Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has opened its National Qualifier Test (NQT) to corporates to help them in their fresher recruitment programmes, and the IT major has received interest from various companies for being a part of the initiative. Till last year, NQT was restricted to hiring for TCS.

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National Qualifier Test (NQT)

- NQT - which is conducted by TCS' strategic unit TCS iON - is a multi-level assessment to assess competence on core cognitive abilities required for entry-level jobs, industry-specific knowledge and insights, and specialisation on skills required for performing the job role. 

-Introduced in 2018, NQT last year saw more than 3.6 lakh students participating from over 2,600 colleges.

-In view of the COVID-19 pandemic situation, TCS iON will allow candidates take the test from their homes.

-To ensure inclusion, candidates without access to the necessary infrastructure at home also have the option of taking the test from a TCS iON centre.

-There are 600 such centres from where the students can take the test, and depending on the applications, the centres will be prepared to ensure that social distancing and sanitation protocols are followed.

-The test 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.

-A subject NQT, focused on programming, is also being planned keeping in mind the huge demand for this skill in the IT industry. 

- TCS iON intends to continuously improve the test design to provide employers with a better understanding of candidates' abilities.

-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, will be held from October 24-26. Registrations are open until October 17.

"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 said, as per 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, he added. "A large number of leading corporates including Croma, Titan, Kirloskar and Godrej have shown interest in participating in this hiring process," Ramaswamy said.

Besides, the company is also in touch with small businesses across 600 cities in India so that students from these locations can get the NQT score and smaller enterprises can hire local talent, he added.

Young professionals with up to two years of experience, as well as students from any stream, currently 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 said.