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Economic Slowdown In The West To Impact Work Opportunities: IIFT The Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT) is apprehensive about the deepening slowdown in Western markets having an impact on the domestic jobs market, even though requests from domestic companies for campus interviews at the institute have risen so far this year. The looming slowdown may prevent companies from expansion and launching more products, which would in turn shrink the jobs market, IIFT Director KT Chacko said, adding that most B-school students were not looking for working abroad. Last year, only 15 per cent of IFFT students were hired by foreign companies to work abroad, he said, adding, "Moreover, nobody today wants to work overseas."
Source : 11-09-11 Hindustan Times Compiled by Amresh Anjan
Private Sector Asked To Help Meet Shortage Of Trainers Dearth of skilled trainers is hampering the government's plan to generate 500 million skilled persons in the country by 2022 through public-private partnerships (PPP).Sharda Prasad, director general of employment and training, Labour Ministry, said more trainers were needed to meet the target of 40 million skilled persons annually. He was addressing the fourth Global Skills Summit hosted jointly by the ministry and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).The minister called upon the private sector to help in providing trainers to meet the target. The ministry is setting up 6,500 skill institutes under the PPP model. A paper by FICCI-Ernst & Young says 75 percent of new job opportunities will be skills-based. It is, therefore, essential for India to develop a qualification framework linking formal education and vocational training, it said. S
ource : 15-09-11 Hindu Business Line Compiled by Amresh Anjan
Samsung Hires 1,500 At Noida Facility Samsung Electronics has tripled its mobile phone production capacity in India with an investment of approximately Rs. 315 crore in its manufacturing plant in Noida. The company has also hired 1,500 people to work at the plant; taking the total number at the facility to 4,000.The Korean Electronics Company is committed to strengthening its presence in the country through its mobile business, increased manufacturing, operations, research and development. Prior to the new investment, the production capacity of the Noida plant was 12 million handsets per year. Its capacity is now 36 million handsets per annum. India is one of the top three mobile markets for Samsung. Business has grown steadily and it is now the second largest player in India in terms of the number of handsets sold. Samsung Electronics has tripled its mobile phone production capacity in India with an investment of approximately Rs. 315 crore in its manufacturing plant in Noida. The company has also hired 1,500 people to work at the plant; taking the total number at the facility to 4,000.The Korean Electronics Company is committed to strengthening its presence in the country through its mobile business, increased manufacturing, operations, research and development. Prior to the new investment, the production capacity of the Noida plant was 12 million handsets per year. Its capacity is now 36 million handsets per annum. India is one of the top three mobile markets for Samsung. Business has grown steadily and it is now the second largest player in India in terms of the number of handsets sold.
Source : 18-09-11 Financial Express Compiled by Amresh Anjan
JLR's new Engine Plant To Create 2000 Jobs in UK Jaguar Land Rover, the Indian auto giant Tata Motors' UK based subsidiary, is all set to establish a new engine plant in its base market UK with an investment of 400 million pounds. The new JLR engine plant will be established at i54 Business Park in Wolverhampton, midlands (UK), and is expected to create about 2,000 positions in the UK. The decision of setting-up a new engine plant in UK is a part of company's plans of having a greater control over the production of engines in the rapidly growing Asian markets. According to reports, besides the UK market, the company is also considering setting -up a new engine plant in the Indian market.
Source : 19-09-11 Cartradeindia.com Compiled by Amresh Anjan
Recruitments Up 13% In Ahmedabad With fear of global turmoil hitting any time, freshers in Ahmedabad are worried and seeking new jobs eagerly. But, here is good news for them. Compared to August 2010, the recruitments in August 2011 have increased by 13% in Ahmedabad. IT sector has contributed highest in recruitment in last one year. According to a report on 'Hiring Activity in India' by Naukri.com, recruitment in Ahmedabad grew by 13% on a year-on-year basis. The Naukri Job Speak Index of Ahmedabad was around 961 points in August 2010 which grew to 1,086 in August 2011, showing a rise of 13% rise in hiring activity in city. The report says that hiring activity for the IT sector, which contributes approximately 12% jobs in Ahmedabad grew by 8% in August 2011 when compared to July 11. While, both Pharmaceuticals and banking sectors saw 3% upward movement in their indices in August 2011 during the same period
Source : 18-09-11 DNA Compiled by Amresh Anjan
Nokia Denies Paying Low Wages In India Nokia has rebutted claims by a human rights organization that the mobile phone maker pays below the living wage at its factory in India. Finnwatch, the human rights group, said Nokia paid contract workers about €70 per month at its Chennai factory. The amount is a quarter above the legal minimum wage but less than the minimum €127 per month for India. Finnwatch also pointed to the time-limited contracts that the workforce was kept on, and the long duration of the low-paid trainee contracts. Nokia disagreed, saying its workers, including trainees, are the highest paid in Chennai, and at a level well above the local minimum wage. The company said the Finnwatch report, which uses salaries in New Delhi as a benchmark, is misleading. The human rights group should include key benefits such as occupational healthcare, meals, day care and transportation in its assessment
