IT/ITES among top industries hiring science graduates

Srilagna Saha,
According to TimesJobs.com data, the top three industries that hire B.Sc graduates are IT/Telecom, CRM/Call Centres/BPO/ITeS, and BFSI.  The top three functions offered to science graduates are – Customer Service/Tele calling, IT/Telecom, and Sales/Business Development. In April-May 2013, 26% of job postings for B.Sc graduates were in the IT/Telecom industry, 21% in CRM/BPO and 11% for positions in the BFSI industry.
Some of the other industries that hire B.Sc graduates are – Construction/Cement, Education, Manufacturing, Travel & Hospitality, Healthcare, and Engineering. Some other functions for which science graduates are in demand include front office, HR/PM/IR, Accounting & Finance, teaching and recruitment. The role depends on the organisation; a manufacturing company will offer a different function to a B.Sc graduate as compared to a pharma/healthcare company. Industry experts add that any specialist role for fresh graduates comes with sufficient on-the-job training to ensure that the candidate is a good fit.
In regards to the various roles available in BPO/ITeS sector, Sachin Vakil, Head HR, Hutchinson Global Services, says, “We have different kind of roles – entry level, which is basically for the call centre and involves interacting directly with our customers; and in case if the candidate has a 4-5 years of experience we offer them leadership positions.” However, for an entry level role one must have minimum 6 months BPO experience.
Ashutosh Mishra, VP-HR, Dish TV, adds, “A majority of B.Sc graduates get hired in customer service, call centre operation, customer related processes, customer support, back-end support and operations. They are also hired in administrative and commercial roles.”
Not only is it the role which varies from one company to the other, hiring criteria also varies. Where on one hand some only hire candidates with relevant experience, others lay emphasis on the candidate’s working style, communication skills, and attitude. Mishra advices, “They should work on their communication skills; should have clarity of thought; should work continuously on attitude.”
Academic institutions play an important role as far as character building and knowledge sharing with these graduates is concerned. Organisations are also slowly associating with academicians to create a common knowledge sharing/building platform for all students. Vakil says, “We need to have a lot of forums where we can come together with B-schools and other colleges. There’s a need to share what we do and change the concept of a call centre –many of these B.Sc graduates see it as a stop gap solution, which is not the case.”
According to industry experts B.Sc graduates get an average salary package of Rs 2 lakh per annum. Nishant Saxena, CEO, Elements Akademia, says, “Entry level salary in BPOs/Telecom is between Rs 10,000 – 15,000 per month.” Vakil points out, “Cost is definitely a driving factor for us. In Mumbai, for an entry level candidate salary is around Rs 3.1 lakh per annum and in Pune it is approximately Rs 2.75 lakh per annum.”