EMPLOYABILITY

When we hear the word employability, the very first thing that pops in our mind is the sound of only a part of the word; we only hear employ and the ability part fades off temporarily. Lets delve into the idea a little further and when we do so a simple yet overlooked question comes into the view: Is it the number of jobs in the market thats going down or is the quality of the candidates the educational institutions are producing thats deteriorating day-by-day? To understand this, lets first understand the term that has been very aptly coined EMPLOYABILITY. When we concentrate on the word, we can see that it can be split into 2 independent but very sensible words Employ and Ability. By Employability, we generally mean the ability of a candidate to procure, perform and secure the job. When detailed, Employability is: The ability to gain initial employment; The ability to maintain employment and make transitions between jobs and roles within the same organization to meet new job requirements, and The ability to obtain new employment if required, i.e. to be independent in the labor market by being willing and able to manage their own employment transitions between and within organizations. This means that the candidate has to be fully equipped with the knowledge, skills and the ability qualities on which employability depends upon the way they harness these assets and present them to the employers and the context within which they seek job. The students, in order to be employable, need those catalysts that enhance the basic capacity/knowledge. All the students prepare for one or the other competitive examinations for which they join coaching classes which in turn provide them with a set of test series out of which the questions are asked; the students get admissions, finish their studies. What remains untouched is the polishing of the skills that is already present in the candidate. This suggests that there can be 4 main elements which can be separated out with respect to an individuals employability, of which the first three are analogous to the concepts of production, marketing and sales, and the fourth is the marketplace in which they operate. Assets: An individuals employability assets comprise their knowledge (i.e. what they know), skills (what they do with what they know) and attitudes (how they do it). Baseline assets such as basic skills and essential personal attributes (such as reliability and integrity). Intermediate assets such as occupational specific skills (at all levels), generic or key skills (such as communication and problem solving) and key personal attributes (such as motivation and initiative), and High-level assets involving skills which help contribute to organizational performance (such as team working, self management, commercial awareness etc.) Further it also includes the importance of the transferability of these skills from one occupational or business context to another for employability and the increased attention employers are paying to the softer attitudinal skills in selecting employees. Merely being in possession of employer-relevant knowledge, skills and attitudes is not enough for an individual to either move self-sufficiently in the modern labor market or realize their potential. People also need the capability to exploit their assets, to market them and sell them. Deployment: These are a linked set of abilities which include Career management skills and life skills, commonly identified as self-awareness (i.e. diagnosing occupational interests and abilities), opportunity awareness (knowing what work opportunities exist and their entry requirements i.e. labor market knowledge), decision-making skills (to develop a strategy of getting from where you are to where you want to be) and transition skills (Job search skills & Strategic approach)

There is obviously an important link between assets and deployment. The extent to which an individual is aware of what they possess in terms of knowledge, skills and attitudes and its relevance to the employment opportunities available may affect their willingness to undertake training and other activities designed to upgrade their skills. Presentation: Another key aspect of employability is being able to get a particular job, which points at the ability to demonstrate employability assets and present them to the market in an accessible way. This includes: The presentation of CVs (including Records of Achievement) The qualifications individuals possess (both academic and vocational) Work experience/track record. Context: Finally and crucially, the ability to realize or actualize employability assets depends on the individuals personal and external circumstances and the inter-relationship between the two. This includes: personal circumstances e.g. caring responsibilities, disabilities, and household status can all affect their ability to seek different opportunities and will vary during an individuals life cycle; while external factors such as macro-economic demand and the pattern and level of job openings in their labour market, be it local or national; labour market regulation and benefit rules; and employer recruitment and selection behaviour. Employability may also take a more relative approach. It not only depends on whether one is able to fulfill the requirements of specific jobs, but also on how one stands relative to others within a hierarchy of job seekers (Brown and Hesketh, 2004). With the move to a more knowledge-based economy, it is widely thought that there is an increasing demand for high-caliber managerial talent. However, a focus on obtaining skills in order to gain good employment has led to an over-supply of graduates and a larger number of contenders chasing the same top jobs. Brown and Hesketh argue that there is a clear mismatch between individuals expectations of employability and the realities posed by the labor market and so does the Chairman of Infosys, Mr. N R Narayana Murthy who in one of his recent summits, expressed his displeasure about the fall in the quality of engineers that are passing out from IITs and also indicated that there is a need to overhaul the selection criteria for students seeking admissions in such prestigious technology institutions. The above lines indicate that merely getting admissions in prestigious institutions and graduating with high percentage of marks do not make a candidate eligible for employment. These days the fresh graduates and post-graduates talk only about the jobs available in the market and updates in the employment news; parents ask their children to check on any updates about what job is available in the market; a piece of the fresh passing out batch of students always decides not to join a company by making up so many reasons unimaginable. Many economic forums, business tycoons, employment news have been talking about the crisis in the labor market. This is due to the severe dip in the rate of employability. The World Economic Forum (WEF) in collaboration with The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) in its recent studies points out the magnitude of the impending crisis in the labor market by analyzing talent shortages across 22 countries and 12 industry sectors. The employability, here, still remains a question unanswered. Under these conditions, students will use a number of tactics in the labor market to maintain competitive advantage. Brown and Hesketh identify two ideal types of individuals entering the labor market. Players: Those who will do anything to get a top job. Players are not afraid to take on a different identity if they feel that is what the employer is looking for. The second, Purists: Those who believe that job market outcomes should reflect meritocratic achievement. For purists it is important to maintain an authentic sense of self as

this will ensure a good fit between individual capabilities and occupational demands. Purists may be as competitive as Players but feel that Players are cheating in order to get ahead. This view of employability incorporates the dual aspects of supply and demand of labor to show that advancing ones position in the labor market by gaining credentials is partially dependent on structural factors outside the individuals control. The recent financial crisis demonstrates that global economic factors can and do have a significant impact on the likelihood of an individual securing a job regardless of their skills, credentials and social status. The above definition of employability provides a basis for analyzing the policies affecting the employability of certain groups or conversely how major policy initiatives impact on employability. The focus should be a balance between the development and accreditation of knowledge and vocational skills as well as the softer skills and attitudes; the demonstration of assets as well as their deployment; at individuals looking to enter the labor market (e.g. from education or unemployment) as well as those within; the individual and the supply side as well as on employers and the demand side (i.e. the labor market contextual factors). When all these factors are taken into consideration, prospects of employability increases and affects the countrys position in the global market. According to the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and the World Economic Forum (WEF), the problem of employability which is being faced by both the developed and the developing nations may be solved in one of the ways: by the mobility of the employable workforce. However, the need to identify the lacuna and taking steps to fulfill them will have to be a continuous process in order to survive in the global market.