Central Bank plans to hire 2,700 personnel this year

One of the oldest state-run banks, Central Bank of India is on a massive recruitment exercise, a senior official of the bank said here. The bank plans to recruit 2,700 people this year to add to the 3,200 recruited last year.

Ms Vijayalakshmi R. Iyer, Executive Director, Central Bank of India, said that this number would be exclusive of the addition in specialised segments such as treasury operations, legal, and so on. “The recruitment exercise was triggered by large number of retirements. Around 1,500 to 1,800 are retiring every year, over the last two years and in the next three years.”

Good response

She said the bank had gone to about 20 institutions across the country last year to hire people.

“The response was phenomenal. The number of applications was four-five times the number of vacancies and filtration was a mammoth task.”

“Interestingly, a good number of engineers are joining the bank,” said Ms Iyer. While complimenting their quality and sincerity, she did express some concern as to whether they would continue to work in a bank in the long run or were just looking at the job as a stop-gap arrangement.

Pact with IBPS

She said, “We are in fact trying to do locational recruitment and to the extent possible post them closer to their home town. We have since inked a pact with IBPS (Institute of Banking Personnel Selection) for clerical recruitment.”

Admitting that manpower management was a challenge, the experienced banker said, ‘We find the younger generation highly tech-savvy. They take a lot of initiative in connecting with the customers and are good at customer acquisition. This is a welcome change.”

lnr@thehindu.co.in