job search

2009-12-13T06:50:00.000-08:00

If you google your name, what links come up? Having no online presence is almost as damaging to your credibility as having an embarrassingly unprofessional one.

Make it easy for recruiters and employers to find you — not just so you appear in keyword searches — but also so they can check out your credentials.

LinkedIn is the biggest professional networking site, used increasingly by recruiters to scout talent. LinkedIn profiles generally come up first in a google search for your name, so make sure your LinkedIn url contains your name, rather than default numbers.

Twitter also allows you to build a network of contacts, to take part in discussions, and to be visible in a community of industry professionals. A Twitter profile comes up high in google searches, and Google has just announced that results from social networking sites will be prominently displayed in its search pages. This means your twitter updates will become more visible in google searches for your name.

Two new features have made both LinkedIn and Twitter much more powerful for job seekers.

Automatic LinkedIn updates
You can now update your LinkedIn profile via your Twitter account. (Go to the edit profile settings on LinkedIn, then add your Twitter username.) If you've tweeted something of interest (new blog post, a particularly apt comment on a forum, or a link to a useful article) you can use your tweet to update your LinkedIn status, keeping it fresh and newsworthy with no real effort required. You can choose whether to have all your tweets show up in your LinkedIn profile, or only those where you add the hashtag #in at the end of your tweet. This feature also means your online image is more consistent, with the same information displayed on both networks.

Twitter lists
You can create lists of the people you follow on Twitter. Categorise people into separate lists, such as recruiters, companies, job boards for example, or according to industry, such as IT or design, to make it easier and quicker to follow the flow of all the different conversations. This is especially useful if you follow a large number of people, but don't have the time to keep track of them all. Using lists means you can filter out everyone else's tweets, and just home in on a limited number at a time.

You can also follow other people's lists, rather than creating your own, but although this gives you a certain degree of privacy (your identity as a list-follower isn't visible to those on the list) it also means you don't have the chance to build a direct rapport with the person/company you're following.

Maintain your visibility
Use LinkedIn and Twitter to get to know recruiters and company managers. Build and develop contacts, not just for immediate vacancies, but for future opportunities.

Pass on useful information or contacts to recruiters (such as the names of potential new clients, or candidates), reply occasionally to their tweets, or retweet their links, blog posts for example.

Develop a strong professional image with people working in your target companies. Comment on blog posts, in work-related forums, and on Twitter. Don't just focus on top managers, but get to know people lower down the company hierarchy who may be influential in suggesting names for new company projects or roles to be filled. Getting to know people before vacancies arise may mean your name comes up as a potential — saving the company time and money in recruitment or hiring costs.

Source - guardian.co.uk

Do you have it in you?

2009-11-11T21:52:00.000-08:00

GreenPepper is looking for smart and enthusiastic people to join our team as professional recruiters. Apply now - krishnakumar@greenpepper.in

What we look for:
Recruitment is a fast paced and exciting career for those seeking rewards based on their merits and achievements. A successful Recruitment consultant is someone who makes opportunities for themselves and their team and works harder and smarter than their competitors. You will need to have excellent listening skills and be inquisitive and determined. The successful Consultant will be goal orientated and demand continually high standards from themselves and their team. The list of attributes that we look for in trainee consultants is by no means exhaustive. Some of the characteristics are:

• Sales ability
• Common sense
• Enthusiasm
• Ability to prioritize
• Ambition
• Imagination
• Honesty
• Diplomacy
• Resilience

Are you a job seeker? Read this.

2009-11-08T05:19:00.000-08:00

An effective job search requires more than sending out resumes. As a job seeker, you should arm yourself with as much information about potential jobs as possible, including salary comparison data and company research. GreenPepper Candidate Services Team helps you to catch up with what's new in the job markets and get what you want and deserve. Contact careers@greenpepper.in

The Search - How an Overqualified Job Candidate Clears the Hiring Hurdles - NYTimes.com

2009-11-08T05:18:00.000-08:00

The Search - How an Overqualified Job Candidate Clears the Hiring Hurdles - NYTimes.com

GreenPepper Team meets Larry Farrel

2009-11-04T18:11:00.001-08:00

Larry Farrell, America's entrepreneurship guru was in Kochi yesterday. His latest program "Entrepreneurial Age' is a best seller in China. Team GreenPepper had a brief interaction with him. He liked our philosophy - Do what you enjoy, enjoy what you do'. The program was at Casino Hotel, it was a nice evening.

India Inc on the road to recovery

2009-11-04T18:09:00.001-08:00

India Inc on the road to recovery - Yahoo! India News

2009-11-04T18:09:00.000-08:00

UST Global expanding to Manila by recruiting 1000 professionals

2009-11-02T01:59:00.000-08:00

Thiruvananthapuram, Nov 1 (IANS) California-based UST Global, which has the biggest workforce in Kerala’s software sector, is all set to expand operations in the Philippines by recruiting 1,000 professionals.

UST was one of the first companies to set shop in the Technopark information technology (IT) campus here and subsequently expanded operations to Kochi, has emerged as the biggest employer in the state’s IT sector with a workforce of over 3,000 professionals.

In a statement issued here Sunday, UST Global [^] chief operating officer Joe Nalkara said cultural compatibility with the US and time zone efficiency made the Philippines an important part of the company’s growing presence in Asia and long-term global strategy.

The operations in Manila will begin in January, the statement said.

UST has invested in the Philippines to take advantage of its skilled IT workforce, it added.

Kerala sees 40% rise in health tourists

2009-11-01T23:38:00.000-08:00

Kerala sees 40% rise in health tourists

CII Roadshow in Kochi

2009-11-01T23:36:00.000-08:00

KOCHI: Confederation of Indian Industry, Kerala State Council, will organise a roadshow on November 3 at Infopark here. It will announce the CII initiative, India IT summit 2009, to be held in Thiruvananthapuram on December 10 and 11

Brokerage houses are back to hiring again

2009-10-27T03:10:00.000-07:00

Brokerage houses are back to hiring again: India Today - Latest Breaking News from India, World, Business, Cricket, Sports, Bollywood.

