Pondicherry is a union territory of India, located 150 kms from Chennai in Tamil Nadu. It is a popular tourist destination in South India. The city has many architectural marvels, including churches, temples, and statues. The systematic town planning and former colonial French-style avenues serve as evidence of the regions colonial history. Moreover, beautiful locales and amiable inhabitants allure many to the city including tourists and expatriates, some of which hope to work in Pondicherry.
English, Tamil, Malayalam and Telugu are the official languages of Pondicherry. As a result of French colonial occupation, French remains a prominent language amongst some communities and even some businesses.
Pondicherry's economy
Agriculture and fishery form the mainstays of the city's economy, and a high percentage of the population is dependent on agriculture for their livelihood. Some crops that are extensively grown are rice, pulses, sugarcane, cotton and coconut. Due to its proximity to the coastline, fishing too forms an important source of livelihood. There are almost 30 fishing villages.
Over the years, with the contribution of public sector and private players, there has been the development of other sectors too like the software industry, information and communication technology, biotechnology, leather production, automotive spare parts and tourism. It worthy to note that Pondicherry's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has experienced a 26% growth rate in 2014 thanks to the tertiary sector.
Apart from these, other sectors like engineering, food processing, chemicals, metals, tourism and textiles also contribute significantly to the economy. Moreover, Tamil Nadu's government is proactively investing in projects such as Film City which would include a laser-show complex, a waterfront and a marina.
The city also hosts several multinational companies such as LG, IBM, HP and Wipro, as well as big hotels, spas, amusement parks and beach resorts.
The labour market in Pondicherry
While many local inhabitants are involved in agro-based and fishing activities, there are also several industrial units that employ a large part of the local workforce. There are some 30 big firms, around 80 medium enterprises, as well as more than 5,500 small enterprises that employ a significant number of residents.
Tourism and eco-tourism also offer promising prospects in terms of employment. There are tremendous investment opportunities emerging in the hospitality sector that includes hotels, resorts, amusement parks, and spas.
You can also find lucrative options in the fields of information and communication technology, biotechnology and engineering, provided you have the qualifications and skills that are required locally.
Job-hunting in Pondicherry
If you wish to find a job in Pondicherry, make sure to explore all available opportunities. You can send spontaneous job applications to the small and medium enterprises operating across the city or opportunities with the bigger national and international firms if you feel you have a suitable profile. Word-of-mouth may also help if you have friends or contacts on the spot.
Take out time to browse job offers on the Internet. Several general and specialised job websites, as well as professional job networks can turn out to be very useful. Finally, registering with a recruitment agency also can help you land a job according to your profile more rapidly.
Useful links:
We do our best to provide accurate and up to date information. However, if you have noticed any inaccuracies in this article, please let us know in the comments section below.
