Recent press reports said that banking sector has planned to recruit about 7.5 lakh people in the next five years. There is also a critical shortage of middle management because of increase in retirements which are to come up. This will ensure that the bank has enough people to offer services in sections like bank deposits, international banking, loan sections (home loan, personal loan, educational loan) etc.
Mr M. Balachandran, Director, Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS), is one of the persons who play a key role in helping banks bridge this gap.
On realizing the hectic process in recruitment, the banks have decided to adopted new methods in recruiting employees. The banks have decided to bring a system that will identify candidates on the basis of their cognitive ability.
They would like to bring a kind of common admission test on the lines of CAT or GMAT which will tell the banks that the candidate has qualified and can compete on the basis of his scores. These scores will be valid for a year and banks that have vacancies can attract suitable candidates who have qualified through this exam. It is for the banks to prescribe the minimum eligible criteria and use the scores accordingly.
This will help banks fine tune their recruitment process and save both time and money. The Indian Banks’ Association has also written to banks asking them to adopt it and extend support for the conduct of the exams.