Krishna Kumar (kkaction) on Twitter

2009-10-27T02:45:00.000-07:00

Krishna Kumar (kkaction) on Twitter

Salary And Self-Esteem - Yahoo! India News

2009-10-27T02:26:00.000-07:00

Salary And Self-Esteem - Yahoo! India News

What recession? Kerala sets up third IT park: India Today - Latest Breaking News from India, World, Business, Cricket, Sports, Bollywood.

2009-10-24T21:58:00.000-07:00

What recession? Kerala sets up third IT park: India Today - Latest Breaking News from India, World, Business, Cricket, Sports, Bollywood.

India Inc may see 8 per cent salary hike in 2010: Survey - Jobs-News By Industry-News-The Economic Times

2009-10-24T21:57:00.000-07:00

India Inc may see 8 per cent salary hike in 2010: Survey - Jobs-News By Industry-News-The Economic Times

Recruitment freeze thaws across sectors - India Business - Business - The Times of India

2009-10-24T21:53:00.000-07:00

Recruitment freeze thaws across sectors - India Business - Business - The Times of India

GreenPepper in WWW

2009-10-22T01:09:00.000-07:00

Type 'GreenPepper' in Google. Countless links leading to us.

GreenPepper in Brand Futurist of Economic Times

2009-10-16T21:03:00.000-07:00

GreenPepper rated as one of the promising brands in Kerala by Brand Futurist of Economic Times. Strong work ethics, professional approach and new perspective about HR services make GreenPepper a future brand, says Economic Times. Kudos to Team GreenPepper.

More HR offshored work to come to India

2009-09-30T23:15:00.000-07:00

Bangalore: India is likely to get a large amount of offshored HR work in the next three years. According to a study by Everest Group, a global consulting and research firm, some 111 global HRO (human resources outsourcing) contracts worth $6 billion are nearing term end in 2010-12 and 75-85 percent of these engagements are likely be extended while 15-25 percent will be repatriated or transferred to new suppliers.

The study says, "Given the maturity of India as an offshore delivery location and presence of high number of HRO suppliers, more work is going to come to the country." In the next three years, contract restructuring is likely to play a significant role as early adopters of HRO services face impending renewal cycles. HRO clients will increasingly evaluate how to drive incremental value for their organizations through the end-of-term process.

"The areas of restructuring range from modifying the number and type of in-scope processes, to enhancing delivery models through global sourcing, to introducing alternative pricing models," says the study. The mid-market and large market HRO buyers, who used to be reluctant to take services from offshore locations, are expected to leverage offshoring much more in their second generation deals due to increased cost pressures in recent times.

Source: Silicon News

CEO, Dubai.

2009-09-25T23:00:00.000-07:00

GreenPepper searching for CEO / COO for an FMCD giant to be based in Dubai managing 12 country heads. MBA from premier institute, with experience in FMCG / FMCD in a national or regional level position in India. Ability to handle HR, Finance, Marketing and Operations. krishnakumar@greenpepper.in

GreenPepper in Twitter!

2009-09-22T19:12:00.000-07:00

Follow GreenPepper in Twitter - http://twitter.com/dowhatyouenjoy
Up to the minute update on new opportunities.

SAP Professionals to Saudi Arabia

2009-09-22T19:11:00.000-07:00

Looking for SAP professionals to Saudi Arabia. post@greenpepper.in

Technical Director for a Pharma Company

2009-09-19T19:45:00.000-07:00

We are searching for a Technical Director for a pharma company based in Chennai. Interested? Any references? krishnakumar@greenpepper.in - 098468 11 111

CII's HR Impact '09 in Kochi - Reinventing HR through Resource Optimisation

2009-09-17T18:21:00.000-07:00

Rapid technological and social change, pressure to respond to increased global competition, high expectation of customers, and pressure to do more with limited resources are some of the challenges facing business organisations. People are getting accustomed to immediate solutions. The world is witnessing the collapse of archaic systems and techniques and the concept of organisation is being redefined.

Plenary Session – I: Winning Strategies for Resource Maximisation
Faced with rapid change, organizations need to develop a more focused and coherent approach to managing people. Now an organization requires a human resource or people strategy. In developing such a strategy, two critical questions must be addressed.

What kinds of people do you need to manage and run your business to meet your strategic business objectives?

What people programs and initiatives must be designed and implemented to attract, develop and retain staff to compete effectively?

Plenary Session – II : Changing Role of HR

More companies are seeking to change the role of their Human Resources organization from a passive compensation, benefits and compliance role to a human resources organization which is a highly proactive partner playing a leadership role in helping to frame the company’s operating strategies to meet corporate objectives.

Plenary Session – III : Creative People Engagement in Challenging Times

You’ve already received the memo: “Cut your hours, cut your budget, cut your staff—but I want creative, employee engagement programs, and I want them yesterday.” This session will examine how top employers balance business needs with human needs, handle layoffs and cutbacks to keep the team together, and create opportunities where other employees just see trouble.

In a downturn, survival anxiety does not have to be created. It is a given. That said, it is even more true that coercion is still not the best way to go, and that an exploitative approach of creating anxiety in people while stretching them on their work tasks can be counterproductive.

Kerala's IT sector to have 200,000 jobs in next 5 years

2009-09-11T00:05:00.001-07:00

Kerala's IT sector will generate as many as 200,000 jobs in the next five years, state Chief Secretary Neela Gangadharan said Thursday.

Inaugurating a conference on IT in Kerala - Challenges and Opportunities, organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) here, she said over 200 rural IT Parks (Techno Lodges) are expected to come up in the state in the next two to three years.

The meeting also saw leading IT experts in the state asking the state government to brand Kerala as an IT destination.

S.D. Shibulal, Chief Operating Officer (COO), Infosys Technologies, stressed the need for quality education and finishing skills.

"Kerala has to become more attractive for people from not just within Kerala but from outside to work and live comfortably. Branding has to take place for this," he said.

V.K. Mathews, the Convenor of CII Kerala State Council's IT panel, and CMD, IBS group, dwelt on the fact that IT is different from the traditional industrial sectors.

