20% of commerce graduates hired in the BFSI sector

According to experts, other sectors that are hiring commerce graduates are Media/Entertainment, Pharma, Healthcare, Hospitality, and Retail among others

Data sourced from TimesJobs.com indicates that the top five industries hiring B Com graduates are BFSI, IT/Telecom, ITeS, advertising/PR/Event management and manufacturing. 20% of commerce graduates are hired by the BFSI sector, 18% in IT/Telecom, 17% in ITeS and a meager 6% and 5% in advertising and manufacturing industries respectively.
According to experts, other sectors which are hiring commerce graduates are Media/Entertainment, Pharma, Healthcare, Hospitality, and Retail among others. These freshers are hired for different roles based on the company’s focus or specialisation. Corporates also lay emphasis on the candidate’s behavioral traits and their participation in various extracurricular activities in college. Richard Rekhy, CEO, KPMG, opines, “We do hire B.Com and BA graduates. However, it’s not so much the stream they come from, but the experience they gained in those three-four years that matters. Being part of some activities in colleges that highlights their leadership skills as well as other extracurricular activities they were involved in is really important to us.” According to Rekhy the company needs more evolved individuals in the form of fresh graduates.
Organisatons are also looking at hiring graduates who have good communication skills, both written and verbal. There are some areas and gaps which the companies want these graduates to work upon before starting to work. According to Rupesh Basu, HR Manager, Siemens Ltd, “Most students study only from an examination point of view so they don’t focus on the basics. Though they have certain aspects covered in theory they lack the practical aspects.” Therefore, it is critical for universities and colleges to focus on practical training besides having theoretical classes.
As A G Rao, Group MD, Manpower Group India, states, “It is imperative to impart domain knowledge and relevant skills through teaching methods, pedagogical tools, industry and alumni interface. The domain knowledge and curriculum should be in sync with the business requirements.” He also adds, “Exams at the end of the year should be substituted with periodic exams, quantitative aptitude, project work, team assignments and creative skills.”
Naveen Kr. Jain, Associate Professor in Commerce and Member, Placement Cell, Hans Raj College, Delhi University, explains, “We hold seminars and programs on career options, resume- writing, group discussions, personality development, skill development etc. to make our students industry ready.”
Besides colleges taking initiative to make these students industry ready, it is also up to the individual to add value to his/ her profile over a period of time. Rao elaborates on this by saying that graduates need to enhance and work upon themselves to acquire education and employable skills that will get them decent jobs. It is therefore important to imbibe soft skills communications, team work, problem solving techniques, planning and organising tasks at hand.
Not only is it important to understand the skills required to get hired, it is essential to understand the kind of roles the companies are offering to these graduates. Depending on the kind of employer, job role for these freshers often varies. TimesJobs.com data reveals that 23% of commerce college graduates are being offered sales/business development roles, 22% are offered customer service/tele calling roles, 15% information technology profiles and 6% are offered accounting and finance jobs. Commenting on this hiring trend, Basu adds, “We hire commerce graduates as commercial trainees for a one year programme with us. They are offered business administration role also.”
Adds Jain, “Companies typically hire commerce graduates for the following roles – audit assistants, investment Analysts, Ad Word representatives, analysts, actuarial associates, sales managers, graduate associates, teaching associates.”
Organisations plan their compensation structure based on the kind of role that is offered. According to Deepak Kaistha, managing director, Planman Consulting, “The salary range varies from sectors, skill sets and the college from where the student has graduated. In general the salary begins from 15,000 – 20,000 per month varying further according to the skills and talents of the graduate.”
As much as an employee’s salary depends on a given job role, it also depends on the kind of skill sets they have. Therefore, it is crucial for colleges and other educational institutes to train these graduates well and make them industry ready. It is no longer only the course curriculum that the employers are interested in; they are equally keen to assess what the students have done to enhance their employable skills outside the classroom.