Upon clearing the common test, which
will be administered by the Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS) on
behalf of PSBs (public sector banks), all that the candidates have to do is
respond to individual bank's advertisements to appear for interview.
Twenty PSBs will be part of this
joint exercise which will enable them tap the pool of candidates who have been
successful in the common test, for recruitment. The State Bank group,
comprising State Bank of India and its five associate banks, however, will
plough a lonely furrow on the recruitment front.
PERIODICITY OF TEST
According to IBPS officials, while
the pan-India common test for the clerical cadre will be conducted four times a
year, for probationary officers it will be held twice. The scorecard issued to
successful candidates is likely to be valid for one to one and- a-half years.
During the validity period, the eligible candidates can respond to bank advertisements
for interviews.
"Once a pool of eligible
candidates is created, banks can recruit on tap," said Dr K. Ramakrishnan,
Chief Executive, Indian Banks' Association.
The biggest benefit for the PSBs
will be that the time taken for recruitment will fall by almost a third.
Currently, banks take almost a year to complete the recruitment process - from
the test stage to sending the final selection letter.
Down the line, IBPS also plans to
conduct pan-India tests for specialist officers in the fields of agriculture,
information technology, accountancy, and law.
The urgency to recruit in large
numbers is underscored by the fact that the State-owned banks will lose close
to half their employees to retirement over the next decade.
Management consulting firm McKinsey
said in its recent report that compounded by sub-optimal succession planning
and high attrition at junior levels, this represents a massive recruitment
challenge - up to seven lakh people - especially in the context of the changing
roles and skill requirements.
Pointing out that PSBs have to
induct new talent in large numbers, Mr R. Gopalan, Secretary (Financial
Services), Ministry of Finance, in his recent address at the IBA's Bankers'
Conference, said the ability of these banks to rise to the expectations of the
nation over the next decade depends crucially on the industry being able to
streamline its human resources.
No comments: