The HR/IR Committee of BCC&I recently organized the ‘Next Gen Employability Conclave 2014’. The objective of the Conclave was to address the employability scenario of Eastern India and to understand and brainstorm today’s requirements of the industries through an interface between representatives of Industry, Educational Institutes imparting Engineering and Management studies and the Government agencies. The Conclave was attended by Directors, Faculty and Administrative Officers of Engineering and Management Institutes and senior HR managers and Corporate Leaders involved in the recruitment process.
Guest Speakers at this event included Prof. Malayendu Saha (Vice Chairman – Higher Education Council, Government of West Bengal), Mr. Somesh Dasgupta (Chairman – HR/IR Committee BCC&I & President – Corporate Affairs and Administration - India Power Corporation Limited), Mr. P.K Sahu (Co-Chairman, HR/IR Committee, BCC&I & Senior General Manager, HR&IR - Tata Steel Processing and Distribution Limited), Mr. Rahul Bose (Learning and Development Leader - IBM India Limited), Mr. A. Ratna Sekhar (Sr. Vice President – HR – Balmer Lawrie & Co. Ltd.), Major General Dr. S.C Jain VSM (Retd.) (Director – Army Institute of Management), Mr. Anupam Anand (Director Personnel – Hindusthan Copper Limited), Mr. Gautam Ray (Executive Director, HR & Admin – CESC Limited), Mr. Somnath Chatterjee (Vice President and Centre Head – Capgemini India Private Limited, Kolkata), Mr. Rajat Khawas (Head of City & Guilds, UK for India), Ms. Nabanita Khan (Director – Global Business Services, IBM India Pvt. Ltd) and Mr. Chiranjib Banerjee (Regional Director, East India – Hewlett-Packard India).
Mr. Somesh Dasgupta observed that there is a gap between the preparedness of a MBA/Engineering college and the industry requirements. According to him it is very difficult to absorb fresh graguates in industry because competition today is all about struggle for supremacy. An organization will not survive if a fresher does not contribute from the very first day. It is the responsibility of the industry to properly train the freshers and make them industry-ready.
Prof. Malayendu Saha appreciated the initiatives of BCC&I for the Conclave and he hoped that in the near future BCC&I will come forward with frequent discussion fora on promoting higher education particularly the employability of the next generation of students. According to him, the Planning Commission has reported that to achieve a growth rate of around 7%-8%, we need around 700 million skilled workforce by 2030. It has also been identified that around 200 million workforce will be in agriculture. Hence there will be a huge gap of 500 million. He segregated Skills into four levels. The 1st level is Basic Skill for which we need 65% of the workforce, the 2nd level is Technical Knowledge and Knowledge of Complex Operations for which we need 13% of the workforce, the 3rd level is Highly Technical and Academic Skill for which we need 19% of the workforce, the last and the 4th level is Highly Specialized Skill involving Research for which we need 3% of workforce.
Mr. Chiranjib Banerjee observed that the students in West Bengal have very good aptitude. What we need is to build a sum amount of assertiveness by coaching and language skills and if these two things can be imparted to the students at an institute level it will definitely help them to boost their morale. All of the speakers were of the opinion that education is the single most important instrument for social and economic transformation. A well educated population, adequately equipped with knowledge and skills is not only essential to support economic growth, but is also a precondition for growth to be inclusive since it is the educated and skilled person who can stand to benefit most from the employment opportunities which growth will provide. The Ministry of Human Resource Development has also focused on an inclusive agenda, with a vision of realizing India’s human resource potential to its fullest, with equity and excellence.