"It is the need of the hour for people to accept IT the way it is and create proactive policies to foster the growth of this unique sector," he said.

State IT Secretary Ajay Kumar said that the state has been witnessing a period of growth, with software exports growing almost three times the national average.

"The Kerala Government will to invest Rs.2000 to 3000 crore (Rs.20-30 billion) in e-governance initiatives. The government has accorded added thrust for investment during the global recession," he said.

Source: IANS

66 percent Indian firms to recruit

2009-09-10T23:52:00.000-07:00

No more gloomy days for job prospects in India as the firms are on a hiring spree. As per a survey, the hiring outlook for the next three months also looks promising, with as many as 66 percent Indian companies expecting to recruit.

The survey conducted by the global recruitment firm Antal International has revealed that companies in India hiring professionals and managers have rebounded to 51 percent currently against the dramatic fall to 29 percent at the beginning of 2009. Even the job cuts are expected to drop to 21 percent over the next quarter. "After a substantial dip in hiring levels at the start of 2009, confidence seems to have returned to the Indian job market in a dramatic fashion. Two thirds of the businesses we spoke to are already in the process of hiring for the next quarter," Antal International India Managing Partner Joseph Devasia said.

The quarter saw better days as the number of companies hiring in India were 30 percent more than the ones laying off. As per another survey conducted by Economic Times, as many as 200 companies ended the financial year with more staff as against 150 which saw a decline in the number of employees. SBI, the largest recruiter after IT firm TCS, was much more aggressive in hiring than Wipro and Infosys. Wipro and Infosys together added 28,049 employees, just about five percent more than SBI alone. Although SBI chairman OP Bhatt could not be contacted for comments for this story, he had earlier made a public statement that the bank is going to recruit 20,000 people this fiscal.

Source: Silicon India News

Stop stupid Facebook posts: Obama to youngsters

2009-09-09T00:08:00.000-07:00

Your Facebook posting could come back to haunt you. U.S. President Barack Obama recently advised a group of high school students that they need to be careful about what they post on Facebook, since prospective employers could be checking these sites for background information, reports Economic Times.

Hiring is bullish for Q4 2009!

2009-09-08T03:33:00.000-07:00

India has again emerged as the most bullish country in terms of hiring plans, with 25 per cent of the employers intending to recruit people in the next three months.

Wholesale and retail trade along with finance, insurance and real estate sectors are among the most optimistic when it comes to hiring intentions.

Global staffing services firm Manpower has said India has a net employment outlook -- a measure of recruiting plans --of 25 per cent for the fourth quarter of 2009, the highest among 35 countries surveyed.

The employment outlook for the next three months is much higher than 19 per cent, forecast for the third quarter of this year.

"Indian employers have absorbed the layoffs conducted in the third quarter and are telling us they will being hiring again at a conservative pace, but most intend to keep their workforces intact through the end of the year," Manpower India's Managing Director Naresh Malhan said.

However, the employment outlook for the fourth quarter of this year (19 per cent) is less by 14 percentage points, as compared to the same period a year ago. India has seen the most favourable hiring environment since the third quarter of 2008, the report said.

Nearly 5,637 employers spread across 30 Indian cities were surveyed.

Source:Indian Express

Majority of UAE's professionals motivated to work despite the recession

2009-09-06T23:18:00.000-07:00

Dubai, UAE, 06 September 2009 - The majority of professionals in the UAE, 64%, are motivated at work, despite the current recession and its negative impact on the region's workplaces, according to the latest study by the Middle East's number one job site - Bayt.com, UAE | Services- in conjunction with research specialists YouGov.

The study found that the UAE is slightly above the regional average of 63% of employees motivated in their work, while Lebanon and Tunisia both significantly exceed the regional average: almost three-quarters of employees, 72% in each country, said they are motivated in the work they do every day for their organisation.

The study asked respondents how important they consider their work-life balance to be, and whether such a balance is encouraged by employers: an overwhelming 73% of the respondents said that achieving a good work-life balance is very important for their levels of motivation at work. The results do not vary significantly from the average across the region - the lowest figure being 66% of respondents in Morocco, and the highest 77% in Egypt.

Asked whether their organisations support them to achieve a good-work life balance, the majority of respondents, 65%, stated that they do receive such support from their work -albeit to differing degrees. The study found that those receiving the most support are respondents in Lebanon, 76% of all those questioned, compared to 68% of professionals in the UAE and - at the lowest end of the spectrum - 55% in Morocco. Around the rest of the Gulf, support for work-life balance is relatively consistent across the countries, reaching 70% for employees in Oman, 69% in Bahrain and 65% in Kuwait.

The Employee Motivation study was conducted to understand how the current economic climate is impacting the satisfaction levels of employees in the Middle East, and to identify the drivers that motivate them in their work.

"When it comes down to the factors that make employees content and motivated, or the factors that make them distressed and de-motivated, more often than not it is the basic, straightforward elements such as being able to achieve a good work-life balance that matter," explains Amer Zureikat, Regional Manager, Bayt.com

Source: www.zawya.com

Want to be a CEO?

2009-09-06T23:09:00.000-07:00

A reputed Kerala based manufacuring company is looking for a CEO for their subsidiary company, he should be post graduate with minimum 8 years of experience in a senior position. Age should be around 35 years. krishnakumar@greenpepper.in

Head - HR for a large infrastructure company based in Mumbai

2009-09-02T07:28:00.000-07:00

Are you a senior HR guy with exposure in global HR practices? There you are! GreenPepper is searching for a Head -HR for a large infrastructure company to be based in Mumbai.Send your updated profile to krishnakumar@greenpepper.in

Purpose of the role: To partner with the business by ensuring the formulation, articulation and communication of HR strategy, in line with business strategy. Also ensuring development and implementation HR practices and processes that will help achieve the HR strategy and hence contribute to the business strategy.

Key Performance Measures

* Employee satisfaction and engagement index.
* Percentage turnover in the organization.
* HR cost per employee.
* Managers covered under a succession planning program.
* Percentage of HR plan implemented as per timelines
* Negative variance from budget

How People Found Work in Qatar

2009-08-27T21:29:00.000-07:00

Employment agencies appear to be the single most effective way of finding work in Qatar, accounting for 16.6% of the jobs found by expatriate workers we questioned.

