Nurturing Human Capital Through Education

ÐŽ§Nurturing Human Capital through All - Inclusive & Dynamic EducationЎЁ

The world reckons & beckons. . . . . .India Inc

ÐŽ§India is a developed country as far as intellectual capital is concernedЎЁ

- Jack Welch, General Electric

ÐŽ§We came to India for the costs, stayed for the quality and are now investing for innovationЎЁ

- Dan Scheinman, Cisco System Inc.

India has long been known for the diversity of its culture, for the inclusiveness of its people and for the convenience of geography. Today, the worldÐŽ¦s largest democracy has come to the forefront as a global resource for industry in manufacturing and services. Its pool of technical skills, its base of English speaking populace with an increasing disposable income and its burgeoning market have all combined to enable India emerge as a viable partner to global industry. Investment opportunities in India are today perhaps at a peak. Supported by IndiaÐŽ¦s natural strengths, the country offers investment opportunities in excess of $500 billion in diverse sectors over the next five years.

IndiaÐŽ¦s competitiveness from a natural and human resources standpoint is making it the destination of choice for investors. An unparalleled resource of educated, hard-working, skilled and ambitious workforce is the hallmark of IndiaÐŽ¦s human capital. That this workforce is also one of the worldÐŽ¦s youngest, adds to IndiaÐŽ¦s attractiveness as an investment destination. Of the BRIC* countries, India is projected to stay the youngest with its working age population estimated to rise to 70% of the total population by 2030 - the largest in the world. By then, the country is expected to have an additional 200 million people entering the job market. English is the language of business in India and the large English speaking workforce is a benefit to investors and employers. In fact, more Indians know English than the population of the USA. IndiaÐŽ¦s diverse cultural heritage puts Indians at ease with people from other cultures, and vice versa. With over 380 universities, 11,200 colleges and 1,500 research institutions, India has the second largest pool of scientists and engineers in the world. Over 2.5 million graduates are added to the workforce every year including 400,000 engineers and 150,000 IT professionals.

India has tremendous labor cost advantage as far as daily or monthly wage rates are concerned and the Indian Industry would do well in intellectual labor areas like R&D, healthcare, IT products, high-end and low-end education and many such services.

But there are severe limitations due to

1. Poor quality of training and skills

2. Non-professional approach

3. Low productivity and Labor laws.

Indian industry is understood to be on the threshold of a twin transformation wherein,

„П Multi national companies have been looking at India as an attractive investment destination.

„П Indian companies are looking at going global.

The role Human Resource is very significant for this transformation to be successful.

„П In the context of the former, the onuses are on making the vast talent base in the country globally competitive and standardize levels of performance.

„П In the latter, if Indian companies have to attract and retain global customers they have to reduce the high levels of attrition by maintaining a stable and empowered workforce.

In this paper we study the causes and the effects of the above issues and design strategies to overcome these barriers in order to have a highly geared, empowered and competitive human resource to embrace global opportunities that knock on the doors of Indian businesses.

Is India Struggling With Labour Shortage???

In a country where double-digit industrial growth rates have become par for the course, employers in as many as 20 sectors ranging from retail to textiles to financial services are facing extreme labor shortages, according to a new study. It isnÐŽ¦t just a fight for the highly qualified. The study by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry found shortages of ÐŽ§skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled workers.ЎЁ

In biotechnology, there is a need for 80% more scientists with doctorates. In banking and finance in 2006, there was a 90% shortage of risk managers; 65% for tech professionals, 50% for treasury managers, 75% for credit operations professionals and 80% for financial analysts. The tech sector is expected to face a shortage of as many as 500,000 employees in 2010, according to industry estimates. In sectors like technology and financial services, thereÐŽ¦s plenty of moving around because of the number of opportunities available as companies ramp up aggressively. But in newer sectors like real estate, retail and private equity, there arenÐŽ¦t enough people in the market with relevant experience.

Post-secondary institutions arenÐŽ¦t churning out enough graduates with the skills companies are looking for, and the tight job market is allowing workers to job-hop at will for better opportunities. India churns out about 2.5 million college and university graduates each year, including 400,000 engineers, but the numbers are misleading. The number of graduates is small relative to the size of the population ÐŽX about 10% of Indians receive any college training, as opposed to 50% in the United States ÐŽX and the quality of their education is often doubtful. A study by the National Association of Software and Service Companies in 2005 found that only a quarter of the graduates churned out each year are fit to be employed by foreign and Indian tech companies. Problems include a lack of English-speaking skills and the absence of standardized curricula and programs that provide graduates with technical skills. Infosys has said that it found only 2% of the 1.3 million job applicants it reviewed last year acceptable.

ThereÐŽ¦s a lack of workers even at the lower rungs in industries like mining, food processing and textiles, the survey found.