(A Grooming alent - HCL Technologies · PDF fileGrooming alent Training firms explore...
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NewIndia HINDUSTAN TIMEIS, MUMBAI, TUESDAY, MAY 20, 2008 p /*o fl (A 0 V Grooming alent Training firms explore different models to prepare graduates who lack relevant skills to work in private sector Aruna Viiswanatha New Delrhi, May 19 EVERYONE AGREES that only about a quarter of India's graduates are employable. But no one has quite figured out what to do with the rest. "When they come, they are absolutely fresh," observes Rahul Shah, a once associate vice- president with Infosys Technologies Ltd's busi- ness process outsourcing arm. When it comes to soft skills, they don't know how to write an email, <or how to talk to clients. On the practical side, even those with degrees in accounting don't know how to create finan- cial models. "They just know basic bookish concepts," Shah says. Shah left Infosys to start a firm called KPO Academy, one of the many new start-ups in the burgeon- ing training sector. The KPO Acade- my relies on "finishing schools" where second-tier graduates will pay up to Rs 40,000 for the prospect of future em- ployment in the outsourcing sector, alongside partnerships with firms such as Infosys and JP- Morgan Chase and Co. to take his recruits. In some ways, his model combines the vari- ous ways companies have dealt with the need to train India's unemployed youth. Many rely on so-called retail trainers; such as Aptech Ltd for information technology and Frankfinn Avia- tion Services Pvt. Ltd for flight attendants where students pay to upgrade their skills. Other companies rum their own training cen- tres, such as Infosys' 4,000-seat campus in Mysore. Others such ass Genpact Ltd have flirt- ed with free or nominal fee training at store- front locations for potential candidates, while HCL Infosystems Ltd aind Kingfisher Airlines Ltd have spun off their training units into sep- arate moneymaking ventures that can also feed their own talent supply needs. "There are millions of experiments going jjjjjjj: SPECIAL on," says Manish Sabharwal, chairman of the staffing firm TeamLease Services Pvt. Ltd. Not all of them are working. "We've got about 24 ex- periments with training firms to repair our in- terview rejects," says Sabharwal, "but it usual- ly doesn't lead to a job." Frustration on the part of recruiters is mir- rored by those who hire. "I would expect that I could go to some company," says Puneet Singh, vice-president for hiring at Genpact, "and say, 'Today I need 20 people who can do accounts payable as of now'." "I think other companies need to come up," he says, explaining that he has to plan further in advance to staff even a process of only two-dozen people. "It's a space that's open." The numbers confirm that India's human resources sector is, paradoxically, both a crowded and a wide open one. According to industry estimates, there are 20,000 companies registered in the areas of recruitment training, but the Top 10 companies make up less than 15% of the market. In most mature sectors, the Top-10 players command 60-70% of the market. "There is a huge gap between what academic institutions provide and what corporates are looking for," says Srini Krishnamurthy, who is managing director of human resources firm Expertus Inc. Seeing a market in the estimated three million college graduates India churns out every year, according to trade body Nation- al Association of Software and Services Com- panies, or Nasscom — most of them unemploy- able — hundreds of companies are trying to fill that gap, and make the process more scientific. On one side, companies are trying to tie up with colleges, and boost training on the skills the industry needs. Expertus, for one, hosts job expos where each candidate is pre-screened and matched with a possible employer based on how the candidate performed on an aptitude test, and the employer's benchmarks. Expertus also teaches soft skills courses on campuses, which the colleges pay for. Companies such as HCL and Wipro Technologies woo colleges to make sure they have something akin to a pri- vate talent supply. The HCL Technologies Ltd ties up with col- leges to provide on-campus training on busi- ness and communication skills. The company swallows the cost of the six-month trainings in order to get "right of first refusal," says HCL senior vice-president and training head Anand Pillai, meaning the company will be the first to decide which students it would like to hire. And for a company that hires on the scale HCL does — that number can hit 5,000-10,000 in one month — Pillai doesn't see the training func- tions going to vendors. "In-house training should be the norm," he says, "When you attain a critical mass, there's no need to involve any others." But for compa- nies that hire on a smaller scale, training firms are moving in. Last year, for example, Aptech started working with IT and retail customers to manage their fresher "onboarding" trainings, the season when graduates join employers en masse. The company expects that model to grow because it can make training more quantifiable. "There is far higher accountability, and they're far more open to being measured on performance." And dozens of brand new com- panies, like KPO Academy and Aspire Human #* There is a huge gap between