http://www.indiainfoline.com/Markets/News/TeamLease-and-IIJT-organized-a-job-fair-for-youth/5221726664

The job fair drew around 330 candidates and around 112 candidates were shortlisted and 33 candidates were provided spot offer letters.TeamLease Services, India’s largest staffing solutions company and Indian Institute of Job Training (IIJT), India’s fastest growing vocational skills training company organized a job fair for youth in Nagpur today. The job fair was conducted with an aim to connect job aspirants with employers, assessment counselors and training professionals. Top companies like Café Coffee Day, Trimax IT Infrastructure & Services Ltd, The Bombay Store, Angel Broking, FlipKart, Bata India Ltd., Sharekhan Ltd, Smart Chip Ltd. participated in the day long job fair. 

The job fair drew around 330 candidates and around 112 candidates were shortlisted and 33 candidates were provided spot offer letters. 

Candidates were taken through assessment and employability evaluation conducted by TeamLease and IIJT counsellors. Based on assessment tests results, IIJT counsellors suggested requirements of necessary vocational skills training to the candidates. 

According to Babul Soumen Saha, Divisional Head –West, IIJT Education, According to Babul Soumen Saha, Divisional Head –West, IIJT Education, According to Babul Soumen Saha, Divisional Head-West, IIJT, “Unemployment and un-employability are the two major issues in our country. An integrated approach, adopted by such initiatives that bring together job seekers and employers to link the demand and supply of manpower will certainly help bridge this gap.”



“The IIJT job fair generated more than 330 walk-ins and 33 students were offered spot jobs. The unique feature of IIJT job fair is to synchronize candidate profiles and match with actual job profile. We ensured that students who meet the criteria pertaining to job profile only attend the interview so that there are fewer disappointed students, hence we conducted a pre registration drive to filter students, so that the best qualified candidates get a chance to be interviewed and employed ”added Babul Soumen Saha, Divisional Head-West, IIJT

http://www.mydigitalfc.com/opportunities/every-second-indian-looking-jobnxt-637

Indian industry is going to see an upheaval in employment rolls over the next five years if the workers and other staff do as they intend to do, that is, quit their current jobs and look for greener pastures in other companies. And when it happens, it won’t just be a switch from one job to another similar but more paying one; it will more likely be jettisoning one career in favour of another.

This worrying scenario emerges from a survey which says over 50 per cent of all Indian workers want to switch careers with­­in five years — mainly on money and lifestyle considerations. A better work-life balance is what they are looking for, says a survey conducted by the global workforce solutions firm Kelly Services. A part of a larger exercise in 30 countries, the sur­vey in India took in a varied sample of 2,000 respondents from varied sectors and work levels.

Opinion of experts is divided. Some agree with the findings. Others, mainly companies, don’t foresee an exodus, even as some of them admit they are working on sorting out important employee issues.

Kamal Karanth, managing director of Kelly, sees two clear trends emerging from the survey his company conducted: 1) that job-holders are willing to take risks of switching jobs and careers and 2) that they are becoming less tolerant of expectation mismatches.

The main reason for the restiveness, cited by 36 per cent of the respondents, is the need for better work-life balance.

A significant 23 per cent are willing to job-hop for more pay. A little over fifth of all respondents would switch jobs in keeping with changing personal interests – this, in other words, implies a willingness to change career altogether.

That this means making a fresh start and another log plod is not a deterrent to many. In fact, according to Karanth, their numbers are “surprisingly large”, all actively thinking of a career change. They are willing to go through another uphill struggle if that ensure a better future for them.

This may happen even as a natural course, says E Balaji, MD and chief executive director of Ma Foi Randstad. Because five years is a long span it’s quite possible that half the workforce may make a career switch.

He sees the possibility of the biggest switch happening at junior levels, which see most recruitments and where job roles and opportunities are higher than at mid-to-senior levels.

It will be worrying if this change is to come about within one or two years. Attrition will obviously go up and companies will be hard pressed to retain staff. Balaji agrees that the yearning more money, better job roles and working for better brands is what may propel job hops.

Another finding of the survey is that even in a career change three-fourths of the respondents are confident of resuming at the same level after a break taken for a variety of reasons that include maternity/paternity leave, illness or extended holidays.

Ashok Reddy, MD of TeamLease, is not sure that five years from now, companies will see half their people gone and replaced. True, a significant number switch careers every year, but a quantum jump in their numbers will take time.

Companies Financial Chronicle spoke to will go along with Reddy. For example, Sanjiv Goenka, chairman of the RP Sanjiv Goenka group, says there is no denying that quality of life is an important issue for everyone, be it the employer or the employee.

“There are and will be switching of careers,” asserts Goenka, for people will always like to work in a city with congenial infrastructure and atmosphere and a social life. But exactly what proportion of workers will switch is something he refuses to get into.

