The importance of making a conscious learning effort to possess the right attitude, upskilling to tap industry demand and re-skilling further to stay relevant in the job is immense, says Diya Jain
The strain of COVID-19 has impacted our lifestyle in many ways — learning, working, and traveling have all been hindered. As the promise of a swift recovery wanes, most institutions across India are adopting an online mode of teaching. Most workplaces continue to employ phygital models of working, whereas some organisations have allowed their employees to work remotely. It would be an understatement to say that the pandemic has changed how academia and businesses operate!
Amidst all this doom and gloom, let’s focus on the bright side. Technology is constantly evolving and automation is catching up in most of the industries across the globe. On one hand, the vaccination drive is gaining momentum, on the other, the infection positivity rate is going down drastically.
India still has one of the youngest populations in the world, putting it in a unique sweet spot wherein the working-age population is more than non-working age. Leveraging the demographic dividend and adoption of digital technologies has put us in a prime position to embark on a journey of rapid growth.
As more and more students join the workforce, the one question that threatens to derail us from our journey is “Are India’s graduates employable?” “Do they have the relevant skills required by the industry?”
Traditionally, educational institutions have laid greater emphasis on the academic and theoretical development of students, leaving a long-lasting effect in terms of a lack of development of employable skills including core technical skills, communication skills, and other workplace skills.
Graduate-level curriculum in India, in particular, does not emphasize on behavioural and soft skills. A graduate who has finished his/her course and may have secured an excellent academic rank might still lack oratory skills, knack for presentation, motivation, problem-solving, and critical thinking skills.
This has also been highlighted in the India Skills 2021 report published by Wheebox in association with CII. As per the report, only 45.9 per cent of graduates in India are found unemployable.
Having the right mix of hard and soft skills is important for a successful career. Today, employers value attributes such as integrity, reliability, teamwork, and a positive attitude as much as core technical skills in candidates. In most organisations, the responsibilities and KPIs defined for job roles, require an employee to work with different stakeholders across functions. While many of these skills are learned on the job, there are certain skills everyone should learn before starting their careers.
Investing in continuous learning and upskilling is essential for one to be productive, innovative, and marketable in today’s recessionary job market.
The importance of making a conscious learning effort to possess the right attitude, upskilling to tap industry demand, and re-skilling further to stay relevant in the job is immense, given further the demand-supply mismatch. In India, the number of students applying for a job out-weighs the number of open positions by a factor of 10x.
Upskilling to differentiate yourself from your peers is as necessary for sustenance as securing basic education qualifications and degrees, if not more.
One may then wonder, how to evaluate one’s own skills and know what is required by the recruiters. Are there some easy ways to do it?
One way to find one’s level of employability skills is by taking the job fitment and aptitude tests available on the internet. Most of these good assessments give you a detailed report of your skill index and areas of improvement, if one selects the answers honestly. These self-assessments help the test taker in making an informed decision about the right career path she/he wants to pursue. A well-structured job-fitment test acts as a career guidance and provides insights to the test takers about their strengths and unique skill sets.
Another way is to study the job descriptions available on job portals. A well-defined job description lists the knowledge, skills, and attributes required to perform the job. Find the job description of the role one wants to take up, make a list of topics, skills, and attributes required and then analyse where one stands. This will help the students to focus on the skills and attributes they need to work on.
So, what do the students need to do to upskill and re-skill in order to stay ahead in the race?
First, try to find the area of interest and find out the niche in which one wants to make a career. Second, join several online industry-oriented certificate courses to learn the latest technologies and industry best practices. Thirdly, apply for internships in companies that are in the industry where you finally want to land up. Fourth, make a good LinkedIn profile, connect with industry practitioners, follow the best minds in the industry, watch out for what they are talking about, participate in online discussions, and write articles and post them. Fifth, subscribe to podcasts, vodcasts, newsletters, to stay updated about the industry and professions, and finally, find a good mentor who can guide you throughout your career.
Once you start working, make sure you don’t lose out on learning. As you spend more time in the role, you start realising what skills, knowledge and attributes are required to grow in that path.
At that junction, make a list of additional skills you need to build yourself, and work on them consciously. Join training programs available in your company, and focus on gaining skills for particular job functions or roles. These programmes within the companies have well-defined learning outcomes to be achieved in a specified time period, and are designed to give the trainees a head start in their job profiles.
The writer is founder, Safejob