A teacher, trainer, researcher, consultant & Head - Global HR, CSR & Outsourcing functions, Dr. Chandra Mauli Dwivedi is a man of few words. Needless to say, his vast experience of 30 years spanning corporate and industry, in addition to his academics expertise is unparalleled. Very rarely will you find someone so knowledgeable, yet so grounded. Currently the Director at N. L Dalmia Institute of Management Studies & Research Mumbai, Dr. Dwivedi was the President & Global Head - Corp. HR and CSR of Datamatics Global Services Group of Companies. He was also on the Management Board of the organization and Director on Board of Datamatics Staffing Services Pvt. Ltd.
He holds Doctorate degree in Industrial Psychology and a trained Lead Assessor on People Capability Maturity Model (PCMM) a HR model developed by Carnegie Mellon University - USA. Dr. Dwivedi has been President of HR InfoTech Association HRIA.
click4college.com got a rare opportunity to speak to this icon. Excerpts from the interview:
With such a versatile experience in the corporate industry, how does it feel to be associated with academics? It’s like role reversal, of sorts. Would you agree?
After my winning of Young Scientist Award from Indian Science Congress and joining IBPS Mumbai University has recognized me as a Ph.D guide in 1994 itself. Few students have already been awarded Ph.D degree from the Mumbai University. While working over three decades in the Industry I was always associated with Management Institutes as a governing board member and university board of studies. Building future leader is my passion and that is need of the industry. I understand industry dynamics and challenges hence incorporating the desired attributed from campus to corporate will be comparatively much focused and properly executed.
What are the immediate challenges that you need to sort out in the education sector?
1. Aligning the course curriculum as per need of the Industry.
2. Focus more on empirical and practical applicability of the classroom teaching.
3. Initiate mentoring of students by the Industry Leaders.
4. Enhance case study and simulation based teaching.
5. Developing passion, drive and innovations through training.
Being so closely associated with the industry, what are the short comings, if any, that higher education sectors need to address, in terms of discrepancy in the talent pool & skill set required by the industry?
1. Industry needs business leaders and not the managers.
2. Institute must develop a strong leader with ethics and values.
3. They should focus on high end research facilities,
4. Focus should be on developing entrepreneurial skill and innovations.
Can you tell us 5 USP’s of NL Dalmia Institute of Management Studies and Research?
1. The only institute which doesn’t have Management Quota. Admission is purely on merit only.
2. The only institute which have 12 Bloomberg terminals to train their students in Mumbai.
3. Won Best B-School in Management and Most Innovative in Industry-Academia Interface Award from World HRD Congress (DNA & Stars of The Industry) Feb 2015.
4. A recognized center for doctorate level research by Mumbai University.
5. Ranked amongst India’s top 25 B-School with highly qualified Faculty team and strong alumni base of over 5000 leaders.
When you were teaching, training, researching, consulting, involved with Global HR, CSR & Outsourcing functions, what were the key aspects that you looked out for in a candidate?
Positive attitude with Passion, creativity, ability to think out of the box and a great executer.
What are the key factors/ attributes required to become a successful HR Leader?
To be a successful HR leader one should enormous passion and drive. Should be able to make people feel empowered, engaged and responsible. An inspiring and a good motivator.
How would assess the Indian job market at present? Which job segments do you predict to be the forerunners, say, in the next 5 – 10 years?
Make in India initiative and focus will provide many opportunity both in manufacturing sector and service sector. There are good opportunities in automobile and engineering sector. There are good job opportunities in tier-II and III cities.
From a purely HR point of view, what are the key factors that you look for in a candidate to be suitable for any kind of job? (bes ides academics)
Ans. Positive Attitude, good communication skills, passion and execution skills, maturity & confidence.
Where does India stand in terms of skilled labour force compared to the global work force?
Ans. Our education system must be transformed to Vocational training. Only 45% graduates are employable. We have scarcity of skilled labour force as compared to global work force
A McKinsey report projected that global labor force strength will be 3.5 billion by 2030. The report states that India could face a surplus of low-skilled workers in the tune of 27 million and deficit in the medium-skilled workers to the tune of 13 million. This implies that more people could be trapped in subsistence agriculture or in urban poverty as we move into the mid-term review of our 12th Five year plan. India’s workforce today stands at nearly 472.9 million. India and has nearly 340 million adults without work-relevant skills and in need of training.
Of late, the government & other bodies like NASDAC are stressing in professional and vocational courses to create employment. Is there a market for it?
Ans. While job opportunities galore in the service sector, about 2 million graduates and half a million post-graduates are unemployed in India at any point of time. In India vocational training is a public-private partnership like govt. can provide the infrastructure and industry can provide the equipment’s and other facilities. It aims to promote skill development by catalyzing creation of large, quality, for-profit vocational institutions.
The culture of pursuing higher studies from a foreign university has become immensely popular. How much merit is there to it? Are our Indian universities not good enough or is it just a fad?
Ans. Our educational systems are becoming truly competitive and at par with any global universities. People have a mind -set that if you have a degree from foreign university you are in a better position. But in today’s scenario with so many IIMs and IITs, private and central universities are coming in, making sincere efforts to set the benchmark and standards as foreign universities. Also it is true that lots of foreign nationals are studying in Indian Universities.
Advice to students pursuing higher education on choosing the right career and being successful in it?
Ans. Opportunities are immense. Focus on stability and accept the job challenges. There is a lots of scope for job in Indian market. Degree enhances the knowledge so choose a field of study you are interested in. Have a clear goal and a focused approach. Along with studies there is a need to focus on creativity and innovations, one should accept to be mobile also have positive attitude? One should focus on overall professional development and must have confidence in yourself.
About Dr. Dwivedi
A reciepient of many awards, Dr. Dwivedi has, under his belt, the “Young Scientist Award” from Ministry of Science and Technology Government of India, “Outstanding Achievement Award”, “Exemplary Leadership Award”, “Special Team Leadership Award” and Group Quality Award for the outstanding and very valuable contribution made to the business of the company. He has also been bestowed with the prestigious J R D TATA HR Leadership Award for his notable contribution to HR profession.
In World HRD Congress, 2015 Dr. Dwivedi has been honored as top 100 Most Talented global HR Leaders and the Greatest Corporate Leaders in India & has been nominated as Chairman of World Education Congress, 2015.
Besides awards, Dr. Dwivedi He has published over 25 research papers and is a frequent contributor to magazines and publications like Economic Times, Business India, IT People, Indian Management, Human Capital, Domain B, and Express Computers. He has featured live on CNBC, ET Now, Star News, ZEE TV etc.