Gen Y opts for government jobs

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Chennai: Gen Y is now reported to be following in the footsteps of their grandparents and queuing up for government jobs in search of stability, rattled by the economic downturn. This is evident from the eight-fold increase in applicants received by the Staff Selection Commission. From a mere 10.27 lakh applicants in 2008-09, the number of people vying for government jobs has gone up to 88.65 lakh in 2011-12, a span of just three years.
“It is better to get a government job during these times of churn as it ensures regular income and security,” says Ram Viswanathan, a mechanical engineer who has now taken up a job with a Salem PSU after he got the pink slip from his US employer about two years ago. “Though my children weren’t keen on returning, I had no choice but to come back,” he says.
HR experts also say that  the slowdown has shifted people’s preference to government jobs but are confident that this trend will reverse once the economy stabilises.
“There was not much recruitment in PSUs for the last 15 years and hence now there is a huge vacancy build up that is getting filled,” says E. Balaji, MD and CEO, Randstad India. With a lot of people people opting for voluntary retirement schemes in the banking sector, lot of recruitment is happening this sector, he says.
TNPSC or UPSC had always attracted people and this interest never died down, says K. Sriganth, an independent HR consultant. “A drive to fill up the backlog and make special recruitments could have opened up more jobs in the sector, translating into the rush,” he says.
“During the 2008-09 downturn, too, the government sector became attractive even for IIM graduates. However, during 2009-10 PSUs had a tough time in tapping talent in colleges,” recalls Balaji.