HR Perspectives

Bridging the labor gap

The disconnect between industry needs and education has led to the widening of the labor gap. Renuka Vembu tracks the initiatives that companies are coming up with to tackle this concern

Nasscom stated that the dearth of IT professionals is bound to reach a massive 500,000 employees by 2010. Out of the three million graduates and post-graduates who pass out every year, a mere 25% of the technical graduates and 10%-15% of others are seen as being of the employable stature.

Even though India is supposed to be a pool of talent, the gap between the demand and supply has always remained wide. This has increased with the changing dynamics of the ever-evolving industry and the methodology of the conventional educational system.

The academic curriculum is not in sync with the industry requirements; they lack adaptability to the modern technologies and also still largely function on the classroom module. So even when the best of the minds are recruited, professionals often find them lacking in application of skills on-the-job and in being able to swiftly transform the theoretical knowledge into practical experience.

All this leads to companies having to invest enormous amount of resources—time, money and people, in training the candidates to suit the job role. Though talent is available in plenty, the employable category falls far short of the required number. Arun Rao, VP, Global HR, AppLabs, stated, “I believe that the whole game is to manage the gap between the employable talent and the employment opportunities. I think the moot reason is the rate at which the business expectations are changing and the fact is that this rate of change is far greater than the rate at which the education sector is scaling up—both the formal education industry as well as the training sector. There was a sense of complacency among the IT folks which has been shaken up by recent events. I therefore believe that this “constructive insecurity” would drive people to put significant efforts (in their individual capacities) to scale up the employability curve.”

Iti Kumar, AVP, People Development and Employee Services, GlobalLogic, discussed that the challenge which a company may face after coming out from this phase of slowdown is to find out quality talent in the market. If the market doesn’t respond back in shortest time frame, in the future companies may struggle to bridge the labor gap. Companies are still able to attract talent when they are to get resources of vanila skill sets like Java, .Net, etc., but when it is related to niche technologies, companies really face problem in finding the right fit or talent for the open positions. Sometimes, non-availability of the right talent for particular technologies or skills sets, results in delay in filling up the position, by six to 12 months. The right qualification, subject matter knowledge, technical aptitude and the right attitude can help in recruiting the best person for a particular opportunity.

Industry-academia partnership

The crisis faced the industry and the blame on the academia have brought together both the sides in a joint effort to bring to the fore the best talents that we possess. The growing initiation and joint efforts in helping bridge the gap and fill the vacuum has given in notable results.

Amol B Mahamuni, Program Director, WebSphere Solutions and Technology and University Relations, IBM India/South Asia, opined, “A major reason for the talent gap is embracing the rapid pace of technology and requisite practical exposure. Universities provide excellent learning environments for the bright budding talent, but find it difficult to teach students about IT transformation in progress unless those driving the transformation—IT companies—provide real-time inputs and continued support.”

He added that in an increasingly flatter and interconnected world, organizations will not look for nuts and-bolts programmers and easy-to-document support workers. Instead, IT departments will be populated with “adaptive innovators”—those with a strong technology background supported by sound business acumen; those who can architect and carry-out IT plans that will add business value, and can cultivate relationships both inside and outside the company. But the supply of such people with the right skills for a smart planet is increasingly inadequate.

Deependra L Chumble, Chief People Officer, Hexaware Technologies, articulated, “The objective of the industry is profit and they work with rigid time schedules, research focusing on long-term benefits and confidentiality. The objective of academia is gaining professional respect and they work in relaxed time schedules, research interests are short-term with motivation to publishing papers, getting patents, etc. Both academia and industry are evangelists. The faculty specialized in structured system analysis and design may not endorse object-oriented methodology whilst the industry which has adopted the six sigma approach may profess this as a direction of quality. The professional bodies have to become arbiters if they need to create awareness among students and parents about realistic career opportunities.”

Renuka Krishna, Associate Vice President, Talent Search and Deployment, KPIT Cummins Infosystems, voiced, “We need to realize that our people are the reason behind our status as a great economy. If this talent pool does not show progress and growth, and we do not as corporate and a nation take the right steps, we may well see others overtake us. There are others who envy us for this growth and with greater planning and perseverance may rise to our level following on our footsteps.”

The government, the industry and the academia must thus work cohesively, take onus and be equal participants in taking the Indian IT industry and its workforce to the crest; without one the initiative will be unfinished, and the success, short-lived. Above all, it is the people who matter. They are the drivers of force, adopters of change, and torch bearers of India Inc. on the global dais.

renuka.vembu@expressindia.com