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A. Srinivas

Bangalore, Feb. 27 People may be losing jobs thick and fast all over the country, but there is no evidence of any let-up in hiring in Karnataka.

Apparel companies supplying to the domestic market, retail and insurance were among those looking for candidates at the jobs mela held in Mangalore on February 21.

There is a drop in demand for engineering graduates, which is indicative of the downturn in the construction industry. Security recruitments have been sharply on the rise after 26/11. Despite the slowdown in manufacturing, the industry was the biggest recruiter in Mangalore in the mela.

The demand for high school and college graduates does not seem to have been hit by the slowdown.

According to state labour department officials, those in Mangalore at that time included Infosys, looking for 500 graduates for its BPO operations, Max New York Life Insurance, Life Insurance Corporation, ICICI Prudential and Eureka Forbes. “An MNC bank wanted to recruit 100 graduates, offering an annual salary of Rs 1.9 lakh for six months’ experience,” an official said.

State labour department officials said that Mangalore would create at least 5,000 jobs by the time the selection process is completed over the next three months.

This would be slightly higher than the jobs created in melas conducted in Mysore (January 2008), Hubli (November 2008) and Gulbarga (February 1, 2009).

As many as 106 employers were present in Mangalore, against 80-90 in earlier fairs. The high levels of literacy in Mangalore led to the strong presence of firms in the insurance and health sectors.

Even with the industry growing at about four per cent in the country, manufacturing firms accounted for the largest number of shortlisted people, or close to 2,000, followed by services such as telecommunications and insurance which accounted for nearly 1,300 shortlisted candidates.

Another 650 were picked for security-related jobs. About 1,000 candidates were picked for security work at the Gulbarga jobs mela, as literacy levels in Gulbarga are lower than in Mangalore. “The demand for a number of candidates with modest qualifications reflects the needs of the security sector, particularly after the Mumbai attacks,” officials said.

Employers, looking to recruit about 6,000 candidates in Mangalore, had drawn up a demand list that was dominated by graduates and high school level candidates.

The requirement list included 900 who were below SSLC level, another 1,000 who had passed SSLC, 1,000 degree holders, 950 who had cleared their PUC and about 450 trained in ITIs.

There were no more than 120 jobs on offer for BE degree holders. The drop in demand for engineering graduates could lead to fewer numbers taking the entrance examinations in summer.

More Stories on : Employment | Human Resources | Karnataka

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