• India Inc imparts an average of 6.28 man hours of training per employee per annum
• Telecom leads the Ma Foi Employment Index (MEI) with 3.68% for the current quarter
• Tamil Nadu leads the Ma Foi Employment Index with 3.16% with Chennai leading the metros with 3.38% growth.
• Highest MEI was recorded at 8.51% by companies with employee numbers up to 100
• Study covers over 2000 employers across 17 industry sectors

Bangalore, April 25, 2005 : Ma Foi Employment Survey (MEtS) for April - June '05 reveals that India Inc. considers training as low priority with employee training averaging at about 6.28 hours per person per annum across all sectors as against desired benchmark of 5 to 7 days.

MEtS is a Quarterly study on Indian employment trends and opportunities conducted by Ma Foi Management Consultants Ltd - the largest HR services provider in India. It is India's first and the most comprehensive study undertaken to understand the employment trends in the organized sector.

This quarter's study has covered 2047 employers across 17 sectors in Products and Services category. This quarter's specific focus is on Training at Workplace.

An average of 6.28 man-hours of training is imparted per employee per annum. There is a wide divergence between various industry segments on training inputs given to their employees and generally considered a low priority.

Greater focus is provided to function specific training as against generic training. All sectors especially IT & ITES, BFSI Auto & Auto ancillaries, Education, Training & Consulting and Textiles have a very high focus on functional/role specific training.

Ma Foi Employment Index (MEI) : MEI, which tracks the pace of recruitment activity, is at 1.28%. The MEI for Product segment is at 1.05% and Services MEI at 1.65%. The overall hiring has dipped as compared to last quarter. The reason is due to a general slow down in hiring trends seen across the country due to financial year-end and hiring plans for the year not yet being firmed by the companies.

Telecom sector ranks as the first closely followed by IT and ITES in the second and third places. The others are Retail, Pharmaceutical, Hospitality, Transport & Logistics, Print Media & Entertainment, Infrastructure and Textiles.

Tamilnadu leads in hiring trends in the country with Chennai topping the recruiting scene reveals Ma Foi Employment Survey (MEtS), April - June 2005. South tops the MEI index followed by West, North and Eastern regions. The top five states for the quarter are Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Haryana and the top five cities are Chennai, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Pune and Mumbai.

The private limited companies hiring is at 1.77% while it is at 1.31% for public limited companies.

MEI is the highest at 3.04% for companies with turnover upto 100 crores followed by 1.75% for companies with turnover of 101 to 500 crores and 1.20% for companies with turnover of 501 to 1000 crores. MEI was lowest at 0.27% for companies with turnover over 1000 crores.

The highest growth is projected for companies with upto 100 people and 100 crore turnover with projections at 8.51% and 3.04% respectively. The lowest growth is projected for companies over 1000 people and 1000 crore turnover with projections at 0.27% and 0.76% respectively.

The MEI in public sector is low at 0.12% in comparison to 2.64% MEI recorded by private sector companies

The current MEtS forecast is for the period of April to June 2005.

About MEtS : Ma Foi Employment Survey (MEtS), India's First Employment Survey was launched in November 2004. MEtS, a Quarterly study on Indian employment trends and opportunities, is the largest and comprehensive study undertaken to understand the employment trends in the organized sector for the first time in the Indian subcontinent.

The survey provides a unique indice Ma Foi Employment Index (MEI). MEI measures the pace of recruitment activity/ hiring needs of the employers and indicates the prospective net percentage growth in employment over the present levels.

Notes to Editor
Ma Foi is a 13-year-old public limited company. Having started in 1992 at Chennai with focus on recruitment services, Ma Foi has grown to be the largest HR services provider in India. Ma Foi is committed to offer people and people related services, enhancing the net worth of human capital. Ma Foi presently has 42 offices in the country and overseas subsidiaries in London, Dubai, Singapore, Colombo, Kuala Lumpur and Muscat, and over 880 clients including 124 Fortune 500 Companies. Ma Foi has posted revenue of Rs.122 Crores for the year ended December 2004.
For further details on Ma Foi visit www.mafoi.com.

Vedior is one of the world's leading staffing companies with revenue of Euro 6.46 billion. The Group operates in 37 countries with a network of more than 2,300 offices worldwide including Europe, North America, Australasia, South Africa, Latin America and Asia. Vedior provides a broad range of staffing services through distinct brand names targetting specific sectors, including traditional administrative / light industrial sectors and specialist sectors such as information technology, healthcare, accounting, engineering and education. Vedior offers temporary staffing, permanent placement and other employment-related services.
For further details on Vedior, visit: www.vedior.com.