The Growing Skills Gap in the Workplace

In India, companies are facing a skills gap emergency. Of the Indian population, 65% of them are less than the age of 35 years. India is 5th largest economy by nominal GDP, and third-largest by purchasing power parity, and being the fastest growing economy, technology changes in the Industry, the required skill among the workforce is becoming an emergency for the companies who operate in India. Companies are facing a lot of challenges in identifying the people with the required skills. 

The latest survey of an agency clarifies that 60% of the companies who operate in India are facing the challenge of finding the required skills. Specifically, 40% of the IT Professionals in India are required to up-skill. The requirement of Skills is not limited to the freshers, it’s about the up-skilling, new skill requirements in the IT and non-IT industry.

A skill gap is the difference between the available skills and the skills required by a company to perform a particular job. The Indian education system does not encourage the skill development programs for the students. The education does not mandate internship or on-the-job training across all the graduate programs. Indian students are less attracted to Vocational courses of education also a reason for the increase in the skill gap. Freshers find it difficult to find their first job, due to the skill gap or lack of skills requirements for the Jobs. The Central government’s Apprenticeship program is not implemented across all Companies and Industries is also a reason to consider the Skill gap. 

There are initiatives by large-scale companies to bridge the skill gap by way of operating skill universities to educate the students on the required soft skills, technical skills, marketing skills, programming skills, and more. Few Companies participate in skill development as a part of CSR activity and spend CSR funds to provide various skill-level training to the educated student workforce as a part of social responsibility. By and large the coverage of skill universities, education under CSR programs, and other ways are less than the requirements.

Bridging the skill gap for fresh graduates is required as long-term planning by the Central Government as an agenda to achieve strict enforcement. The Central government is required to amend the Apprenticeship Act to mandate apprenticeship engagements for a minimum of 10% of the strength of the company. The Central government to inform the State governments of strict enforcement of the engagement of the Apprentice.

The Government is required to change the educational policy to mandate the internship program for Graduate students, on the skill requirements like soft skills, technical skills, marketing skills, programming skills, and more, as a part of their curriculum of education. Vocational education to be promoted at large to engage more students under the vocational background of education in India.

The Companies are required to collaborate with skill development centres, to enable skill development to the existing workforce to fulfil the demand for skills, up-skilling, and new skills. Investment in vocational skills is also a model of skill development, the large-scale organizations invest to initiate skill development across all industries. CSR funds alone will not be enough for the training of new skills, the government should plan or encourage the companies to invest in skill developments, subsequently to provide some relaxation of the taxation on the spent cost of skill training.

Building the capability of the education system for the skill development and change of educational curriculum of the students is not an easy task in India. The shortage of required skills becomes an alarming emergency for the companies that operate in India. Everyone required a joint effort to provide the required Skills, Upskill, and New-skills among the workforce in India to make the success continue.