GOOD NEWS! TCS ROLLS OUT ONLINE TEST TO CORPORATES FOR HIRING FRESHERS; CANDIDATES CAN TAKE TEST FROM HOME 

Top IT services company Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has opened its National Qualifier Test (NQT) to corporates to help them in their fresher recruitment programmes. After the NQT was rolled out, TCS has received interest from various companies for being a part of the initiative. Earlier, NQT was restricted to hiring for TCS.

"NQT will now be a common gateway test for several participating corporates for their fresher recruitment programmes. This standardised test will provide candidates with access to open positions at multiple corporates giving millions of young jobseekers an opportunity to work for India's top corporates," TCS iON Global Head Venguswamy Ramaswamy told new agency PTI.

"It will provide subscribing corporates with a well-rounded evaluation of candidates' abilities, and access to quality talent across the nation at speed and scale. A large number of leading corporates including Croma, Titan, Kirloskar and Godrej have shown interest in participating in this hiring process," Ramaswamy added.

Highlighting about what NQT is; it is a multi-level assessment to assess competence on core cognitive abilities that is required for entry-level jobs, industry-specific knowledge and insights, and specialisation on skills required for performing the job role. 

This test was introduced in 2018, after which the company saw more than 3.6 lakh students participating from over 2,600 colleges. According to a Times Now report, TCS is currently in touch with small businesses across 600 cities in India so that students from all across India can get the NQT score and smaller enterprises can hire local talent. 

The best part about this test is, professionals with up to two years of experience and students from any stream, can enrolled in pre-final/final year of undergraduate or postgraduate programs can apply for the test. "The test acts as a single window for job opportunities across leading organisations in IT, BFSI, manufacturing, pharma, and FMCG sectors, including TCS," Ramaswamy also claimed.

The NQT will be conducted every quarter and the score will be valid for two years. The first test, which will be available for free for all candidates will be held from October 24 to 26, while registrations are open until October 17.

Keeping in mind the COVID-19 situation, TCS iON will allow candidates to take the test from their homes. Meanwhile, candidates, who don't have access to the necessary infrastructure at home also have the option of taking the test from a TCS iON centre. There are nearly 600 such centres in India from where students can take the test. Also, the centres will be prepared to ensure that social distancing and sanitation protocols are followed, Times Now further reported.

Talking about the test, it will focus on general abilities covering verbal, numerical and reasoning abilities to arrive at the normalised NQT score that can be presented to corporates as a demonstration of the candidate's cognitive abilities. However, TCS iON plans to continuously improve the test design so that employers have a better understanding of candidates' abilities.