Overall, through, a larger proportion of people found work via the internet than via agencies, with 16.1% finding work by using specialist job sites, 7.2% finding work on Qatar employers' websites and a further 7.2% being offered work after uploading their CV's to specialist jobs sites such as Bayt.com.

Read Qatar Jobs Survey: Source - www.qatarvisitor.com
http://www.qatarvisitor.com/index.php?cID=433&pID=1532

Qatar favoured due to higher wages!

2009-08-26T21:52:00.000-07:00

Potential expats wishing to get the best from their careers may like to choose Qatar as their new nation.

Recent research by portal qatarvisitor.com reveals that many emigrants opt to move to the region due to its high wages.

The study may interest Britons who are intending to make money transfers to fund their new lives overseas.

Some 46.8 per cent of expats living the area were motivated to relocate to the region to benefit from higher wages and boost their incomes.

It appears the recession and a competitive job market may also be a contributing factor to Brits moving abroad, as 8.8 per cent of people revealed they relocated to Qatar to avoid facing unemployment in their home country.

Elsewhere, Greece was recently highlighted by the Greek National Tourism Organisation as a popular destination for retiring Brits, due to the country's affordable cost of living.

www.hifx.co.uk

Job Hungry Workers Finding Satisfaction in Qatar

2009-08-26T21:50:00.000-07:00

Workers seeking higher wages or even just a job are looking to the tiny Emirate of Qatar to fulfill their ambitions.

And, according to a survey of over 220 expatriate workers carried out by tourist and resident's website Qatar Visitor, the decision is the right one.

"Nearly 90% of those who have found work in Qatar say they are happy with their decision to relocate," said Philip Beech, editor of Qatar Visitor.

That's not surprising, as the survey, which measured the salary of workers before and after they moved to Qatar, shows that the average expatriate can expect a large increase in salary.

"Prior to moving to Qatar, the largest group of workers when measured by income group was in the 501 - 1000 range. After moving to Qatar the majority of these workers are earning between 1001 and 4000 dollars," Philip explained.

Money and a lack of jobs at home was the largest single reason for people moving to Qatar, although more than 25% of expatriates were also interested in a change of culture.

If you are a single man looking for a wife, though, Qatar may not be your best choice - less than 18% of the respondents were female.

The Qatar Jobs Survey questioned over 220 Qatar expatriate workers, and was carried out with the assistance of ILoveQatar.net. To view the full results of the jobs survey see Qatar Jobs Survey.

Qatar Visitor is a tourist and resident's website providing comprehensive information about the State of Qatar, with a particular emphasis on providing information and resources for job seekers.

www.pr.com

'Talent deficit' may hit Indian firms

2009-08-24T23:55:00.000-07:00

After showcasing their talents to the world all these years, companies in India could face a huge 'talent deficit' in the coming years, says a report by Deloitte, a global consultancy firm. As per the report, the reason for this scarcity is that the country is not producing enough people equipped with the right skills required for the globalized environment.

The report titled, 'New India Manager' states that new talent management model in companies will have to shift in outlook. The report suggests that paradigm of 'scarcity of jobs' should convert to 'scarcity of talent'. "Unless a fundamental shift occurs in the educational system, it will continue to produce degree holders who will lack skills to operate in a corporate environment," said Manish Agrawal, Vice President (Strategy and Innovation) at Deloitte.

Agrawal has authored a study on the evolution of the Indian manager from the pre-liberalization period till now. The report stated that globalization, has helped Indian managers to develop their competencies and a global outlook that has unleashed a lot of creativity and innovation in the domestic industry. "However not many managers in the country have required soft skills, like communication abilities for operating in a global environment among others. We need to build such skill sets to enhance our talent pools," Agrawal said.

The Deloitte report stated that it remains to be seen as to what extent the country would be able to enhance the competency level of its young population to make them employable. This is also a challenge which the Indian policymakers would have to deal with in the years to come, it added. According to Agrawal, if the shift is made now it will take five to 10 years to generate a good quantity of employable talent.

Other than the upgrade of skills, the challenges which managers have to face going forward include retention of existing talent in the company, support learning and development of employees. Moreover, there is a growing talent gap in the developed world as well, which will continue to target Indian managers. In the years to come U.S., Europe and Japan are going to see an ageing population and a reduction in available talent and workforce. The report revealed that there was already an increasing recognition of the quality of Indian managers and there is every chance of this trend accelerating further.

Source: Silicon India

General Manager - HR for a Mumbai based ground handling aviation MNC

2009-08-24T23:14:00.000-07:00

GreenPepper is looking for a strong HR head for one of their clients based in Mumbai. The candidate needs solid legal exposure in a highly unionized atmosphere. If you have any references send it to krishnakumar@greenpepper.in

Online social networking may decide your employment prospects!

2009-08-23T21:32:00.000-07:00

Your social networking activities online -- whether you tweet a few lines or scribble on the Facebook wall -- could well decide your job prospects, as more number of American employers are turning to such sites before zeroing in on the right candidate for employment.

A major chunk of the US employers are banking on social networking sites such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and MySpace, to research on a candidate before recruitment, says a survey.

Nearly half of employers surveyed in the US by job portal CareerBuilder showed that 45 per cent of them use social networking sites to research job candidates. Last year, the same stood at just 22 per cent.

About 11 per cent are planning to start using social networking sites for screening.

Moreover, about 35 per cent of employers reported that they have found content on social networking sites that made them decide not to hire the candidate.

The survey was conducted online within the US by Harris Interactive on behalf of CareerBuilder.com between May 22 and June 10, 2009 among 2,667 hiring managers and human resource professionals.

Going by the findings, Facebook is the most preferred among employers with 29 per cent of the employers using that site for online searches or background checks before recruiting candidates.

Besides, 26 per cent of respondents use LinkedIn, 21 per cent surf MySpace, 11 per cent search blogs and 7 per cent follow candidates on Twitter for information.

The industries most likely to screen job seekers via such sites or search engines include IT (63 per cent) and professional and business services (53 per cent).