what academic institutions provide and what corporates • I are looking for... In case of train-to-hire model the risk shifts to the supplier. If I'm an ™ HR company, and a client says, "You train & provide candidates, I'll hire,' but only hires 8 out of 20, who pays the balance? SRINI KRISHNAMURTHY, Managing director of Expertus Inc. Capital Management Pvt. Ltd are trying to ful- fil requests such as Genpact's for workers trained in specific skills. The KPO Academy, a training company that is a product of Infosys and Accenture Ltd alumni, is inaugurating its first class mid-June. Aspire, founded by former head of WNS Knowledge Services Pvt Ltd Amit Bhatia, is also trying to develop the talent pool in smaller cities, but is asking employers to bear the brunt of the cost. In exchange, the company is prom- ising deployable candidates, through software that breaks up each necessary skill and meas- ures how successfully a candidate can be trained on specific skills. But whether or not a company can success- fully merge recruitment and training is still an open question. Aptech, NUT Ltd and other training companies tried out a train-to-hire model at the request of BPOs several years ago, to not much success. On the one hand, says Aptech's Vani, the fixed costs are passed on to training vendors while the income is extreme- ly variable. But on the other, students can leave half-way through the trainings to sign up with another employer. "Two stakeholders are bear- ing the costs," he says, referring to the student and the trainer, "without any guarantee". Others, too, are sceptical the train-to-hire model can work. "The risk really shifts to the supplier," says Expertus' Krishnamurthy. "If I'm an HR company, and a client says, 'If you train and provide candidates, I'll hire,' but only hires eight out of 20, who pays the balance?" In- stead, Krishnamurthy expects to see vocation- al training and specialised institutes pick up the slack, and separate merged recruitment outsourcing firms to take over for mom-and- pop shops. No one, though, has much reason to worry. "For the training and recruitment in- dustry," he says, "we're going to be in a huge boom for quite some time." [email protected] Publication Name : Hindustan Times - Mumbai Publication Date : Tuesday 20 May 2008 Page# : 10 Size : 1003.14 sq.cm.
Transcript of (A Grooming alent - HCL Technologies · PDF fileGrooming alent Training firms explore...
New India HINDUSTAN TIMEIS, MUMBAI, TUESDAY, MAY 20, 2008
p / * o fl (A 0
V
Grooming alent
Training firms explore different models to prepare graduates who lack relevant skills to work in private sector
Aruna V i i swanatha N e w Delrhi, May 19
EVERYONE AGREES t h a t only about a qua r t e r of India 's graduates a r e employable. But no one h a s qui te figured out w h a t to do wi th the rest .
"When they come, they a r e absolutely fresh," observes Rahul Shah , a once associate vice-president wi th Infosys Technologies Ltd's business process outsourc ing a r m .
When it comes to soft skills, they don ' t know how to wri te a n email, <or how to ta lk to clients. On the prac t ica l side, e v e n those wi th degrees i n account ing don ' t k n o w how to create financial models. "They jus t know basic bookish concepts," Shah says.
Shah left Infosys to s ta r t a f irm called KPO Academy, one of the many new start-ups in t he burgeoning t ra in ing sector. The KPO Academy rel ies on "finishing schools" where second-tier g radua tes will pay up to Rs 40,000 for the prospect of future employment in t he ou tsourc ing sector, alongside par tnersh ips wi th f i rms such as Infosys and JPMorgan Chase and Co. to take h i s recrui ts .
In some ways, h i s mode l combines the various ways companies have dealt wi th the need to t ra in India 's unemployed youth. Many rely on so-called re ta i l t ra iners; such as Aptech Ltd for information technology and Frankf inn Aviation Services Pvt . L t d for flight a t t endan ts where s tudents pay to u p g r a d e the i r skills.
Other companies rum thei r own t ra in ing centres, such as Infosys' 4,000-seat campus in Mysore. Others such ass Genpact Ltd have flirted wi th free or n o m i n a l fee t r a in ing a t storefront locations for po t en t i a l candidates , whi le HCL Infosystems Ltd aind Kingfisher Air l ines Ltd have spun off t he i r t ra in ing un i t s into separa te moneymaking v e n t u r e s that can also feed the i r own talent supply needs.
"There a re mil l ions of exper iments going
j j j j j j j :
SPECIAL
on," says Manish Sabharwal , c h a i r m a n of the staffing firm TeamLease Services Pvt. Ltd. Not all of them are working. "We've got about 24 exper iments with t r a in ing firms to r epa i r ou r interview rejects," says Sabharwal , "but it usually doesn' t lead to a job."
Frus t ra t ion on the pa r t of recrui ters is mirrored by those who hire. "I would expect that I could go to some company," says Puneet Singh, vice-president for h i r ing at Genpact, "and say, 'Today I need 20 people who can do accounts payable as of now'." "I th ink other companies need to come up," he says, explaining that he has to plan further in advance to staff even a process of only two-dozen people. "It 's a space that ' s open." The numbers confirm that India's h u m a n
resources sector is, paradoxically, both a crowded and a wide open one.
