Trucks this year, airplanes will soon follow. I bet Alpa is activly recruiting India,Polish,Chinese office personel to help the transition with
H2B's.
HYDERABAD: After farmers making a beeline for the US, it could be the turn
of the ‘kings of Indian roads’. A recruitment company is hunting for
200 truckers from Andhra Pradesh to drive container trucks on US highways.
But the similarity with Punjab farmers ends here. Andhra truckers, perhaps
spooked by uncertainty, are not ready to grab the wheel. The state-owned
placement agency, Overseas Manpower Company of Andhra Pradesh (Omcap), is
having a tough time getting 200 truckers despite the $5,000 paycheck and an
H2B visa being offered to them.
Amid much fanfare in April, Omcap had tied up with American consultancy
Gagan Global to recruit 200 truckers for the latter’s clients in the US.
Though the US consultancy had actually sought 3,000 drivers - all trained
to exacting US standards, Omcap agreed to recruit and train 200 of them
initially. The first batch was to be sent to the US by January 2007.
Omcap then conducted a preliminary test and shortlisted 230 candidates of
whom only 100 turned up for training on July 2. Most of them stayed away as
selection wasn’t guaranteed after the course, for which they would have
had to quit their current jobs.
But adding to Omcap woes was the fact that it had to send the candidates to
an institute run by Krishna District Lorry Owners Association at Ampapuram,
near Vijayawada. The institute also compounded problems as it didn’t have
the equipment to teach the recruits how to handle left-hand-drive,
long-haul US trucks.
Gagan Global claims to have 40 transport companies as it has clients who
are in dire need of truckers. The problem is that Indian truckers would
have to meet exacting US standards to land the job. They need to have
cleared class VII, and more importantly, a commercial driving license -
obtained after a test in India or the US - and also know some English.
If that wasn’t all, they would also have to pay Omcap a commission of Rs
1.5 lakh. Of this, Rs 25,000 is paid up front and the rest after getting
the offer letter from the US. The money would be returned if the recruit is
not selected. Omcap officials too are wary. ‘‘We asked US consultancy
to bring representatives of US transport companies to India as proof of
serious intent," said Omcap manager K V Swamy.
H2B's.
HYDERABAD: After farmers making a beeline for the US, it could be the turn
of the ‘kings of Indian roads’. A recruitment company is hunting for
200 truckers from Andhra Pradesh to drive container trucks on US highways.
But the similarity with Punjab farmers ends here. Andhra truckers, perhaps
spooked by uncertainty, are not ready to grab the wheel. The state-owned
placement agency, Overseas Manpower Company of Andhra Pradesh (Omcap), is
having a tough time getting 200 truckers despite the $5,000 paycheck and an
H2B visa being offered to them.
Amid much fanfare in April, Omcap had tied up with American consultancy
Gagan Global to recruit 200 truckers for the latter’s clients in the US.
Though the US consultancy had actually sought 3,000 drivers - all trained
to exacting US standards, Omcap agreed to recruit and train 200 of them
initially. The first batch was to be sent to the US by January 2007.
Omcap then conducted a preliminary test and shortlisted 230 candidates of
whom only 100 turned up for training on July 2. Most of them stayed away as
selection wasn’t guaranteed after the course, for which they would have
had to quit their current jobs.
But adding to Omcap woes was the fact that it had to send the candidates to
an institute run by Krishna District Lorry Owners Association at Ampapuram,
near Vijayawada. The institute also compounded problems as it didn’t have
the equipment to teach the recruits how to handle left-hand-drive,
long-haul US trucks.
Gagan Global claims to have 40 transport companies as it has clients who
are in dire need of truckers. The problem is that Indian truckers would
have to meet exacting US standards to land the job. They need to have
cleared class VII, and more importantly, a commercial driving license -
obtained after a test in India or the US - and also know some English.
If that wasn’t all, they would also have to pay Omcap a commission of Rs
1.5 lakh. Of this, Rs 25,000 is paid up front and the rest after getting
the offer letter from the US. The money would be returned if the recruit is
not selected. Omcap officials too are wary. ‘‘We asked US consultancy
to bring representatives of US transport companies to India as proof of
serious intent," said Omcap manager K V Swamy.