"Social networking is a great way to make connections with potential job opportunities and promote your personal brand across the Internet," CareerBuilder Vice-President of Human Resources Rosemary Haefner said.

Among those surveyed, 53 per cent respondents said candidates have posted provocative or inappropriate photographs or information, while 44 per cent said that many candidates have posted information about drinking or using drugs.

As per the survey, 35 per cent of respondents found that candidates bad-mouthed their previous employer, co-workers or clients and made them decide not to hire such people.

Interestingly, 14 per cent of employers did not hire a candidate because he/she send a message using an emoticon such as a smiley face while 16 per cent decided against recruiting a candidate for using text language such as 'GR8' (great) in an e-mail or job application.

On the other hand, nearly 18 per cent said they found content on such sites that helped them hire a candidate.
Source: The Hindu

IT Sector Employment To Rise To About 2.25 Mn By 2015

2009-08-21T02:03:00.001-07:00

The government has said that the Indian IT sector is expected to directly employ about 2.25 million professionals by 2015 as against 0.77 million in 2007. The number was based on a study by the Department of IT in consultation with the National Manufacturing Competitiveness Council.

Facebook, Orkut cost 1.5% of office output

2009-08-21T02:02:00.001-07:00

According to a survey by global provider of IT research Nucleus Research, social networking sites such as Facebook and Orkut are affecting the office work culture with majority of the corporate houses globally losing an average of 1.5% of total office output due to this. Nearly 50% of workers access social networking sites during work and one in every 33 workers built their entire Facebook profile during work and this in turn impacts office productivity. As per the survey findings, around 77% of workers have a Facebook account, 47% of total workforce access Facebook at work and the average minutes accessed per day is 15 minutes.
Source: 26 Jul' 09 www.livemint.com

SBI to recruit 11,000 Clerks

2009-08-21T01:22:00.000-07:00

State Bank of India (SBI) is looking to hire 11,000 clerks for marketing its financial products across the country. The new staff would be deployed for marketing, banking and advisory services. 1,100 clerks would be hired in Mumbai circle and 1,000 in the Delhi circle. Patna, Lucknow, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad and Chandigarh would get 900 staff each. SBI plans to recruit 13,000 people at various levels during the current fiscal.Source: 04 Aug' 09 www.rediff.com

Corporation Bank to hire 1,400

2009-08-21T01:21:00.000-07:00

Corporation Bank has announced plans to recruit 1,400 staff, including officers, during the current fiscal. The bank is in an expansion mode and plans to add about 100 branches, taking the total number of branches to over 1,150 by the end of March 2010.
Source: 05 Aug' 09 Business Standard

Good news for IT recruiters

2009-08-21T01:19:00.000-07:00

The new IT search launched by Naukri.com is a standalone, specialized search in Resdex for selecting IT candidates with particular IT skills. Recruiters looking for candidates with a specific set of IT Skills would be able to search on these skills with specified experience. Recruiters would be able to filter out candidates with certain IT skills and further refine the search using other criteria in the search form. The new IT Search allows users to choose from a list of more than 150 most-used IT skills and allows them to set an experience level for each set. There is an option to search on up to 5 IT skills. Also, there is flexibility to search for ‘All the skills’ vs ‘Any of the skills’.
Source: 09 Aug' 09 www.naukri.com

Are you a JAVA professional?

2009-08-20T05:40:00.000-07:00

GreenPepper is working with world class IT companies for sourcing the best JAVA professionals. If you are looking for a great company to work with - do not wait! Please send your resume to post@greenpepper.in / or call Bhaskar 099 4666 38 00

9 spicy IT skills of 2009!

2009-08-20T05:38:00.000-07:00

1) Programming/application development

Ask any recruiter what the single most sought-after IT skill is at the moment, and the universal response is a three-letter word: SAP.

"The little joke in our industry right now is that if you have 'SAP' on your résumé right now, you have zero unemployment," says Bruce Culbert, CEO of iSymmetry Inc., an IT consulting and recruitment firm with offices in Washington and Alpharetta, Ga.

SAP experts, particularly those who are experienced with a specific module in a certain industry, are commanding $35 to $40 per hour more on average than other types of senior technicians, says Culbert. Demand for SAP skills has remained red hot because a growing number of companies are working toward establishing global instances of the ERP system, says Jill Herrin, president of IT recruiter JDResources Inc.

But not far behind is demand for IT professionals with .Net experience, say Herrin and other observers. Some companies that relied on offshore labor to deliver .Net and C# capabilities just a few years ago found that route to be "nonproductive," says Herrin. Now they're looking to fill those jobs in-house, she says.

Rich Schappert, senior director of IT at Casey's General Stores Inc. in Ankeny, Iowa, says he has been filling the retailer's demand for .Net and SQL Server programmers for the past five years by recruiting and training local college students. The company, which operates 1,500-plus stores across the Midwest, has been moving its Cobol-based financial applications into the .Net environment to reduce its mainframe costs. "[It's also] getting tougher to find people who know Cobol," notes Schappert.

2. Help desk/technical support

Help desk and technical support skills remain in strong demand, particularly for people who offer a blend of deep technical expertise and solid customer-service abilities, says Herrin. "I have lots of customers who tell me their customer service function is broken and they need people with better communication skills," she says.

"One of the things we're seeing a demand for in this space is what we call a JOAT -- a jack-of-all-trades -- somebody who can do break/fix work and a bit of desktop support," says Katherine Spencer Lee, executive director at IT staffing firm Robert Half Technology. Demand for well-rounded technicians tends to become more acute when companies are looking to get more work done with fewer people, she says.

3. Project management

Even though many companies are cutting back on IT projects, there's still robust demand for project managers with solid track records, says Spencer Lee. "A differentiator is whether the person can articulate that they've brought a project in on time -- or, better yet, under budget -- and how they did that," she says.

Project management is one of the areas "that endure all economies and climates, where companies are constantly looking for people who understand the project and the systems development life cycles and make sure the project goals are closely aligned with the business objectives," says Harvey Koeppel, executive director of the Center for CIO Leadership in New York.