Even before the survey some companies have given it a thought. The Tata group is expanding what it calls the “second innings career programme” for women who have a career break.

Tata Services’ VP for talent acquisition, Radhakrishnan Nair, says career change or career break for woman happens. Women take leave for starting a family or meeting other personal commitments. This is a way to achieve a work-life balance and the group encourages them to come back.

The Tatas’ special programme helps professionally qualified women with at least four years of work experience who may have taken career breaks of as even eight years and now want to restart. Nair says the programme is working well and will be extended to more cities.

Job-hops are nothing new. Joydeep Dutta Gupta, COO of Deloitte India's consulting business, says that over the past five years the average attrition rate in Indian companies has been around 15 per cent. This implies, a churning of 75 per cent has already taken place in these five years.

At junior levels job switches happen mainly because of the lure of more money. Mid-level switched happen because of career concerns and the quest for a fatter CV. At senior levels people switch jobs in search of a proper functional role for themselves – what matters most is the scope to function independently and whether a job gives them decision-making powers. All this comes out in a perusal of exit interviews and exit forms in a cross-section of Indian companies, says Dutta Gupta.

What’s the solution? “Employee engagements,” according to Suresh J, CEO of Arvind Brands and Retails. Companies are laying increasing importance on this aspect. Arvind does so, providing growth avenues and good pay, and therefore does not foresee job-switches on a large scale.

Generally speaking, however, Suresh sees the retail industry having controlled attrition to a great extent. But a few companies still face severe attrition issues. The reason being that ambition levels are very high and even if the compensation is good, workers aspire for still better roles and higher pay – something, he admits, “is at times difficult to match.”

HR people at Convergys are aware that lifestyle preferences are changing. Late night shifts in these companies put off many of the older generations. So the companies look at the young who go to sleep at 3 pm.

The day-night cycle being different in BPO jobs, this can be a long-term proposition for staff if they feel connected to the industry and its impact. Younger staff are not so much worried about night shift as they are about the need for a higher education. “Everybody seeks career growth and are ready to work hard,” says Ashish Garg, Convergys director of recruitment.

It is not that IT companies are not trying as hard to retain people as the people themselves are to further their own growth. Last week Phaneesh Murthy, CEO of iGATE and Patni, spoke of how his companies try to reduce attrition. Responding to a question on lower attrition trends, Murthy said: “…. the resolution on the Patni side is dramatically helping. Plus…. we have started rolling out a number of education and learning opportunities for employees in both companies…. I don’t think there’s any one factor, but ….a combination of all of that and the resolution on the deal. I think all of that is really helping.”

(With inputs from Ritwik Mukherjee in Kolkata, B Krishna Mohan in Hyderabad and Kumar Shankar Roy in New Delhi)

http://educationtimes.com/educationTimes/CMSD/Newsroom/1/201108132011081317071741391567143/Job-Fair-Fares-Well.html

Kolkata: Indian Institute of Job Training (IIJT) received over 224 jobseekers during the job fair at the IIJT Education Centre, which started on August 12, 2011. Four of the participating companies; Rose Valley India, Opaque Solutions, Comantra E Solutions and Intellisys Technologies and Research, made over ten offers on the spot, at the fair.

The objective of this initiative was to help candidates assess themselves for job readiness and build a platform to bring jobseekers and employers together, thereby taking a step ahead in closing the gap between skilled personnel and job opportunities, across industries. With the help of the experienced IIJT faculty and career counselors, the candidates underwent employment evaluation.  

According to Subhankar Bhattacharya, Divisional Head-East at IIJT Education, “It is an effort from IIJT Education Pvt Ltd, a TeamLease group company, to bring employment and employability solutions under one umbrella. This event promises to provide skilled manpower for domains like - Accounts, Banking, InfoTech, Retail and Sales.”

The fair was held over two days, at the IIJT Education – Kolkata Dak Bunglow Plaza, 43 Jessore Road, Kolkata 700124.

http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/measuring-up/445799/

The workplace is changing so is the manner in which corporations assess and reward employeesSayantani Kar / Mumbai August 15, 2011, 0:45 IST

Your colleague walks up to you and hands you a cute little red badge. You look up quizzically, and she says, “You did a swell job on that presentation. Made it so much easier for us to convince the client.” You recall the informal kudos you got after the presentation, only she was not even part of the team.

Not many of us are familiar with appreciation in this form. Feedback about our work is mostly restricted to our immediate team members and our supervisors; it comes in the form of appraisals once, or at best, twice a year. Some companies are changing that. Their performance management processes are reaching beyond KRAs (key result areas). Case in point Viacom18’s Red Ant awards, named after one of nature’s most fiery and industrious creatures. Its employees can walk up and present these tiny badges to anyone in the office — a colleague, a senior, a subordinate or even someone in another department.

