The pool is half empty

Indian corporates have a serious problem on their hands and, for once, it is not of their own making. Fresh graduates joining the India Inc workforce, a new survey has found, are low on soft skills and vocational knowhow.

The survey, conducted by CVoter for the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), lays the blame at the doors of India’s deeply flawed education system. The education imparted to undergraduates in the Arts, Commerce and Science streams is riddled with drawbacks. As a result, graduates churned out by the system are not quite equipped to face the challenges of the real world of corporate management.

The FICCI-CVoter survey on the 'Employability Quotient of Undergraduates in India' has revealed that this lacuna afflicting Gen Y is widespread. Only 30 per cent of the respondents said they are completely satisfied with the new graduates they have hired in the last 12 months.
A total of 1,000 companies from across different industrial sectors were selected at random and were contacted through phone. Finally, altogether 300 companies were surveyed.

The survey was carried out in 22 states, including Delhi, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Karnataka, West Bengal, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Jammu & Kashmir, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, Goa and Assam. Three modes – online, telephonic and face-to-face – were used to quiz the respondents, who were free to opt for the method they preferred. Among the respondents were CEOs, managing directors, HR managers, directors and others. All the respondents were above 25 years of age and were graduates at the very least.

The survey notes that the new graduates fall short of employers' expectations with regard to flexibility, creativity, reliability, integrity, self-discipline, self-motivation, knowledge of contemporary issues, teamwork, willingness to learn, understand and take directions for work assignments, accept responsibility for consequences of their actions, ability to apply knowledge of the respective streams they passed out from, ability to use technology specific to their jobs, ability to identify, formulate and solve workplace problems, good written communication skills, basic computer skills and customer service skills.  

The survey reveals that 81 per cent feel that employees should be flexible in terms of work arrangement. Only 57 per cent of them believe that their current employees measure up. Around 83 per cent of the respondents feel that reliability is a key element because trust is of the essence. However, only about 60 per cent of the respondents feel that their employees are reliable enough.   

Nine out of 10 respondents are of the opinion that integrity, the ability to make a correct choice between right and wrong, is crucial for an employee. But only seven of 10 respondents seem satisfied in this regard. Similarly, eight of the 10 respondents consider self-discipline a strong attribute for successful performance at the workplace. However, only six of them believe that their employees posses this quality.  FICCI commissioned the survey with a view to helping the government (including state governments), institutions, and employers to quantitatively and qualitatively assess the satisfaction level of the corporate sector with the batch of new graduates from general BA, B.Com and B.Sc courses offered by universities and colleges in India.

Around 85 per cent of the respondents consider self motivation important at the workplace but only 59 per cent of them feel satisfied.
Only 60 per cent feel that teamwork in their organisations is at the desired level. In contrast, 89 per cent say teamwork boosts productivity and manpower utilisation. Only about 56 per cent of the respondents believe that their employees have empathy for other workers and the management, while around 75 per cent of them feel that empathy is an important attribute to possess.  The survey also reveals that more than 91 per cent respondents consider willingness to learn a must-have quality for their employees but only 66 per cent answered in the affirmative when asked whether their latest crop of recruits are endowed with this trait.

Almost 90 per cent of the respondents acknowledge the need to understand and take directions for work assignments a significant quality while only more than 55 per cent of them feel that their employees have this ability. More than 85 per cent of the respondents feel that employees should accept responsibility for consequences of their actions while only 55 per cent of them are of the view that their employees display this quality.

In India, the unemployment rate is 10.8 per cent (as per 2010 estimates). Yet with more than half of its population under 25, the country is short of workers. Obviously, there are too many unemployable job-seekers out there. The problem is clearly not quantity but quality. India needs skilled staff for backroom operations as well as for high-value work. The shortage can also be attributed to the fact that from primary schools to centres of higher studies, our education system still emphasises learning by rote and students are not encouraged to gain practical knowledge or to think creatively and experiment.

About 90 per cent respondents consider ability to identify, formulate and solve workplace problems as extremely important. Yet only 59 per cent of them see this quality in the fresh graduates they have hired. Likewise 84 per cent of the respondents feel that the ability to design a process to meet desired needs is an important skill that employees must have; only 62 per cent feel that their employees have this quality.

It is always an advantage to have good communication skills because employers seek employees who have the ability to write well and interact with the public. When asked about the importance of same, 84 per cent of the respondents considered written communication skills important while 87 per cent voted in favour of the verbal communication skills. However, only around 63 per cent feel their employees have proficiency in written and verbal communication skills.

About 85 per cent respondents view basic computer knowledge as a prerequisite for good performance at the workplace but it is a disappointment that only 70 per cent respondents answered in the positive when asked about their satisfaction level with their present employees' basic computer knowledge.    

In this competitive world, great service differentiates one company from another and many companies invest in hiring professionals with a service-oriented attitude. The survey reveals that 85 per cent of the respondents believe that customer service skills are essential for successful performance. Customer-centric jobs call good communication, listening skills, problem solving skills, professionalism, flexibility, initiative and pro-activeness. Customers can turn their backs on businesses that do not deliver value. However, only 68 per cent of the respondents believe fresh grads possess this skill.  India faces a massive problem of unemployment. Today, youngsters are reluctant to take jobs that do not pay well or are perceived as overly exacting.

Our system, with its own serious defects, has only aggravated the situation by creating a pool of unemployable youngsters. For one, the education structure in India does not prepare young minds to become self-employed. The government, on its part, has not been able to provide enough opportunities. Private jobs demand intensive labour and professional skill sets, areas where fresh grads come up short.

The survey lays bare the fact that India's higher education institutions and colleges are simply not producing enough skilled manpower. In fact, a large percentage of graduates are of really poor quality. It is only the cream who meet the admission criteria set by the best management and technology institutes and go on to make a mark professionally. The findings also point to the urgent need to upgrade, revise and strengthen course curricula, faculty and infrastructure, besides integrating vocational training with the undergraduate programmes.