Tuesday, September 18, 2012:
With festive season round the corner, consumer-driven sectors such as Consumer Durables/FMCG and Automobiles industry holds a promising jobs outlook in coming months. The companies in the Consumer Durables/FMCG sector are actively recruiting for Sales/Business Development & Marketing, R & D and support functions. Hiring is on rise for both managerial and technical roles in this industry. Current trend reflects growing focus on exploring fresh talent from business and engineering campuses. In Automobile sector, active hiring is anticipated in core areas such as procurement, sales and production. With existing companies increasing their capacities and new players coming into the market, the employment opportunities in this industry are expected to grow.
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“Going into the third and fourth quarters, FMCG and Consumer Durable industry would look at building capability and capitalizing on the existing competence.”
States Yashwant S. Mahadik, VP - Human Resources,
Philips Electronics India Ltd
Optimism return in other key sectors
Industry experts also predict an upswing in talent supply in Infrastructure sector, based on the increasing level of privatization and competition. Job opportunities are expected to increase in support functions and at entry/junior level. Retention and talent development are going to be the key focus areas with a number of organisations in this industry investing in employee development and engagement initiatives, to retain, understand, align and improve the overall talent pool.
“While external market dynamics have a direct impact on the business cycle of infrastructure companies, they are likely to weather the storm and emerge stronger.”
Opined Subir Hazra, AVP & Head-Strategic Planning,
Delhi International Airport Ltd, GMR Group
Job opportunities in the ITeS sector is expected to grow in tier I and II locations including rural pockets, in times ahead. Availability of manpower, comparatively inexpensive labour and infrastructure cost is making BPO/ITeS companies expand operations in these regions, reasoned experts.
“The Indian ITeS/BPO industry is gearing for growth on the back of accelerated demand for diversified skills and companies are looking for talent equipped with analytical skills.”
States Arpana S Mehra, Senior Vice President-HR,
ACS India Inc
The opening up of FDI in single-brand retail has led to rise in talent demand in Retail sector. However, the hiring will be largely restricted at the entry/junior level. Similar to the trend in ITeS sector, Retail too, reported buoyant hiring in tier I and II cities such as Lucknow and Jaipur.
“Using younger people with higher potential will be the key and the scope of recruitment is now also going deeper into graduate colleges and vocational colleges”.
Explains Seema Arora Nambiar, Senior Director-People Resources,
McDonald’s India (West & South Region)
Tier I and II cities, emerging job hubs
While major locations witnessed stunted hiring activity, tier I and II cities surfaced as new employment centers in the Indian job market. Locations such as Jaipur, Lucknow, Chandigarh saw an upsurge in demand, mainly in sectors such as Construction, Automobiles, Consumer Durables/FMCG. This trend is expected to continue for next few quarters, with metros such as Delhi, Bangalore, Mumbai and Chennai likely to maintain staff levels and tier I and II cities emerging as new employment avenues in 2012-13.
“With many companies now focusing on tier-II and III markets, hiring in smaller cities such as Jaipur, Chandigarh, Vadodara and Indore will also rise.”
Says Poonam Sharma, Group Director, Accurate Group of Institutions
Maharashtra leads the way
Among key locations, the state of Maharashtra (excluding Mumbai and Pune) was the strongest performing region during the January-June’12 period. It overtook key employment hubs such as Delhi NCR, Chennai and Bangalore. Robust business growth in IT/Telecom and Manufacturing & Engineering organisations in the region coupled with availability of talent boosted the state’s performance, stated experts. Demand for IT/Telecom professionals grew exceptionally well in this region witnessing a 29% growth. The region is expected to continue its growth run, with a double-digit growth very likely for the state in coming months.
“The IT industry is all set to take quick leaps in terms of becoming a sizeable player in the Maharashtra region. With right set of policies, direction and the success history as a legend, the region is clearly up for growth in coming years.”
Explains Monika Tripathi, Vice President,
Elixir Consulting
One of the key cities in Maharashtra, Pune, is expected to see demand for talent from sectors such as Manufacturing, IT/Telecom, Consumer Durables/FMCG, Retail and Automobile in coming months. Buoyancy in hiring is expected to return in Ahmedabad, with work on ongoing projects and expansion plans getting in full swing, by the end of this year.
Demand for Leadership and Fresh Talent
A positive hiring momentum was observed for senior professionals with more than 10 years and over 20 years of experience for the first half of 2012. In leadership roles, candidates who can handle changing market conditions will be more in demand, in future, stated experts. In addition, demand for 2-5 years experience candidates is expected to rise in IT, ITeS and Manufacturing sectors. Prospects also seem bright for candidates with less than 2 years experience, in industries, which are linked with domestic economy, such as Infrastructure, Manufacturing, Engineering and Construction.
“In future, we’ll see demand for specialised and niche skills than for generic positions. Companies are focusing on developing additional channels such as ramp up of internal recruitment sources, social media and employment branding, to reap benefits when the real hiring picks up after a few quarters.”
Sangeeta Lala, Vice President & Founder,
Team Lease
“Employers are focused on hiring only highly skilled talent for niche roles and specialized functions and are using a mix of traditional and non-traditional methods, which include internal job postings, job rotation, use of social media, advertising on corporate websites, employee referrals and of late, even re- hiring.” summarized E. Jayashree Kurup, Head of Content & Research, TimesJobs.com
OTHER KEY FINDINGS
Industry Trends
Ř Experts predict a rise in demand in engineering services, automobile and the healthcare domain
Ř The BFSI industry experienced a decline in recruitment due to deprecating rupee value, inflation and growing interest rate. However, trends reflected in the report predict that NBFCs with rural concentration will continue their growth story
Ř ITeS was the only sector where there is still active hiring due to long-term contracts with clients. This positive hiring trend is anticipated to continue with delivery growing in on-shore business
Ř Retail also saw some positive hiring activity due to opening FDI in single-brand retail, albeit only at entry level
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