THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A lot is happening in the city these days. The IT corridor, along the NH-66 bypass, is buzzing with activities. One can see the frenetic pace with which infrastructure development is happening, anticipating global investments that can catapult the city into a major hub for digital technologies.
Amidst the euphoria stands the iconic office building of UST Global led by its CEO Sajan Pillai whose faith in the city and its ability to attract talents have been vindicated by the recent developments.
However, the situation was different not long ago when the investors were wary of the city. “In the past people used to go out to Bangalore and other places. We were one of the firsts to start the scaled-up model here,” says Manu Gopinath, global head of human resources.
After initial hiccups, the company was able to retain talent in the city, where the lack of social infrastructure was a major problem. “A lot of people think UST as a Kerala company, which is true. Having said that, we do have talents from all the states in the campus and people are generally happy with the city,” says Manu.
According to him, the developments in the city cater to the needs of the youngsters. Where else do you get such a fantastic view, he says from the 10th floor of the UST building that gives a view of lush green surroundings and the Arabian sea.
The company was founded in the late 1999 when the IT industry has seen the decline of Y2K boom and emergence of dotcom wave. The campus in the city continues to be the biggest for the company which has operations all around the world and serves global 150 companies. It is going to see major changes this year with the leadership trying to become the top employer in the country. UST Global has been awarded the Top Employers United States of America 2018 certification by the Top Employers Institute.
Future of IT jobs
As head of the HR department, he says the recruitment strategies of digital companies have changed with the arrival of disruptive technologies. “The context of the job is changing. Computational powers have become so good that the finding solutions do not need many people. We used to hire and train. Now we apply a model where we get them trained by a third party and they will certify the capabilities. We do give them necessary training. But, we were never there in the number game and we are fast enough to shift,” says Manu who is one of the first recruits of the company.
The company recruits smaller batches of 30 to 50 people. He says new levels of job will be created in the future and people will move on to much more involved faculties. According to him, the traditional model of IT business would last some more time before a major shift. What will happen in the interim period? There will be a slump and we pick from there, he says.