Mumbai:
Financial services accounted for 9.7 per cent of India''s
GDP in 2005-06, which was 1.2 per cent more than the share
of financial services in the GDP of the UK, global consulting
firm KPMG says in its latest study.
India
has also outpaced the UK in hiring financial service professionals,
with hiring in the sector crossing 5,000 people in 2006,
despite a severe crunch of appropriate skills required,
the report said.
Despite,
increase in the recruitment figures, the report indicates
that 58 per cent of the Indian organisations experience
difficulties in recruiting the right people with the right
skills. This is mainly because, most Indian companies
hire people directly for sales operations as opposed to
the backend work, where the chances of learning on the
job skills are higher. This recruitment pattern, therefore,
calls for the education institutions in India to improve
their job related skills, it said.
"During
2006, recruitment activity in India was higher than in
the UK, with many of the participating organisations recruiting
over 5,000 employees, including both graduates and experienced
hires," the KPMG report released in association with
the UK-India education and research initiative (Ukieri)
said.
India,
with one of the world''s largest labour pools, however,
is experiencing high competition and low supply versus
low availability of appropriate skills as a serious constraint
on the organisations, the report revealed.
The
report titled ''Global Skills for Graduates in Financial
Services'' has been launched to encourage quality training
within graduate professionals.
Financial
services organizations both in India and the UK that operate
on a global basis are increasingly using competency frameworks
during their recruitment practices, which are tailored
locally to reflect the market they are recruiting in,
the report said.
"The
recruitment of the right talent into the financial services
industry is a big issue in cities like London and Mumbai.
Our report shows that graduates gain theoretical knowledge,
but lack practical
job related skills," KPMG UK chairman new and emerging
markets Ian Gomes said.
There
is a ''soft skills gap'', which needs immediate attention.
The findings of our report would be used to inform joint
curriculum projects in the UK and India to help institutions
address this issue, he added.
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