The job of a recruiter is an exciting one, where one gets to meet and engage with several candidates with varied backgrounds and experiences. A recruiter continuously learns and grows while also improving the recruitment process of an organisation.
The recruitment process of any organisation is often complex and time-consuming with a low success ratio. It is not an effortless or straightforward process like – the HR department posting a job description online, job-seekers applying, the recruiter picking out the most impressive and suitable resumes, inviting the candidates for an interview and hiring the best ones.
Ask any HR professional, “What is the most challenging part of the recruitment process?” and he/she is most likely to gravitate towards the answer – “the difficulty in finding the right talent”. The definition of right talent has evolved along with the needs of the industry. And, today, it emphasises more employability skills rather than technical competence, work exposure and work experience.
So, how do we address the growing demand for professionals who demonstrate the right attitude, knowledge and skills to cope with the emerging world of work? The traditional assessment methods do not meet the criteria for gauging the job-readiness and the recruitment process has typical challenges like,
- Finding good/ right talent
- Lack of candidates with suitable employability skills
- Reaching out to the qualified lot
- Hiring costs, post-hiring training costs
- Talent retention, etc.
With emerging new-age job roles in the VUCA (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity) world, it is important to leverage technology and digital solutions in addressing the recruitment challenges mentioned above. One such digital solution is TCS National Qualifier Test (NQT).
TCS National Qualifier Test (NQT) – Why should corporates consider it?
TCS NQT is a nationwide test conducted by TCS iON. It assesses the capabilities of job-seekers on their readiness for getting a job based on the basis of an individual’s cognitive ability, attitudinal alignment (psychometric), industry awareness and deep knowledge in a specialised subject/skills relevant to the industry.
Why should corporates consider TCS NQT?
- Standardised, secure, and fair assessment
- Large-scale, in-centre assessments across India
- Talent sourcing across all tier cities and colleges
- Diverse pool of 6 lakh+ TCS NQT certified candidates
- Reduces hiring time and post-hiring training cost
- Faster deployment of pre-certified candidates
- Access to TCS iON’s unique job listing platform
TCS iON Job Listing Platform
Corporates can get access to the TCS iON Job Listing Platform for free. The corporates can post their open job requirements online, and eligible candidates with NQT Score can apply for these jobs. Candidate shortlisting, video-based interviews, and the selection process are easily managed through the portal. This provides the corporates, access to a large pool of pre-certified candidates with the required skill set, which eventually reduces several costs incurred during the recruitment.
Why should corporates focus on the employability skills of a candidate?
“Employability skills are one of the perennial concerns in today’s era for every employer out there in the market”, says Mr. Harsh Nagpal, Lead – Skills Enablers Business Vocational Education, TCS iON, Tata Consultancy Services.
Today, a candidate‘s education and experience may not only be enough to qualify for a job, but to be successful and grow in one’s career, candidates will need employability skills. Examples of employability skills would be communication, teamwork, adaptability, problem-solving, and perseverance, among others.
Adding to this, Mr. Harsh Nagpal, says, “lack of these employability skills might lead to disengagement of the person hired for the role in a very short time span which eventually leads to re-do the entire hiring process”.
With NQT scorecard in hand, the employer gets an overall assessment of the candidate with respect to the cognitive and psychometric skills, which apparently no other degree/diploma certificate offers.
Candidates with the right employability skills are productive and contribute to the smooth functioning of the organisation. Therefore, corporates in India and abroad are looking for these foundational and work-readiness skills among the candidates they hire. This also helps the candidates in retaining the right talent for a longer time.
Therefore, it is necessary to access the candidates on cognitive skills and attitudes as well as academic skills and industry requirements. The TCS NQT addresses this challenge by assessing candidates in 4 areas.
The TCS NQT assesses candidates in 4 areas:
- Cognitive competence – Verbal ability, numerical ability, reasoning ability
- Psychometric profile – Work styles, personality traits, motivational traits
- Industry insights – Awareness of industry concepts
- Subject specialization – Role specific ability and skills
How can candidates benefit from TCS NQT?
- TCS iON Job listing platform
700+ corporates are hiring from the TCS iON job listing platform and recognise NQT score at the time of taking their hiring decisions. Over 20,000 jobs are being aggregated and posted on the TCS iON Job Listing platform across IT and non-IT sectors. This acts as a bridge for both employers and candidates and offers a gateway to dual democratization in hiring in this virtual world.
- Select-assessment of own abilities
Enable learners to understand where they stand on employability aspects.
- Enhanced visibility
Students from any tier and college can write the exam for higher visibility. College students who are doing a UG/PG/Diploma course, and are in their pre-final and final year, freshers having a UG/PG/Diploma degree, with 0 to 2 years of work experience can take this test.
- Innovative learning packages
Multiple and diverse learning programs including preparation for job interviews, and resume writing skills through the TCS Career Edge certification program.
Along with the above-mentioned benefits, candidates will have complimentary access to their employability scorecard, preparatory learning material to improve their score, and access to several opportunities based on individual interests and capabilities.
The fundamental outcome of TCS NQT is a paradigm shift towards a focused hiring approach based on ‘attitude’ as this assessment penetrates sustained values which are often not highlighted in any degree or diploma certificates.
As can be inferred, candidates need more than the academic knowledge and technical skills to be employable and get hired. Therefore, the TCS National Qualifier Test aids corporates by assessing the skill-based capabilities of job seekers for their employability index and industry-ready relevance, based on their cognitive skills, attitudinal approach, industry awareness and subject expertise.
Click here to know more about programs offered by TCS iON in technical and vocational education – https://learning.tcsionhub.in/hub/ve/
For more information about TCS iON phygital model for vocational education, please email at tcsion.ve@tcs.com
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