ISTD conducts 48th National Convention on “Talent Development for the Future of Work and Workforce for the Future”

The Indian Society for Training and Development (ISTD) conducted 48th National Convention on “Talent Development for the Future of Work and Workforce for the Future” to deliberate on various sub-themes related to preparing the workforce and workplace for the future. The ISTD National Convention was held on 2nd and 3rd March 2019 in Hyderabad. The event was preceded by an Experiential Learning workshop on Gamification and Design Thinking; it was held on 1st March 2019.  The workshop attracted enthusiastic response from the participants as they went through a series of practical exercises in applying Design Thinking principles for problem solving and Gamification for Learning Engagement and Recall.

48th National Convention on “Talent Development for the Future of Work and Workforce for the Future” 

A lot of transformation is happening in the industry with the automation and Artificial Intelligence. To bridge the gap in the industry, organizations should focus on reskilling employees. As the future of work is unprecedented, the demand for talented employees will arise.

The major thrust areas of the conference were technology savviness for the future talent development specialist,learning for the jobs of the future, leadership in future and talent development in an uberized world.

Day 1 of the conference stressed on the need to prepare the future workforce.

Dr.Murali Padmanabhan, Chairman,Organizing Committee, ISTD gave the welcoming note and stressed on the need to prepare the workforce to work with machines. He explained about the importance of accepting machines as co-workers rather than being apprehensive about the future. Dr.Kiranmai Pendyala,VP,Global Head-HR,Invenio Business Solutions ,welcomed the dignitaries and shared a similar perspective regarding the future of work which is all about globalisation, technology, longevity, attitude to work, multistage life, blue world, red world, green world, yellow world,CSR and transferable skills.

The impact of latest technology in the talent development area was discussed in detail. Prof B R Virmani, President, Emeritus, ISTD emphasized the impact of latest technologies, AI, Robotics, 3D printing etc. He also shared his perspectives on the leadership styles, need of training people for multiple skills, organisational introspection, openness to change and talent development for future. He also talked about the book he has written on Indian Management system in which he mentions about IT industry and the new economy.

In continuation with this theme, S.V.Nathan, Chief Talent Officer and Partner, Deloitte India was able to give a glimpse on the theme of work, workplace and workforce. Creating a learning environment is very important. People should know their inner strengths. He elaborated on the advantage of Human Intelligence over Artificial Intelligence and shared his views on the theme of talent development.

Dr. Madhuri Dubey, Founder, National Skills Network (NSN), spoke about skill needed to survive and grow in the future workplace and how the workforce can take responsibility to prepare for it. In the same session, Vinay Agrawal from TechMahindra presented his views on talent development in an Uberized world.

K Srinivasa Roa ,Human Capital Strategist from The Strategist effectively spoke about the brand experiences and alternate careers for young people.Employees are able to make an impact through diversity and disruption.Elaborating on the HR aspect, Nisbat Anwar,Head HR,Renata Ltd, talked about the leadership of the future, the changing world, and how workplaces are evolving. She told that by 2020, five generations will be in the workplace at the same time. Conflict between the younger and older generations will happen and there is a need to bridge the gap.She also talked about young entrepreneurs in Bangladesh.

Technology in medical sciences, power shifts to eastern world, rising prosperity of new middle class ,world of scarcity etc were the other areas that drew the attention of people.Tathagata Basu,Group Head,L&T M from Piramal Group stressed on this aspect and shared his views on the transition from traditional careers to portfolio careers.

Day 2 of the conference mainly focused on the need for pushing gender agenda in all forums. Women leadership in the workplace was one of the important topics that made participants to deliberate on various areas. All participants stressed on the need of more women leaders who could collaborate with others for the industry growth.

Many issues were discussed including low female labour force participation.Kiran Chopra,L&D Head,Invenio, Mamata Vegunta,Director-HR,Invesco India and Dr.Kinnera Murthy,Strategy Consultant & Former Dean,ASCI emphasized the need to strengthen the women workforce through upskilling and developing emotional skills.Kiran,opined that women should be more passionate about their careers and utilize the opportunities.Pink collar work, EI, creativity, care giving and new “metallic” collar were the core areas where Mamata had talked about.

The need to bridge the gap between unorganized and organized retail were discussed. Venkataramana B,Group President,HR,Landmark was keen on building the leadership of the future. He talked about the need for more retail leaders who can look at larger issues.Vikas Gupta from HR Leader,Deloitte also shared a similar perspective. He said,“We need inclusive leadership ,diversity of markets, customs, ideas and talent.People need to be consistently curious about the change.”