Source : 15-09-11 Financial Express Compiled by Amresh Anjan
Demand For B-School Exec Courses Growing B-schools have received an increasing number of requests for short-term management programmes from companies seeking ways to beat the slowdown. The slump in the U.S. economy has forced companies to re-evaluate their strategies and prepare senior executives for these scenarios. Requests for short-term management development programmes (MDPs) on themes such as measuring risks, managing complexities, employee retention or cost cutting measures have been increasing. Firms are increasingly looking to enhance the skills of their personnel in areas such as decision sciences and strategic management."B-schools, on their part, are trying to directly or indirectly answer the questions raised by the current economic scenario," said Chaitanya Kalipatnapu, director of Eruditus, which offers INSEAD's MDP in India. In 2008, the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, had introduced courses on handling financial crises and the downturn
Source : 15-09-11 Business Standard Compiled by Amresh Anjan
Pervez Ahmed Quits Max Healthcare Max Healthcare said its CEO and Managing Director Pervez Ahmed stepped down from the position. In a statement announcing the departure of Dr. Ahmed, the company said it had formed an interim team to take care of day-to-day operations till a new structure was in place."Max Healthcare has announced the formation of an interim functional task-force to conduct day-to-day operations and manage transition till the new leadership structure is appointed," the company said in a statement. The task force would comprise clinical and administrative leaders and will be co-chaired by group Chairman Analjit Singh and Max India Managing Director Rahul Khosla, it said.
Source : 13-09-11 Business Standard Compiled by Amresh Anjan
Hiring By IT Companies Shows No Sign Of Slowdown The hiring trend in the local information technology (IT) sector over the past few months has defied the slowdown threatening to play out if the macro-economic situation in the US and Europe deteriorates further. Typically, a reduction in technology staffing in the developed markets precedes a slowdown in hiring in offshore destinations like India. But this time, the industry is not emanating any such signal though experts expect the economic health of Europe and the US to worsen further. Tech hiring growth in the Indian and US markets in August testifies to this. The month saw strong IT hiring at 7% in the local market compared with July. Even the technology hiring in the US and Europe remained stable during the same period. At the start of the year, the industry was expecting hiring in the current year to climb back to 2006-2007 levels when 5 lakh new jobs were created. That outlook has now been revised downwards to over 3 lakh based on the expectation of projects being closed this year. Source : 13-09-11 DNA Compiled by Amresh Anjan
Report Pitches For 'Truly Independent' Directors A report brought out by KPMG and the Confederation of Indian Industry has stressed on making independent directors more effective and truly independent. Apart from that, it is important to address their role in developing an institution and a pool of personnel with varied skills, the report said. The report, "Corporate governance: Value beyond compliance", was released by the Corporate Affairs Minister Veerappa Moily. Touching upon CEO succession planning, the report called for a large-scale debate and more rigorous processes than the ones currently being followed, especially in owner-managed businesses. Government interference was undermining the autonomy of PSUs. Restrictive and outdated labour laws made laying off employees and closing down businesses difficult. Around a third of the 249 PSUs reported a loss of $3.4 billon in FY11, the report added. Greater investor scrutiny could bring about substantial improvement in corporate governance, an area where India needs to catch up with the developed world, it noted.
Source : 13-09-11 Business Standard Compiled by Amresh Anjan
Infosys To Hire 50% Local Staff In Onsite Locations Infosys Ltd plans to reach the target of having 50% of its employees in onsite locations as the local residents by as early as next year. There has been political pressure, particularly in the US, to boost local employment. Given the high unemployment rates in the West, there is tremendous pressure on Indian IT outsourcing companies to not be perceived as only taking away Western jobs to lower cost destinations. Also, the other reason to boost local staff was the increasing number of visa rejections for Indian software engineers. Infosys has 27,000 employees onsite and the company plans to reach the 50% target by 2012-13. Out of the pool of onsite employees, around two-thirds are said to be in the US and the rest in other geographies like the UK, Continental Europe, China and West Asia.One of the major tasks for Infosys now is to set the agenda for choosing the right talent from each region.
Source : 14-09-11 MSN.com Compiled by Amresh Anjan
Capgemini To Boost India Headcount Capgemini is expanding in Kolkata and plans to double the number of employees there within two years. The Paris-based consulting and outsourcing firm added a new wing to its existing Rajarhat facility in the city with 750 seats. The company employs 1,700 in Kolkata and 36,000 nationally. It has started a campus recruitment drive for IT and BPO in the eastern region and Kolkata. It is looking to cover 20 colleges across Durgapur, Asansol, Hooghly, Berhampur, Shillong and Agartala. An incremental facility has also been planned for next year. "We intend to recruit around 400 people. Over two years, we could double our headcount in Calcutta. By the end of this year, it could touch 2,000," CEO of Capgemini India, Aruna Jayanthi said. "India could account for close to half of the company's global headcount" in the next two to three years, she added.
