This
weekend I was at one of the Management Institutes chauffeuring
a friend rather a business associate of mine (Whom I had arranged as
a guest speaker for this event) to address the students about
“ Employ-ability”. The Institute had arranged another
speaker also on the same subject. I enjoyed both the presentations
but was not impressed by either (Call me Egoist!!!). This set me
thinking..... What is employable Is it same across the
population across the industry? How can one person be more employable
than the other? And what are the yard-sticks or metrics?
According
to NASSCOM only a quarter of the engineering graduates are
employable.
First
of first, what is employ-ability? Simple terms the capacity or
ability of a person to get hired and maintain the job or work or
employment. So its not about just getting hired but to remain in that
employment. Hence employ-ability should basically have two
components:
- Getting employed.
- Staying employed.
Do
these two components require separate skills? Yes
and No. Yes (especially for freshers) since both require some common
capabilities no since it requires additional special skills once
employed.
Being
employable actually begins much before preparing for the interviews.
I believe it should first begin with identifying one's passion and
interest. For this the student should be guided by both parents at
home and teachers at schools and colleges. In-fact schools and
colleges should have counsellors to help students identify their
interests and channelize their effort and time towards achieving the
same. Here I am not restricting these interests to academics alone,
it can be in any field say sports, music, painting, or any other
activity. Once this is done students can achieve excellence in their
chosen fields.
Now
let us look at how freshers can be employable. Firstly any enterprise
or organization (big or small) would like to hire a candidate based
upon three criteria;
- Knowledge required to do the job at hand
- Skills required
- Attitude.
Of
these I believe Attitude should take precedence over the other two,
squarely because a person with right attitude can be imparted both
knowledge and skills, however a person with abundant knowledge
and skill without the correct attitude would be a misfit for any
organization. Knowledge is familiarity with a particular subject or
domain. This can be imparted by training. Skill is the ability to use
this knowledge in getting the expected outcome or result. Attitude is
the orientation of the mind towards a person, place or event. Hence
knowledge (read various certificates) will act only to either select
or eliminate a candidate during the recruitment. During the interview
process the candidate is tested about his/her depth of the subject
matter and skills. Psychometric tests can aid in accessing the
attitude of the candidate.
Of
the skills required apart from the domain expertise, I think
communication skills (both written and verbal) is of utmost
importance. Of the attitude, being positive in approach, being able
to work in a team, being just and fair, etc., are top of my mind and
list.
In
todays economies illiterate will be defined as a person who cannot
un-learn and re-learn new skills.
Once
hired, being able to continuously able to learn and acquire
new skills/knowledge becomes a very important trait to be employed.
Being adaptable and taking new responsibilities will be appreciated
in organizations. Showing leadership qualities along with being a
good team player ensures not only employ-ability but career
growth. Innovative employees would be an asset to any organization.
Along with all these, knowledge about the global economies and
cultures will enable employees to remain employable and grow.
To
conclude this first part: Employ-ability starts early.
Let
me discuss in my next part about the employ-ability factors
in lieu with industries.
