India Inc facing severe quality manpower crunch: FICCI survey

Indian firms are facing a severe quality manpower crunch as the the current generation of arts, commerce and science undergraduates have been found to be woefully below the mark according to a Ficci survey.

According to the survey, ''The new undergraduates fall short of the expectations of the employers with regard to self-motivation, self-discipline, empathy for other workers and management, willingness to learn, good written communication and basic computer skills.''
 
"GenNext is woefully short of soft skills and vocational training to take on the responsibilities of corporate sector management," it said.
 
Only 30 per cent of the respondents polled in the survey said they were completely satisfied with the new undergraduates hired in the last 12 months.

Around 60 per cent of the 300 respondents said the fresh graduates lacked the important ability to identify and solve workplace problems.

Similarly, "About 83 per cent respondents acknowledge the need for good written communication as a key skill set for performing the job. However, only about 60 per cent feel that their present employees have the desired skill set," the report said.

According to the survey 70 per cent of the respondents were not satisfied with the basic computer knowledge of the new recruits.

"Asked about the presence of the willingness to learn - which almost all the respondents considered a must-have quality for their employees - in their present crop, only about 65 per cent of them answered in the affirmative," it added.