Employers also need people with project management certificates, even at the vice president level, according to some headhunters. As of late July, The Computing Technology Industry Association had awarded 20% more Project+ certifications than in the previous year, says Gretchen Koch, director of skills development programs at CompTIA.

4. Networking

The ongoing convergence of voice, e-mail, video, instant messaging and other communications systems will continue to create demand for networking specialists with implementation experience. For example, Scholastic Inc. in New York posted a job opening in November for a network convergence manager to help it create a virtual call center using voice over IP, says Saad Ayub, senior vice president and CIO at the children's education company.

Those types of projects often require new skills as well. In 2008, for example, CRST International Inc. moved from a frame-relay network to AT&T's Multiprotocol Label Switching network and installed Cisco's VoIP system. As part of that project, the Cedar Rapids, Iowa-based transportation company trained some of its IT staffers to become Cisco Certified Voice Professionals, says Steve Hannah, vice president of IT.

Network convergence projects will also heighten demand for workers with network security and data privacy acumen, Koeppel says, adding that "it's not just pure [network] backbone and infrastructure skills" that are being sought by employers.

5. Business intelligence

Now more than ever, corporate executives want to be able to analyze customer and sales data in order to make informed decisions about business strategies. That's driving demand for business intelligence specialists across the board, including people with data mining, data warehousing and data management skills.

At Aspen Skiing Co., which operates four ski resorts in western Colorado, company officials will be making year-over-year comparisons on customer spending, including analyses of spending habits during the previous recession, says CIO Paul Major. "We're going to have to get very granular with our analytics," he says.

Meanwhile, there's steady demand for IT professionals with experience using vendor-specific BI tools from companies such as Business Objects and Cognos, says Spencer Lee. But the toughest people to find in this area are those who can help business managers understand the type of data they're trying to analyze and how to interpret the results, she says. "What's difficult," she adds, "is to find someone who's the full-meal deal."

6. Security

When it comes to demand for certain types of security professionals, those with SAP security experience "are probably the hottest of the hot right now," says Herrin.

But interest in security professionals remains strong across the board. "Companies can't ignore security requirements, even in tough economic times," says Stephen Pickett, CIO at Penske Corp. and past president of the Society for Information Management.

There's also strong interest in people with network and wireless security skills, as well as those with Certified Information Systems Security Professional accreditation.

7. Web 2.0

While many companies are just starting to noodle with corporate implementations of social networking applications such as MySpace and Facebook, "more and more companies are trying to reach their customers via the Web," says Pickett.

Demand for Web 2.0 skills is also driven by the continuing expansion of business-to-business connections. For instance, Children's Hospital and Health System in Milwaukee recently created a portal for roughly half of its physicians who work remotely. The system provides them with access to summary medical data on patients, says Mike Jones, vice president and CIO.

8. Data center

Most of the glass-house buzz is about server and storage virtualization projects that help organizations lower their energy costs and shrink their data center footprints.

But few companies are recruiting specifically for data center skills. Instead, they're retraining existing staff in VMware and other virtualization technologies. For instance, Aspen Skiing is considering virtualizing up to 40% of its servers in 2009, says Major. To achieve that, Aspen Skiing plans to rely on VMware and EMC to provide staff with the necessary training.

9. Telecommunications

VoIP and projects involving unified communications continue to drive demand for blended telecommunications and networking skills, particularly among small to midsize businesses that are just beginning to deploy these systems, says Spencer Lee. Interest in Wi-Fi, WiMax, Bluetooth and related skills is also growing, says Koeppel, "particularly as cities look to WiMax as a feature to attract businesses

Employer Branding

2009-08-20T03:01:00.000-07:00

Businesses have been told that their human resources (HR) departments should use branding strategies to recruit and keep hold of the best workers.

According to financial services firm Deloitte, almost two-thirds of British companies are concerned that they will not be able to keep hold of their most talented employees once the recession comes to an end.

Eddie Barrett, a director in Deloitte´s human capital consulting practice, said companies should use the tried and tested techniques used for consumer branding to encourage staff to stay at their firms.

He claimed: "A strong employer brand strategy that goes beyond recruitment campaigns and a desire to simply be seen as an employee of choice will be crucial if companies wish to engage and retain employees that generate a disproportionate amount of value and organisational strength."

Recent research by Millward Brown showed that branding is more important to digital consumers and online shoppers.

The study showed that internet users had a 15 per cent stronger relationship with brands compared to non-digital consumers.

Infopark Kochi attracts!

2009-08-19T21:28:00.001-07:00

Infopark Kochi attracted a record number of leading world class established companies namely, US Technologies, BlueLabs Technology Solution, UCI Technologies, Arbitron, Zerone Consulting, NHR Outsourcing, SIT Mobile and Alcatel Lucent and the Indian behemoth TataTele Services.

The other milestones include the launch of new Infoparks at Cherthala, Ambalapuzha and Koratty along with ramp up of co-developer projects including L&T, Leela Group and two IT giants, TCS and Wipro. Infopark Kochi was able to add 2,500 IT professionals, which took the employment in Infopark to 9,000 direct employees.

Siddhartha Bhattacharya, CEO, Infopark, said that the Infopark aims at leveraging its current growth and driving a significant advantage to generate differentiated value for existing companies and investors.

The other most advantageous factor is the state’s infrastructure facilities and single window clearance, differentiated pricing power for the companies in SEZ, uninterrupted power and water supply.

HR challenges of IT

2009-08-19T21:25:00.000-07:00

Some of the HR challenges that the IT industry faces are in recruitment, training and development, performance management, compensation management and human resource management. In view of these, the Kerala IT has initiated several programmes such as tie-ups with reputed universities and colleges resulting in rapid career advancement opportunities for employees.

Infopark Kochi export records 87% increase

2009-08-19T21:24:00.000-07:00

Infopark Kochi has doubled its exports for the year 2008-09, with the gross turnover increasing to Rs 463 core, registering a growth of 87 percent, according to reports from Special Economic Zones (SEZ) and SoftwareTechnology Parks of India (STPI).

