Matching industry expectations by providing the rightly skilled candidates for the right jobs

Skill development programs like PMKVY and other vocational training courses have been helping the youth in getting placed in suitable jobs in many industries. Is the industry getting the right candidate for the right job? Are the employers satisfied with the knowledge, skills and productivity of the candidates trained by the training partners? Do they need to re-train them in domain specific skills and are there other issues they face in meeting the workplace requirements? To find answers to these questions and more, we spoke with some of the companies who have hired the candidates trained by ASTP members. Let’s get a deeper understanding of the post-placement scenario with the help of inputs from Embee Software Pvt. Ltd, Eben Telecon, SLV Solutions Pvt. Ltd , Sri Kannapiran Mills Limited, Western Refrigeration Pvt. Ltd and a private sector bank.

Neethu, HR Head of Eben Telecom feels the candidates from S B Global, who have gone through the PMKVY and other short term training courses acquire an overall idea of the industry and this helps them in primary level screening. However, they need to be trained in domain/company specific skills.  Some of the top job roles at various levels in their industry are Team Leader, Floor Manager, GM, Zonal Manager and State Head. “Our main source of hiring is from the training partners and we directly share our manpower forecast with them regularly and there is a new batch every 45 days. The availability of skilled manpower suited to our requirements is very good”, says Neethu.

When it comes to indirect recruitment, for Puneeth Shankar, Head, SLV Solutions Pvt. Ltd, the candidates trained by IndiaCan are hard working, dedicated and they deliver quality. However, since they supply manpower to other companies, as per the client requirements, they need to provide additional training in job roles like Data Entry Operator, Warehouse Assistant, Helper and Picker and Call Centre Executives. “ I would rate the candidates 9 out of 10 and we are happy to contribute to the social cause of facilitating employment for rural youth and enabling decent livelihood options. To fulfill the manpower requirement of our clients we update the training providing partners frequently with all the current job opportunities available with different clients. Though, most of our requirements are fulfilled by the training partners, sometimes we also have to hire from placement agencies or some candidates come with reference from their friend or family who are already working with us,” says Puneeth Shankar.

Meherunnesa Khatun, representing Embee Software Pvt. Ltd, a client of Brainware, appreciates the initiatives from the government to skill the youth and highlights the fact for the need for better training in soft skills. She gives a rating of 5 out of 10 to the quality and availability of skilled manpower and says, “since they are from remote places and lower socio economic background their confidence and communication is challenged. Hence, more stress should be given to the soft skills. The candidates who are trained in short-term courses are completely freshers, they do not become fully productive from day one. So, initial training is needed. Apart from this they need to get trained often at intervals for certain situations and this does affect the productivity.” Some of the top job roles in their industry are Desktop and Laptop Maintenance with Networking knowledge (with special reference to remote accessing), CCTV installation and maintenance etc.

Embee Software hires candidates from different sources like employment consultants, manpower supplying agencies, skill training partners and employee referrals. On demand forecasting Meherunnisa says, “ it is difficult to mention the frequency of manpower requirement as it depends upon attrition rates and expansion of business. It may be done once or twice in a quarter according to the demand of incoming assignments”

According to A. Velusamy, Whole-time Director, Sri Kannapiran Mills Limited (KG group of Companies) Tamil Nadu, grooming the candidates and giving them training in the textile mills and spinning and other skills is absolutely necessary. This helps them in getting familiar and comfortable with the real industry environment. “Some of the candidates who come from Gram Tarang Employability Skills Centre join as operatives and get trained and skilled in their different departmental shop floor labs. Some others simultaneously study the Flexi-ITI course and work as trainee students” says A Velusamy.  Besides recruiting from Gram Tarang, they hire directly through referrals and word of mouth publicity.

He feels if the workers are trained in PMKVY as per the Textile Sector Skill Council norms, they take to work like fish taking to water.  Their efficiency is more than 80% with less wastage and higher productivity. With a strong focus on in-house training, the company is also contributing to the evolving skill development ecosystem by skilling and converting a layperson into a skilled professional in the textile industry.  In 2017, they have trained around 500 to 600 people under PMKVY.  Their management believes in creating job opportunities for the females of the families.  If they work, they can easily feed the family, take care of their children.  So, this helps in financial development of the society in general and family in particular.

For the private sector bank, a client of TMI, the experience has been a mixed one in terms of getting the right candidates by using the selection criteria. The bank observes that the candidates come with generic skill sets, and they need to train them on product and market specific knowledge and skill which takes away their initial 3 months after joining.

Some of the top job roles in their industry are front line sales roles for Assets and Liability products and sometimes customer service teams. Their manpower requirement has a monthly frequency and they share this with the training partners. They hire candidates from various sources mostly through placement agencies and find the availability of manpower is not up to the required levels.

While expressing his satisfaction with the quality of candidates provided by Gram Tarang, Pankaj Dixit, DGM, Western Refrigeration Pvt. Ltd, feels the need to give a leg-up by explaining how a production line works. “We collaborate with the training partner in communicating our requirements and ensuring that the curriculum is relevant to industry skilling demand. We also share the forecast for manpower requirement frequently with the training partners to align the manpower supply pipeline for the company. Our main source of hiring is through training partners”, says Pankaj Dixit. For RPL, the employees are placed in a separate category as their training requirements are different. They recognize their knowledge and leverage the same.  Their specific training plan helps in enhancing their skill to a great extent which helps in improving the productivity in the company.

The views and suggestions from the industry reiterate some key points about enhancing the impact of skill-based training in India. It is important to listen to what the industry has to say about the candidates and how they plan to strengthen their ties with the training partners.  This will give an idea about how they plan to communicate their requirements with the training partners to forecast the demand and align the training courses accordingly. By interpreting the industry feedback, one can get valuable insights into how training can contribute to the development of a competent workforce in every sector, by streamlining their requirements to forecast the demand and meet the same with quality outcomes.

In general, textile industry faces manpower shortage from January to May every year; the first three months as the different state governments give 90 to 120 days of work under MANREGA and other government schemes near their house and local areas and festivals; the last 3 months due to festivals, marriages and workers returning to their native places. The suitability of skilled manpower is about 75 to 80 % skilled in spinning and 55 to 60 % skilled in weaving.