GATE has now become the entry ticket to top-notch PSUs. Government jobs have their own perks as well as security of salary, thereby becoming a viable option for students. Currently around 3,000 vacancies exist in leading PSUs for fresh engineering graduates, says Nitin Rakesh Prasad
The popularity of Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE), a competitive exam that is held at the national level for admission into various post-graduate programmes in top institutes, has increased tremendously among the students. As the GATE score shows the aptitude level of students in undergraduate science and engineering subjects, it is now being actively used by Public Sector Undertakings (PSU) for recruiting the right talent.
As a Government job remains a viable career option for many further instigated by the stability and traditional reputation associated with it, umpteen aspirants are now appearing for GATE to make their dreams of white-collar jobs come true. This is creating a buzz amongst the GATE aspirants, encouraging them to put in their hearts and souls in cracking the exam successfully and thus get the entry ticket to coveted jobs in PSUs.
Due to this popular trend, GATE has witnessed a significant increase in test takers over the years. According to recent statistics, the recruitment of 2014 went pretty well. Also, last year, over 10 lakh students registered for the exam out of which, 8.89 lakh students appeared and only 16.84 per cent i.e. 1, 49,694 were able to ace the exam. In accordance with the estimates, approximately 3,000 students were recruited by 25 PSUs through GATE 2014.
The figures of PSUs recruitments from 2011 to 2014 state that the number of PSUs hiring through the GATE score has escalated. In the year 2012, it was Indian Oil Corporation limited that picked up many students through the GATE results, giving them the opportunity to excel in a Government undertaking. In the year 2014, nearly 34 PSUs like National Thermal Power Corporation, Bharat Heavy Electricals limited, Bharat Electronics and Power Grid Corporation of India to name a few, recruited candidates by taking into account their GATE marks.
As far as the year 2015 is concerned, it is estimated that 10 more PSUs will join the bandwagon of PSUs that recruit students on the basis of their GATE scores. Approximately 6,000 students are expected to get hired by 34 PSUs through GATE 2015.
PSUs are always in need of employees who have detailed technical know-how, who know the nitty-gritty of engineering and have a strong understanding of its complex principals. GATE gauges the propensity of students to solve technical problems. Hence, PSUs are considering GATE score as the ideal measure to check a candidate’s general and technical aptitude. Also, screening candidates on the basis of their results saves manpower costs of the company.
Beyond this, GATE is a common platform to benchmark students in terms of engineering concepts and general aptitude, which makes it a fair medium to recruit candidates. Besides this, since IITs and top PSUs use GATE exam as their selection criteria for hiring, it urges other companies to follow suit. Also the exam assesses the technical, logical, reasoning as well as analytical skills of students, requiring them to have a thorough understanding of the basics of engineering, giving PSUs another reason to go for students who breeze through the exam.
Top Public Sector Undertakings like BHEl, HPCl, CONCOR, GAIl, BEl, DDA, NAlCO, MECON, NHPC and MEC among many others, set their own cut offs for recruitment. Eligible and deserving students are hired on the basis of the same. An excellent score in the competitive exam can help students grab a job in Navratnas and Miniratnas offices.
Currently 2000 to 3000 vacancies exist in some of the leading PSUs for fresh engineering graduates. After considering candidates based on their GATE scores, the selection process involves a group discussion followed by a personal interview to check students’ leaning towards engineering.
GATE has now become the entry ticket to top-notch PSUs. Government jobs have their own perks as well as security of salary, counting as the most important among them. Till some time back, PSUs used to hold their own entrance exams for hiring students. It was after the ‘Aptitude Test’ got included in GATE exams that they started considering GATE score as the criteria for shortlisting the crème de la crème students. Hence in order to save their labour and costs of campus recruitments, many PSUs have started opting for the GATE route to screen students, giving them the opportunity to unleash their mettle and embark on a promising career path.
landing a job in Public Sector Undertakings is like a dream come true for Government-job aspirants. In order to make this a reality, students should be prepared diligently for the GATE exam and earn minimum 50 to 60 marks out of 100, to stand a chance in PSUs. Also, PSUs now offer attractive salary packages to the selected candidates, giving tough competition to top private companies.
The competition level of GATE has elevated extensively owing to the importance of the exam. To survive this fierce and intense competition, students need to have a strong grounding in engineering with a good GATE score, which is ultimately the passport to a secure career and eventually, a secure life.
(The writer is co-founder, the GATE Academy).