HCL to Hire Students Straight Out of Schools

In a first, HCL Technologies Ltd has decided to hire students straight out of high school and train them to be IT professionals.

As part of a pilot programme started in Madurai, 100 students who passed class XII will be recruited and following a training of one year on HCL’s Coimbatore campus, will be directly absorbed into the company’s workforce. All students with a background in Science who have scored an average of 85% in their board exams, with 5 % exemption for CBSE students, will be eligible for the process. An annual salary of INR 1.8 lakh will be provided to them and they will be trained to develop and test apps for the firm.

The students will also be given the option to pursue a B.Sc. degree from SSN Engineering College through a weekend college programme.

Srimathi Shivashankar, vice-president, diversity & sustainability, HCL Technologies said,  “There is great emphasis on higher education in Tamil Nadu, but the state also has many families that cannot afford an engineering education.” She added, “the programme will give an opportunity to students who can’t afford a regular course.” Though it is not a new idea to equip students with job skills from the school level, she points out, the programme can tap into the needs of students from rural areas who “could have early career aspirations”.

This can be great opportunity for students to explore the workspace and gauge their interests, in addition to having financially independence. Also with the option of pursuing a B.Sc. degree, desired students can remain in touch with studies.