Skills Gap

Assessing
a Skills Gap

header_blue new2

WEB SITE UNDER CONSTRUCTION: your feedback and comments are greatly appreciated

Do you agree?
Do you have a view?
Let us know .... feedback

Only 30% of IT graduates meet the demands and expectations of India’s IT industry. Less than 20% of other graduates are suitable for BPO and ITES.

Also something like 5% of youngsters formally learn a trade. You often also hear people bemoning poor communication and language skills amongst new workers.

It is not surprising therefore that one of the continuing hot subjects in India is the Skills Gap - the difference between what the marketplace requires in trained employees and what young people joining the employment market can offer.

This is also exacerbated by an apparent lack of skilled trainers and a poorly paid, under resourced teaching cohort.

It is no doubt the situation is improving and both government and industry see the urgency of the requirement but some questions remain.

How will India bridge this skills gap?

How will India cope with the increasing numbers and the demands of industry, customers and the economy?

Can the technology provide reliable and cost effective tools for skills development and its measurement?

How will India recognise and develop the right talent?

Can assessment and technology support learning, training and professional development? The subject about which we as Assessment Tomorrow and the web site authors are most concerned.

With major Governmental and Industry investment, the challenge is how manage the talent already in place and develop the next generation of its employees to their full potential.

‘Today, there is a booming demand for bright youngsters with certain skill sets …. engineers are recruited in law firms …. historians in call centres …. They are recruited for skills that have little to do with the subject they studied …. At the same time there are specialised jobs that demand deep and strong disciplinary background …. The key problem is employability….…. 30% of graduating engineers fit the needs of the IT industry….. (less than 20% ) in the case of ‘ordinary graduates’ sought by the BPO industry’. Kiran Karnak – President of NASSCOM, The Economic Times, Tuesday 10th April 2007

One major area of finding a solution that we have been involved with is in measuring and identifying the skills. We say the solution lies with understanding, assessing and managing the skills required by industry and commerce and aligning them with the educational and developmental ambitions of training, education and government.

This in turn raises the question: ‘How to identify and recognise the necessary skills and how do we successfully plan the development of our talent base?’

And the answer is by using a proven methodology to provide cost effective, efficient and rewarding tools and techniques to measure and develop skills, knowledge and competency. End of the Assessment Tomorrow advertisement and hobby horse.