Employability Gap

                       

Dr. N. H. DESHPANDE

Preamble-

This phrase is something which we often hear. Is it a myth or reality/ If yes, then what is this gap? A close look at transformation of students into working professionals is always a pleasant process. The reason behind this statement is- In school/colleges we normally get EDUCATION but in real life we LEARN. The very reason of this gap, which normally exists, is that preparedness of students at college and expectations of industry for fresh talent hardly match. On one side we talk about ecosystem for better employability between Industry & Institution and we hardly attempt to bridge it.

Employment & Employability-

These two words appear to be synonymous but their meanings are wrongly misinterpreted. While as employment is a temporary phase, on which all our TPOs in Polytechnics, Engineering Colleges & Management Institutes normally focus, the employability (which is permanent in nature) is overlooked. The students, Institutes, Parents and Industries are short sighted on “Placements” and at a later state realize that there is MISMATCH.

June every year is admission season, even for post graduate courses. Due to increase in no. of Institutions that offer these courses, marketing of these Institutes has become most essential to reach the prospective students. In the process of attracting students for admission, a no. of tall claims is made, which hardly can be verified. Besides infrastructure, buildings, and facilities like transport, canteen etc invariably mention of placements is made. The lucrative word was “100% Placements” which is now getting replaced by “100% Placement assistance”. As if, the main role and purpose of teaching institutes has now shifted to offer merely placements from hardcore teaching and preparing the students for life. Education is for life but in the journey, most of the Institutes tend to be placement agencies.  Unfortunately many students, parents also get attracted to such Institutes.  A friend of mine in Pune, who runs a group of management Institutes, proudly (?) says- “I run coaching classes. I charge heavy fees from MBA aspirants coach them for two years and get companies (at any cost) in my campus, to give them offer letters.”

What happens to these students, after say six months, he never bothers. He then is worried about next year’s admissions.

The trend visible in such newly passed out and recruited students, is that they get placement from the Institute, they may or may not join that organization. Keep trying elsewhere for better offer, keeping this in hand. Or else join, and within couple of months, leave the job. Many of my students have changed jobs like they change shirts. Every time a new mail id and a new cell no. I have given up the job of remembering, who is where. In stead, whenever I meet some one, I ask him/her, “Where are you currently?”

Why this is happening?

Educational Institutions are increasingly making attempts to attract industries to their campus and offer placement opportunities to their “end product”.  But the reality is that the students are hardly employable. Given below are some facts that emphasize this point;

The National Association of Software and Services Companies, NASSCOM’-McKinsey Report predicts India will confront a huge shortage of ‘skilled workers’ in the next decade. 

According to a McKinsey study, only 25 per cent of our engineering graduates, 15 per cent of our finance and accounting professionals and 10 per cent of professionals with any kind of degrees, in India, are suitable for working in multinational companies. 

A recent study conducted by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has revealed that Human Resource (HR) is the biggest challenge faced by India especially at the managerial, production and marketing levels due to the widening of demand-supply gap.

Here comes the question- What are we offering to our students- employment or employability?

The focus today unfortunately is on the former. I can understand, if students naturally aim for immediate employment. But at least Institutions should focus on larger goal- employability to prepare students for life.

There is need to realize-

1. Being employed is totally different than being employable.
2. Employment is temporary while employability is permanent.
3. Employability is combination of Skills (What you know) + Knowledge (What you do with what you know) + Attitude (How you do it facing life)      
4. Employability cannot be job specific. These are skills which cut horizontally across all industries and vertically across all jobs. These skills are no more merely desired by the employers today but are required by them.

The Changing World-

The employment market is changing fast and is characterized by-

• Deregulation
• Communications
• Growth in disposable income
• Global Trading
• Demographic Changes
• Environmental and Social equations

This has led to shifts in business strategies. The business is changing from international  to global, from competition to collaboration, from functions to processes, from component thinking to system thinking, from creating stability to managing frequent changes, from clarity to ambiguity, from standard products/services to customization, from command and control to empowerment and trust, and from complacent to enlightened workforce.

Is this being taught in India?

Generally curriculum aims at achieving the integration of diverse academic disciplines for creating managers capable of making ethical and commercially viable decisions for running the show.

To remain relevant in a fast changing world, our Institutes are teaching more so that their students can get quick job offers. The total no. of courses taught goes up to 40-45. Can we then come closer to our international counterparts in terms of teaching, research and creativity? To add to this, there are assignments and class tests which develop expertise in cut-copy-pest.  I am told, ready made printed project/seminar reports are available in market these days.

One solution can be, for providing more time for absorption and creative thinking and maximizing the freedom of choice, can we consider offering electives? In a way, the number of electives defines the level of academic competition. These electives need not be compulsory and universal in nature but can be state/area specific.  For ensuring quality, our Institutes should reduce the teaching of main courses, in stead more electives may be offered to give a wider variety of choices to students. This is critical in today's environment since the knowledge revolution is making courses obsolete very fast and, at the same time, creating scope for many more offerings.

This will certainly enhance employability of students passing out and also industry needs can be locally satisfied.

The employability skills need to be taught in Institutes. The pass outs should clearly know what the Industries are expecting from them? They should also be crystal clear about their expectations from the job, they are looking for. Match between the two can lead to employability. 

Once the Foreign University Bill is passed, many global brands will enter Indian market with reputed international degrees. In this scenario probably the leaders may not face more heat at least for some years. Some Institutes with good infrastructure can rent their facilities to foreign institutions and survive.  What about others?