Kochi: As part of the efforts to turn professional, the KSRTC is targeting to employ qualified personnel through direct recruitment to 40 per cent key posts while the rest will be filled through the existing promotion scheme. “We’ve already notified vacancies for the posts of assistant transport officers and administrative officers to the Public Service Commission. The PSC has already held the tests and the interview will be held soon. We expect them to publish the list in a couple of months and complete the recruitment process by year-end,” said Mr Antony Chacko, managing director.
The KSRTC initiated the bid to turn professional two years back but the opposition of the unions stalled the process so far. Transport Minister A.K. Saseendran recently held talks with both the management and the unions when it was decided to go for both direct recruitment and that through promotion, which mainly benefits conductors and clerks.
“The aim is to fill up the decision-making posts with only qualified personnel by the next five years. We’ve already launched an exercise to identify degree and post- graduate-holders among the staff as part of the new promotional scheme,” another senior official said. Under the new scheme, 25 per cent of vacancies to key posts will be filled following the current criterion (weightage to experience) while 35 per cent will be open to internal candidates possessing high educational qualifications.
The rest forty per cent of posts will be subject to direct recruiting – those from outside with good qualification like MBA, he said. Currently, almost all posts are being filled by the ‘first come first served’ basis which resulted in low-qualified personnel entrusted with critical decision-making tasks.