Source : 14-09-11 The Telegraph Compiled by Amresh Anjan
Attrition High In India Inc Even After 13% Salary Hike Pay hikes in the corporate sector have failed to arrest attrition that was an overall 18.6 percent annualised average. Companies offered an average salary increment of 12.97 percent to its employees across all levels this year, according to a compensation trends survey conducted by Deloitte India.For most companies, increments ranged between 10 percent and 19 percent, according to Mr. Thiruvengadam P, leader, human capital advisory services, Deloitte India.The study also found that voluntary exits, which had come down since 2008, made a comeback with more job opportunities in the market. Annualised attrition across sectors varied from 5 percent to 25 percent. Career advancement, personal reasons and compensation were all responsible for the trend, as per the study. Companies are offering "spot bonuses" to retain employees, said Kamal Karanth, managing director of Kelly Services India.
Source : 13-09-11 Financial Chronicle Compiled by Amresh Anjan
Change In Training Syllabus To Slow Hiring Of Agents Recruitment of insurance agents is likely to be hit as the life insurance industry shifts to a new syllabus and examination system from October 1. The cost of training agents for insurance companies is also expected to go up. "The regulator wants to professionalise the agents so that they understand consumer needs better," said RR Dash, zonal manager west, Tata AIG Life. New agents have to be trained under the new syllabus, he added. Hiring may slacken until the industry comes to terms with the nature and content of the programme, said Deepak Sood, CEO and managing director, Future Generali Life Insurance. Agency training institutes are concerned that training under the new syllabus will take longer. Insurance companies expressed reservations over the resultant higher costs they will have to bear.
Source : 13-09-11 Hindu Business Line Compiled by Amresh Anjan
India, U.K Tie Up For Skill Development The U.K. India Business Council (UKIBC) has joined hands with the British Deputy High Commission and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry(FICCI) to strengthen Indo-U.K. cooperation in the skills and education sector. Around 46 British skills providers from 32 organisations visited Kolkata to explore opportunities and find business partners. UKIBC will also seek tie-ups with companies such as Hero Honda and Mahindra & Mahindra. Some areas for skill development are healthcare, retail, construction, manufacturing, travel and tourism and food processing, said Roy Newey, group board director, UKIBC. Separately, the government of West Bengal has sought technical assistance from the World Bank to layout a plan for skill development, which is expected in a few weeks. It has also collaborated with IL&FS Education & Services for job-linked skill training in retail sales and services and IT-enabled services.
Source : 12-09-11 Hindu Business Line Compiled by Amresh Anjan
Sonata Software Names CEO & MD Bangalore-Based IT Company Sonata Software Has Appointed Sanjay Viswanathan As CEO, Managing Director And Member Of The Board. He Joins From Reed Elsevier, Where He Was Chief Outsourcing And Offshoring Officer. Sonata's Vice-Chairman And Managing Director B Ramaswamy Has Been Named Chief Mentor. He Has Been With The Company For 24 Years.
Source : 14-09-11 Business Standard Compiled by Amresh Anjan
Shipping Veteran Named COO Of Fortis Healthcare Shipping industry veteran Eng Aik Meng was appointed chief operating officer of health-care firm Fortis Healthcare International on Monday.Fortis is the Singapore-based holding company of India's billionaire brothers Malvinder Mohan Singh and Shivinder Mohan Singh. Mr Eng, 41, will be responsible for developing the firm's business outside India, including operations, marketing and supply-chain management. Mr. Vishal Bali, the chief executive of Fortis Global Healthcare Holdings, said Mr. Eng's experience in building up global businesses would be 'invaluable as we continue to expand our integrated health-care delivery network across Asia and Australia'.
Source : 12-09-11 Strait Times Compiled by Amresh Anjan
HUL Plans To Raise Workforce By 1,000 Annually Hindustan Unilever (HUL) is planning to hire about 1,050 people each year for the next two to three years, according to a senior official. The company will continue to recruit 40 to 50 management trainees from management and technical schools, said Executive Director of Human Resources Leena Nair. The company recruits 700 to a thousand people in its factories and for sales. Around 20 mangers may be hired for sales and marketing and the rest distributed across all functions. There will be no change in the pay packages, Mr. Nair said. Commenting on the attrition levels in the industry, she said levels were high, in double digits. HUL's attrition rate was less than 5 percent. Maharashtra will see 1.4 million to 1.5 million jobs added in the next five to seven years, said Mr. Nair. She is also chairperson of the Confederation of Indian Industry in Maharashtra.
Source : 19-09-11 Financial Express Compiled by Amresh Anjan
