The election fever is almost over, and the new government is sworn in. One of the many comments that have been floating around speaks about the low employment opportunities, and that the government should have created more jobs for all.
Strangely, almost as the electioneering went into top gear came in the unverified news of IIT pass outs not finding jobs, saying that 36% of IIT Mumbai graduates are without jobs. So much so that IIT Mumbai had to publicly announce that the figure was grossly overstated. But the rhetoric of joblessness was so loud, I received it more than 20 times, that the IIT-B announcement was totally drowned.
With the population explosion in the country, having replaced China and becoming the most populous nation in the world, jobs are bound to be difficult to get. Add to that the technology explosion, reducing the need for people to perform routine, ordinary, mechanical tasks – more jobs lost!
The Employment and Qualification Mismatch
Either way, the fact remains – jobs are not easy to come by. Notably, the academic world has always been blamed for the extremely poor quality of education. Being in Academics for more than 30 years, I am not able to refute the allegation totally, at the same time I definitely do not agree with it.
There are a sizable number of schools and colleges including Charotar Vidya Mandal (CVM) that are doing good, very good and excellent work. Nobody should forget that whatever growth and development we see today is all brought about by the graduates of the same academic ecosystem. Also, a large number of world’s business leaders and professionals also come from the same schools and colleges.
It is often heard, and experienced too, that industry is not able to find good employees; a few good brains stay back and get reasonably good jobs, while large numbers fly away overseas – brain drain! There is a dearth of skilled, well-informed people with domain knowledge.
So, Where is the problem? Simplistically put, jobs are not there as per expectations of candidates. Everybody wants a plum job. Once a vegetable vendor in my hometown requested me to find him a good job. He was a Master of Commerce pass out. I asked him how much he made from his vegetable vending business. Not surprisingly he said – Rupees 300 to 350 per day is his net. Well, what do I tell him? I know so many MCom pass outs willing to work for Rs 5000 per month. Thus, there is an employment-Qualification mismatch. He did not have to do an MCom.
The Growing Importance of MBA Graduates
The number of engineering graduates passing out every year is so large, almost no economy would be able to absorb them. Same is true for most courses including MBA, the epitome of professional courses. There are all kinds of institutions offering professional courses, some excellent, some very good, many good and quite a few below par. With a premier institution like IIT-B acknowledging that not all of their students have found jobs, we can imagine the plight of students at average schools across the country. Same is the story for MBA graduates.
What is the way out?!! The government does not have a magic wand that SWOOOSH – some minister waves the wand and lakhs of jobs of all kinds will emerge! The industry also needs to become progressively high tech to remain globally competitive. And thus, two of the major job creators are falling short of the demand. This leaves very small scope for fresh graduates to find jobs. So, now the picture is clear – a smaller number of job positions versus a large number of people willing to take those jobs.
The Growing Importance of MBA Graduates
Business Graduates need to Create Differentiation: In a highly competitive environment, to stand out in the crowd one has to differentiate herself/himself. And that differentiation has to be worthy enough for the employer to be attracted to take you on to a job. This differentiation, worth its while, can come largely from scholastic and Co-Curricular performance. The candidate has to establish that s/he is willing to go the extra mile that better qualifies her/him for the given position.
Cross Disciplinary Learning and Certifications: The NEP 2020 is also promoting the philosophy of lifelong learning, allowing institutions to evolve inter and cross disciplinary learning opportunities. Insisting on blended learning pedagogies also provide aspiring students with the opportunity to earn those special credits thereby making her/him better prepared to stake claim for a given job position.
Lots of Universities and Institutions have started offering minor degrees along with their main degree curriculum.
Building a Strong Portfolio: Smart students pursuing MBA courses have the opportunities to add special skills and subject knowledge, thus becoming better qualified for the potential employer to consider her/him.
The need is for the student and their mentors/parents to identify those additional certifications that can add value to their CVs. Candidates will have to build a portfolio and profile to make it not just impressive but “Useful” for the potential employer. This only can bridge the gap between students not finding good jobs and corporates not finding good human resources.
The CVM University has subscribed to COURSERA providing more than 1200 courses and modules for students across the University to take up free of cost to serve the purpose!
Better jobs ahoy!
Author:
Dr. Hemant C Trivedi,
Director CVMU – MBA,
CVM University
Area of Expertise: Marketing, Retail Marketing, Strategic Management
