The changes in the Banking Clerical Examinations

I had earlier written an article on the Changes in the Banking Probationary examinations. Now there are changes in the Banking Clerical Examinations as well. Before I elaborate on the changes in the Banking Clerical format, let me give you some facts on Banking. Banking in India is on the threshold of vast expansion and as such there is a huge demand for banking personnel with challenging career prospects. There is an acute shortage of manpower in the Banking sector. According to Mr M Balachandran, Director of Institute of Banking Personnel Selection about 7.5 lakh persons would need to be recruited in the Banking sector in the next five years. This is phenomenal by any standard which means that there is plenty of opportunity for all. Banking is a good career to pursue. It is considered to be an honourable profession. It commands respect, status besides being monetarily enriching.

Now let’s move on to the changes in the Clerical Cadre examinations. The first and foremost change is that all recruitments in the clerical cadre of the nineteen public sector banks will happen through a common written examination. First it was the Banking PO examination of all the Banks that was converted into one common examination and now it is the turn of the Clerical Examination to move to a Common Written Examination (CWE). It is an initiative that will benefit both Banks and students positively. The Bank benefits as they do not have to waste time in the process of recruitment while the main benefit for prospective candidates is that it makes the process very smooth for them. Previously students had to apply separately for various Banks and appear for different examinations. This meant additional expenses in terms of money as they had to pay for each and every application and also a lot of time was wasted in applying for different Banks. Now they can appear for one common written test and apply for different Banks with the score in that examination.

The Common Written Examination (CWE) will be conducted by The Institute of Banking Personnel Selection. The IBPS is an autonomous body which has been authorized to conduct this examination. All the nineteen participating Public Sector Banks and the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) have approved this with the consent of the Government of India. It is mandatory to clear this examination for selection in clerical cadre posts in the nineteen public sector banks.

The nineteen participating banks are Allahabad Bank, Andhra Bank, Bank of Baroda, Bank of India Bank of Maharashtra, Canara Bank, Central Bank of India, Corporation Bank, Dena Bank, Indian Bank, Indian Overseas Bank Oriental Bank of Commerce, Punjab National Bank, Syndicate Bank, UCO Bank, Union Bank of India, United Bank of India and Vijaya Bank.

The Common Written Examination (CWE) for recruitment of Clerical Cadre posts will be held twice a year. The date for the first such examination has been tentatively scheduled to be held on the 27^th of November 2011. Candidates who successfully clear the CWE will be issued scorecards and may apply to any of the participating banks by quoting their personal details and their CWE scores. The scores will be valid for a period of one year. It must be noted that each participating Public Sector Bank will independently issue a separate recruitment notification, specifying their vacancies and stipulating the eligibility criteria in terms of age, educational qualification, proficiency in Official Language of the State/UT for which vacancies a candidate wishes to apply, experience (if any), minimum required level of IBPS score in each test and Total Score if any etc..

There are a few aspects that need to be kept in mind by the prospective candidates. One aspect is that the eligibility criteria for the participating Banks may differ. So it is advisable that you read the eligibility criteria of the different Banks carefully before applying. Secondly, the Banks would call for applicants at different times and it need not necessarily be immediately after the Common Written Examination (CWE). Applications have to be sent separately to each Bank that has advertised.

A candidate who wants to appear for CWE will have to apply online through IBP’S Website www.ibps.in. Please keep a regular track of the website and leading national newspapers to keep yourself updated on various developments happening in the recruitment front. It may be mentioned that the advertisement for the first Banking Clerical Common Written Examination (CWE) is already out. The date for payment of application fees is from 24^th August 2011 to 23^rd September 2011. The online registration is supposed to start from 25^th August 2011 and end at 24^th September 2011.

It is important that there is adequate preparation for the Banking Clerical Examinations. Like all other competitive examinations, the key to successfully answering most of the questions is to learn the right techniques. You may need some guidance to clear these examinations. So please take the help of experts or enroll yourself in some reputed coaching institutes to make your chances of clearing the examinations bright. For any further clarifications or career guidance, please do not hesitate to contact me.

( email : careerforumghy@yahoo.co.in,)