According to indus t ry est imates , the re a re 20,000 companies regis tered in the a reas of r ec ru i tmen t t ra in ing , but the Top 10 companies make up
less t h a n 15% of the market . In mos t m a t u r e sectors, the Top-10 players command 60-70% of the market .
"There is a huge gap between wha t academic ins t i tu t ions provide a n d what corporates a r e looking for," says Sr ini Krishnamurthy, who is manag ing director of h u m a n resources f irm Exper tus Inc. Seeing a marke t in the est imated th ree mil l ion college g radua tes India c h u r n s out every year, according to t r ade body National Associat ion of Software a n d Services Companies, or Nasscom — most of t hem unemployable — hundreds of companies a r e t ry ing to fill tha t gap, and make the process more scientific.
On one side, companies a re t ry ing to t ie up
with colleges, and boost t r a in ing on the skills the indus t ry needs. Expertus , for one, hosts job expos where each candidate is pre-screened and matched wi th a possible employer based on how the candidate performed on a n apt i tude test, and the employer 's benchmarks . Exper tus also teaches soft skil ls courses on campuses , which the colleges pay for. Companies such as HCL a n d Wipro Technologies woo colleges to m a k e su re they have something akin to a private ta lent supply.
The HCL Technologies Ltd ties u p wi th colleges to provide on-campus t r a in ing on business a n d communica t ion skills. The company swallows the cost of the six-month t ra in ings in order to get " r ight of first refusal," says HCL senior vice-president and t ra in ing head Anand Pillai, mean ing the company will be the first to decide which s tudents it would like to hire . And for a company that h i res on the scale HCL does — tha t n u m b e r can h i t 5,000-10,000 in one month — Pillai doesn' t see the t ra in ing funct ions going to vendors.
"In-house t r a in ing should be the no rm," h e says, "When you a t ta in a cri t ical mass , there 's no need to involve any others ." But for companies that h i re on a smaller scale, t ra in ing firms are moving in. Last year, for example, Aptech s tar ted working with IT and retai l customers to manage the i r fresher "onboarding" t ra inings , the season when graduates join employers en masse. The company expects that model to grow because it can make t ra in ing more quantifiable.
"There is far h ighe r accountability, and they ' re far more open to being measured on performance." And dozens of b rand new companies , l ike KPO Academy and Aspire H u m a n
#* There is a huge gap between what academic institutions provide and what corporates • I are looking for... In case of t rain- to -hi re model the risk shifts to the supplier. If I'm an ™
H R company, and a client says, "You train & provide candidates, I'll hire,' but only hires 8 out of 20, who pays the balance? SRINI KRISHNAMURTHY, Managing director of Expertus Inc.
Capital Management Pvt. Ltd a re t ry ing to fulfil r eques t s such as Genpact 's for workers t ra ined in specific skills. The KPO Academy, a t r a in ing company tha t is a product of Infosys and Accenture Ltd a lumni , is inaugura t ing its first class mid-June.
Aspire , founded by former head of WNS Knowledge Services Pvt Ltd Amit Bhat ia , is also t ry ing to develop the ta lent pool i n smal ler cities, but is asking employers to bea r the b r u n t of the cost. In exchange, the company is promis ing deployable candidates, th rough software tha t b reaks u p each necessary skill and measures how successfully a candidate can be t ra ined on specific skills.
But whe the r or not a company can successfully merge recru i tment and t r a in ing is still a n open quest ion. Aptech, NUT Ltd and o ther t r a in ing companies t r ied out a train-to-hire model at the reques t of BPOs several years ago, to not m u c h success. On the one hand , says Aptech's Vani, the fixed costs a re passed on to t ra in ing vendors while the income is extremely variable. But on the other, s tudents can leave half-way through the t ra in ings to sign u p wi th ano ther employer. "Two stakeholders a re bearing the costs," he says, refer r ing to the s tudent and the trainer, "wi thout a n y guarantee" .
Others , too, a re sceptical the train-to-hire model can work. "The r i sk real ly shifts to the supplier," says Exper tus ' Kr ishnamurthy . "If I 'm a n HR company, and a client says, 'If you t r a in and provide candidates, I'll h ire , ' but only hi res eight out of 20, who pays the balance?" Instead, Kr i shnamur thy expects to see vocational t r a in ing and specialised ins t i tu tes pick up the slack, and separa te merged r ec ru i tmen t outsourcing f i rms to take over for mom-and-pop shops. No one, though, has m u c h reason to worry. "For the t r a in ing and rec ru i tmen t industry," h e says, "we ' re going to be in a h u g e boom for qui te some t ime."
a r u n a . v @ l i v e m i n t . c o m
Publication Name : Hindustan Times - Mumbai
Publication Date : Tuesday 20 May 2008
Page# : 10
Size : 1003.14 sq.cm.
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