India Skills Report 2017, a joint initiative by PeopleStrong, a leading HR solutions company, and Wheebox, a talent assessment firm, in collaboration with Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), was launched recently by Union Minister of labour Bandaru Dattatreya at CII’s Global Skills Summit in Hyderabad.
According to the study, the percentage of employable population in 2014 was at 33 per cent which has now increased to 40 per cent this year. The female candidates seem to be more employable than their male counterparts.
From the demand side, the study forecasts an overall increase of about 7-10 per cent in the hiring intent for year 2017 when compared to the current year. Despite the kind of turbulence which is shaking the global market, it is a very good sign to see a moderate increase in hiring in the coming year. Though at an overall level, almost all sectors except Telecom (which expects high growth in hiring) expect a steady or moderate growth. For example, allied sectors in telecom, auto ancillary, quick service restaurants, and power and energy management are expected to lead the growth in hiring. This brings good news to the candidates who are on a look out for job opportunities.
The report also shares that Maharashtra will not only have the highest percentage of employable workforce but it will also see high frequency in hiring in the coming year. However, when it comes to the preferred places to work, Bangalore seems to be the preference for the talent pool, which will start joining the workforce shortly.
The report also tried to identify the preferred sourcing channels of the employers. For the fourth consecutive year internal referrals came across the most preferred sourcing channels. Though both traditional channels (job boards, consultants) and new channels (digital channels) are picking up pace every year, internal referral because of their cost and quality benefits are shadowing all other channels.
According to the study, though the gender diversity in almost all sectors has still not touched the number of 33 per cent; not many organisations are looking to resolve this issue right at the source. Only 40 per cent of the employers who participated in India Hiring Intent survey, have defined targets to hire women candidates. And even in organisations where this number is right there on the key performance indicator (KPI) charts the target ranges from 10 to 40 per cent (depending on the industry and the kind of work).