Voice Of Banking Raises Concerns As PNB Moves To Recruit 2700 Apprentices Under Agniveer Scheme

Punjab National Bank management has advertised for the recruitment of 2700 apprentices. These 2700 apprentices will be hired for one year and will be given Rs. 10000 to 15000 as allowance. For this, there will be a written exam as well as an interview. The bank wants to get the work done from these apprentices instead of hiring permanent employees, which can be disastrous.

Ashwani Rana, Founder of Voice of Banking has written to the Department of Financial Services, Finance Ministry and to the Chairman of Indian banks Association raising concerns over this scheme. He is of the view that if the bank hires mostly apprentices, then there may be a decrease in the recruitment of permanent employees, which can affect the stability of employment.

Also, Apprentices may lack the necessary experience and skills, which can have a negative impact on the quality of banking services and can also harm the security of bank data. Banks are responsible for customer data and an apprentice who will join the bank for just one year cannot be trusted, says Rana.

He adds that most of frauds that come to light in banks from time to time are committed by temporary employees. In such a situation, recruitment in banks as apprentices will reduce permanent recruitment and at the same time, it may also increase the incidents of fraud. Therefore, the Punjab National Bank management should immediately stop apprentice recruitment.

The letter written by Ashwani Rana is given below for the benefit of the viewers of www.indianpsu.com –

Views expressed here are those of Ashwani Rana, Founder, Voice of Banking