The total turnover from the Infopark touched an all-time high of nearly Rs 600 crore with the inclusion of other ancillary units. Kerala is one of the few IT states that buckled the global trend and registered a phenomenal growth.

Hiring activity picks up in five metros, shows survey

2009-08-19T00:58:00.000-07:00

Hiring activity picked up in five metros, including Delhi and Mumbai, in July with employers from pharma, auto and IT sectors leading the recruitment drive, according to a survey.

A three-month moving hiring average for sectors like real estate, semiconductors, banking, auto and IT showed that recruitment was up in these industries as compared to previous quarters, the hiring scenario survey by leading recruitment portal naukri.com said.

“The uptrend over consecutive months is encouraging. Improvement in hiring activity in lagging industries such as IT, real estate, retail and auto, echoes optimism,” said Sumeet Singh, national head (marketing and communications) of Info Edge, the parent company of naukri.com.

“However, continued increases in hiring activity over the next few months will indicate a turnaround in economic activity and in hiring,” Singh added.

Delhi-NCR (national capital region) saw hiring activity move up by 7 percent in July as compared to June, while fresh jobs in Mumbai grew for a second consecutive month, rising by 3 percent.

Chandigarh, Jaipur and Hyderabad also created more jobs in July than the previous month, the survey said.

While the pharma and biotech industry continued to add new jobs at fast pace, growing by 10 percent in July over the previous month, real estate and retail sectors generated 16 percent and 10 percent jobs respectively.

Jobs in auto and auto ancillary industry were up 11 percent last month as compared to June.

Telecom and financial services continued to lose jobs, with hiring activity dipping by 10 percent in the telecom sector, while banking and financial services was down 7 percent.

StanChart India to hire 120 for priority banking

2009-08-18T21:31:00.000-07:00

Standard Chartered (STAN.L) said on Tuesday it plans to hire 120 bankers in India over 12-18 months to double the relationship managers for its priority banking arm that focuses on the mid-tier wealth segment.

The drive is part of global plan to hire 850 bankers under the priority banking unit to take on the likes of Citigroup (C.N) and HSBC (HSBA.L) in the quest for more affluent customers. [ID:nSP309558]

StanChart, which has emerged relatively unscathed from the global financial crisis, has been hiring staff from rivals to boost its Asian operations at a time when many competitors are distracted by problems in their home markets.

"The priority banking segment is a sweet spot in Asia as the financial needs of this segment have been underserved," Mee Har Foo, global head of Group Premium Banking said at a news conference.

In India, the bank's priority banking would target customers with 2 million rupees ($41,000) in deposit or 10 million rupees of mortgage.

The segment has about 30,000 customers and the bank targets to double it in three years or less, said Shyam Srinivasan, the head of consumer banking in India.

The bank's Indian operations are its second-largest outside Hong Kong, contributing 19 percent to group profits. It has 90 branches in the country.

StanChart, which is adding 1,500 employees this year in India, employs 9,000 at the bank and 7,000 at its offshore centre in the country. ($1 = 48.7 rupees)

Source: Reuters, Mumbai.

IT cos in hiring mode

2009-08-18T21:30:00.000-07:00

Bangalore, Aug. 18 The downturn has done little to stop Indian IT vendors from spending on new sales and marketing honchos.

The vendors are strengthening sales and marketing teams with an eye on grabbing a larger share of the market that is believed to be growing.

Recently, Wipro Technologies roped in a former Microsoft Corp official, Ms Martha Bejar, to lead the company’s global “go-to-market” strategy and drive revenue growth.
Business revamp

The company is also revamping the front-end of its consulting business to sell services more effectively, and plans to add about 300 consultants by the year-ahead.

“We are effectively re-hiring our front-end and are creating a new consulting group” Mr T.K. Kurien, President, Wipro Consulting Services, Global Programs and Strategic Initiatives, had told Business Line recently. “The mandate of the consulting group is to change the face of Wipro. It will also change the quality of deals coming in.”

Wipro has also started a consulting academy in the US that would strengthen the consulting and customer management skills of its frontline employees.

Wipro’s EAS Consulting Academy plans to certify about 300 consultants this year.

Cognizant, which is looking to grow its operations in Asia and the Middle East, has stepped up investments in sales and marketing as well as in business development. Cognizant has brought on board Mr S. Venkatramani, the former head of local business at Tata Consultancy Services, to lead its India and emerging markets’ initiatives.

“We are accelerating investments at the senior consulting and client facing levels with the belief that in this downturn we are going to use this opportunity to further differentiate Cognizant in the marketplace,” Mr Gordon Coburn, CFO, told analysts in a post-earnings call.

“We think now is the time to go out and hire some great people available in the market and an opportunity to position ourselves well for the future.”

Mr Sudin Apte, an analyst at Forrester Research, said: “Companies are looking to hire sales executives who have the ability to craft complex deals and articulate client business value.”
Changed outlook

In the pre-recession era, deals were structured on standard themes of service lines of testing and infrastructure maintenance, among others. However, clients are now looking more at the outcome and business value they get by outsourcing, he said.

Infosys plans to hire more people locally in the next three quarters. “We are going to increase our sales and marketing spend by having more sales and marketing people,” Mr V. Balakrishnan, CFO, told analysts in a post-earnings call.

Not to be left behind, Patni Computers, which restructured its business last week into four key geographies, has appointed Mr Naresh K. Lakhanpal, a former global practice director at Deloitte & Touche, as president of its American operations.

Source: Business Line

India Inc. bounces back & starts hiring

2009-08-18T02:52:00.000-07:00

TJ InSite, the Research Wing of TimesJobs.com, India’s leading job portal, promoted by the Times Group, conducted a survey that captured the hiring sentiment amongst companies in India recently. The recruitment outlook amongst employers in the nerve centers of Delhi, Mumbai & Bangalore is once again on the upswing as employers plan to increase hiring in the next quarter, as reported by 42% of the employers in Delhi, 44% in Mumbai and 24% in Bangalore.

Commenting on this result, Mr. Vivek Madhukar, VP, TimesJobs.com said, “The positive hiring outlook of Employers in India is not unfounded, the Q-on-Q growth that India Inc. has witnessed both in terms of revenues & profits, and the continuation of government stability, policies & commitments, have brought a more optimistic business forecast for organisations.”

