According to a poll conducted by TJinsite, the knowledge and research wing of TimesJobs.com, India’s leading jobs portal, HR managers across industries find hiring for mid-level the biggest challenge.
“Middle management serves as a link between the executive level and the top management,” says Chirag Shukla, AM – HR, Saumya Constructions.
Therefore, communication, leadership and technical skills are all required at this level. The complexity lies in the nature of the position which calls for as much authority as accountability and responsibility, reason the respondents.
Besides, technical jobs are in considerable demand. However, HR managers are grappling with matching skills to requirements of technical positions. Even educational qualifications are an area of concern here. Where recruiters are looking for degree holders, they are forced to make do with diploma holders. It’s a clear case of settling for what is available.
Jobs Demand Scenario
The TimesJobs.com database of over 1.5 crore candidate resumes and over 60 lakh job listings is a dynamic and active reflection of what’s happening in the country’s jobs market today. We delved into our robust database to figure out the trends in demand for jobs in the quarter Apr-Sep 2010. Information Technology maintained its No 1 position in terms of demand. Manufacturing/Industrial, BFSI (Banking, Financial Services/Stock broking, Insurance), CRM/Call Centres/ BPO/ITES/ Medical Transcription (Consulting Services) and Consumer Durables/FMCG follow.
Hiring is on the rise across industries and this trend is expected to continue in the coming quarter.
Usha Wagle, AM – HR, Hindustan Platinum Pvt Ltd states, ‘We are hiring for the purpose of business expansion. Most of the requirement is for technical positions and they also pose the biggest challenge. Job opportunities are in plenty as economy is on the rise.’
Specific Skills
Job-specific skills are the focus of India Inc. Employers are fairly specific about the skill sets that they require, with industry-wise priorities. The impediment to hiring is that the skills that employers are struggling to find are critical to business expansion or consolidation. To combat this hurdle, companies are providing in-house training and setting up skill development centres.
Dr Asit Mohapatra, Director HR Textiles at Raymond Ltd. specify, ‘The middle levels need far more orientation and training. At the entry level, when we hired from the IIMs for instance last year, we gave them live exposure to our plants and operations in the textile manufacturing processes. At the senior levels the professionals do not need so much training. They understand the nuances of their function and are able to adjust well.’
In a survey conducted by TJinsite, about 50 per cent of employers surveyed felt that in-house training is of considerable help in bridging the mismatch. However, most companies find in-house training expensive. It is more to do with the fact that with the crunch on talent and the hunt for skilled people, a trained individual fetches a premium in the market and is quite likely to jump jobs for a better salary.
Retaining the trained workforce
India Inc is hiring across industries and functional areas. However, they are also focusing energies on filling in the skill gap by providing trainings and setting up skill development centres.
The catch lies in the fact that many people leave the organisation when they feel they have acquired the requisite skills. Skilled professionals have an edge over competitors in terms of salary as well. In this scenario retention is a challenge.
Vivek Madhukar, Vice President, TimesJobs.com, summed up the scenario saying, ‘ The fact is that businesses are expanding and attrition is reaching record levels, so hiring across industries will continue; the challenge for HR is developing result-oriented retention strategies.”