HTCampus Conclave: Advanced Skills Can Help Boost Employability

Employability is a key benchmark of success for higher education institutions and an assessment component for college rankings the world over.

There are eight million people who join the workforce every year and there are about 600 universities, 35,000 colleges, 6,000 ITIs and educational institutes and 2.3 million graduates. Yet, there are not enough employable persons. With a stringent job market like India, companies, too, face a tough task of selecting the best fit for every job.

To address this concern and to seek a plausible solution from industries and institutes, click4college organised the click4college Conclave on the theme - Education and Employability on March 26, 2014, in Gurgaon. The conclave was attended by senior business and HR leaders across industries as well as eminent educationalists.

The panel of speakers comprised Professor RS Dhankar, Dean, Faculty of Management Studies, Delhi University; P Rajendran, COO and ­co-founder, NIIT University; M Ashraf Rizvi, Director, Jaipuria Institute of Management Studies, Ghaziabad; Prashant Bhatnagar, Director, Hiring and Staffing at SapientNitro, a division of Sapient; and Naveen Narayanan, Global Head - Talent Acquisition, HCL Technologies. The event was moderated by noted TV producer, author and career counsellor Usha Albuquerque, founder director, Careers Smart.

The panel discussion identified three key issues – accessibility, equality and, most importantly, the quality of education offered in India. The essence of the discussion highlighted the key issues of funding, linkages between industry and academia and faculty training, new and innovative ways to run academic institutions, to name a few. It also touched upon the kind of curriculum and environment that can be built. The panel also discussed ways in which students can be made more employable and industry-ready.