ITeS industry veteran Ms. Shailaja Puranik, Country Director & COO, Hays Business Solutions, remarked, “ Hiring has started across all levels in the last three months, across the ITeS & BPO industry, though at half the pre-September 2008 levels. However, the major change now is that the hiring is happening for the core groups of business and not for support functions. Hiring is taking place in new areas or where outliers have been weeded out. Salaries have remained at earlier levels.”

“Just in Time (JIT) hiring has begun in a small way,” said Mr. Ravishankar B, Senior Vice-President, Human Resources, HCL Technologies, as the company is scouting for niche skills in the experience range of three plus years. “Today there are definite signs of hiring. While specialized or JIT hiring is happening and people with niche skills and some experience are being sought, we are also entertaining walk-ins and have been calling for interviews. It is still too premature to comment whether this is a spike or a regular trend. I think we have to wait for two to three months to make such a comment.”

TimesJobs.com Research collated feedback from a wide range of corporate employers in Delhi Mumbai & Bangalore spanning sectors as diverse as IT, BPO & ITeS, Engineering, Logistics, Healthcare, Architecture, Hospitality, Travel & Tourism, Finance & Accounting and Sales & Marketing.

According to the study Delhi appears to be the most bullish with 81% of employers surveyed recruiting to Ramp Up for Growth over the next year. A majority of Mumbai corporates (57%) are also hiring to grow their businesses.

India’s Silicon Valley – Bangalore, seems to be returning to reality, after a knee-jerk mass-retrenchment execution undertaken in Q4 2009, 52% of the corporates surveyed are undertaking Replacement Hiring of HR reduced earlier, while the balance prepare to Ramp up for Growth over the next year.

In terms of Experience Levels, for the Senior Managerial Grade, which forms the top of the corporate pyramid 9% of Corporates in Delhi, and 6% of Corporates in Mumbai, are looking for qualified people. The demand from Bangalore for this grade, however, is negligible.

The demand for Managers, with 3 to 8 years of Experience in Delhi is at 22%, Mumbai at 36% and Bangalore recruiting 21% of their total recruitment demand from this grade.

The demand for Executives with 1 to 3 years of experience have requirements from Delhi arriving at 52%; Mumbai at 39%; and 55% in Bangalore of total demand. This is closely followed by Freshers with 0 to 1 years of experience, constituting 17% of the demand in Delhi, 19% in Mumbai and 24% in Bangalore.

Of the Corporate Respondents from the IT Industry, 7% in Delhi, 16% in Mumbai and 12% in Bangalore, were planning to increase hiring and headcount over the year.

What is hearting to note, is this trend on employment. The TJ InSite Survey has shown that the major drivers of recent growth and employment in India, namely, the Sales and Marketing, IT, ITeS & BPO, BFSI, Engineering sectors have not just initiated replacement hiring, but have started recruitments to Ramp up for Growth.

Indian employers to increase hiring in coming months

2009-08-18T02:50:00.000-07:00

India Inc is hiring again. After months of rigorous cost-cutting, which included recruitment freeze and even downsizing of workforcein some cases, several Indian employers are looking to increase hiring in coming months, according to different surveys.

The Economic Times did a survey on select listed companies across sectors such as telecom, infrastructure, consumer goods, auto, pharma, technology and power, and all the respondents said they plan to increase their headcounts in the next three-six months. The companies planning to increase hiring include Infosys Technologies, Maruti Suzuki, Lupin Pharmaceuticals and Standard Chartered Bank.

A larger survey done by job portal TimesJobs.com noted an upswing in the hiring sentiment among Indian companies. The survey, which polled 5,000 companies across sectors in Indian metros, showed that almost half the respondents from Delhi and Mumbai are planning to increase hiring in the current quarter.

Even the IT capital Bangalore seems to be returning to reality after witnessing mass layoffs in the past quarter of 2008, with one-fourth of the firms planning to raise their headcounts this quarter. Interestingly, 52% of these firms said they are undertaking replacement hiring. Four-fifths of the firms in Delhi and 57% recruiters in Mumbai are hiring to ramp up for growth, said the survey conducted by TJ InSite, the research wing of TimesJobs.com.

The results show that Corporate India is upbeat on the economy in spite of the looming threat of a drought due to shortage of rains in this monsoon season and the fears of swine flu that has sparked panic in several cities. “Swine flu is not a pandemic yet; unless it goes to such proportions, there will be no impact on the job market,” says Sunit Mehra, managing partner of executive search company Hunt Partners.

Though these concerns remain, India Inc’s general mood is optimistic with the feeling that economic recovery has well and truly begun gaining traction across sectors. July’s robust car sales and industrial production figures bear out this optimism.

Globally, too, the signs are encouraging with lower-than-expected decline in the US economic growth for June quarter and a rebound to growth of the South Korean economy. “The quarter-on-quarter growth that India Inc has witnessed both in terms of revenues and profits, and the continuation of government stability, policies and commitments, have brought a more optimistic business forecast for organisations,” said Vivek Madhukar, vice-president of TimesJobs.com.

The TimesJob survey covered sectors such as IT, BPO & ITeS, engineering, logistics, healthcare, architecture, hospitality, travel & tourism, finance & accounting and sales & marketing.

Source: Economic Times

Hiring goes up, employees ebullient

2009-08-18T02:07:00.000-07:00

After nearly a year in the doldrums, employment prospects seem to be improving again.

Indian employees’ confidence in the future of their companies rose significantly in the second quarter of the year, though the rise is less than in Brazil, Russia, and China. These are the findings of Kenexa, a global provider of business solutions for human resources, in its latest survey.

“While most countries improved in the second quarter, we saw especially strong gains in Russia, Germany, France and India,” Kenexa Principal Jeffrey Saltzman said.

The Labour Ministry’s findings too corroborate the results of the Kenexa survey. A survey it carried out has shown majority of non-exporting units have created additional 35,000 jobs during the period April-June as compared to March 2009.

About half of these additional jobs were created in the automobile sector, followed by information technology, and leather sectors.