Not just a 360-degree feedback system, companies are also trying to put a finger on that elusive emotional quotient that really separates the men, or women if you insist, from the boys and girls. All in an effort to make the feedback system fair and motivating.

Like many changes that India has leapfrogged, the whole process of appraisals is undergoing a serious rethink across organisations. Sangeeta Lala, vice-president, TeamLease, says, “Traditionally, companies have been target oriented and that is what their performance assessments have focused on. Now, with a large part of the industry shifting focus to services, appraisals are undergoing a change. A 360-degree feedback system with inputs from stakeholders such as customers is being weaved into appraisals.”

Performance appraisals, as they say, are only as good as your ability to give feedback to your employees. So while the formal assessment process is not being scrapped, companies are taking to mentoring and exchanging feedback and adjusting progress plans more frequently. Hastha Krishnan, president and director, Ma Foi Randstad, says, “Informal quarterly feedbacks maintain spontaneity without leading to chaos in a company.” While in ad agencies such as Ogilvy & Mather, feedback comes in as and when there are interactions with clients or consumers, at manufacturing and FMCG companies such as Maruti Suzuki and GlaxoSmithKline, it is a monthly or a quarterly process.

Helping them on is their move to take performance management, at least the tedious paperwork, online. Arun Sehgal, executive vice-president, human resources, GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare (GSKCH), says, “At GSKCH, performance and development planning is a continuous process. There are regular checks and balances for transparency. It ensures conversations, which are timely and open, between managers and their teams. The input is not just based on the manager’s assessment but also on that of other stakeholders such as consumers and people with whom one interacts at work.”

Viacom18 has recently taken the whole feedback and appraisal process online to make it more constructive. SBI too is taking its employee-mapping process online to make the task of identifying the right person for the right job easier. But Abhinav Chopra, vice-president, human resources, Viacom18, warns, “Appraisals are just one part of performance measurement. They can’t answer all your questions.”

Businesses are becoming more flexible in the functional parameters they assess every year. They are tying them up with the company’s goal for the year. At Maruti, the business plan, once drawn up, is conveyed to the functional heads who then set goals for managers, according to SY Siddiqui, managing executive officer, administration, HR, finance & IT, Maruti Suzuki.

On its part, Viacom18, emphasises targets based on the business environment — when inventory spots are not going full, the target and hence assessment of the sales team would be based on filling the spots like it happened during the recent downturn and in the company’s early years. Once the ads started streaming in, the goal changed to media innovation and yield per spot. SBI too alters the quantitative assessment according to what the management decides to focus on that year. Arundhati Bhattacharya, corporate development officer and deputy managing director , SBI, says, “Earlier, profit growth would be the sole focus; now there are several others. We put a lot of emphasis on non-performing asset follow-ups and recovery, and encourage alternate channel usage. ”

Soft corner
Employers are rapidly subscribing to the need of emotional intelligence, popularly referred to as soft skills, especially in their team leaders. As a result, appraisal processes are also being redesigned to turn them from a passing reference into a parameter for scoring. Sehgal of GSKCH says, “Given today’s dynamic business environment, even when hard objectives are not met, the leadership characteristics an individual displays during a crisis are taken into account. It is more about ‘how’ to achieve rather than ‘what’ to achieve.”

Viacom18 has recently built in four traits into its performance requirement of all employees — a creative bent, business application (not acumen, points out Chopra), adaptability (developing a product can trigger chaos and pressure, says Chopra, and the employee has to thrive in it) and a bias for action (getting things done rather than brood over a hurdle). These will act as filters in all its performance management processes including hiring new talent. “It gives development a new direction,” adds Chopra.

Agrees Navin Talreja, managing partner (Mumbai), Ogilvy & Mather, “Lately, we have started putting a lot of value on emotional maturity. We work in a high stress environment, with varying opinions because it is a creative organisation. For a person to align all the views and manage conflict and finally go out and handle the client, requires a lot of empathy. We don’t do it through any scores but the strength of relationships is a parameter that we judge.” Functional criteria for those at Ogilvy include revenue for account executives, awards won for creatives, proprietary studies for strategic planning members.

Bhattacharya notes for SBI, a PSU, “Soft skills earlier had to be assessed in a subjective manner. In the last two years, we have started providing keys. Such competencies are measured through behavioural cues for rating. We measure initiative, team building, customer awareness. Teamwork would just be described earlier by a ‘very good’; now we see whether an employee has expanded her area beyond a particular role, has been able to solve problems, how much time is taken to pinpoint problems, allowing team members to perform better.”

Manufacturing companies are stirring in some change as well. For example, Maruti Suzuki has come a long way from the confidential report system it had earlier. Over the last two-three years, the company has developed a set of behavioural competencies that need to be measured. “Forty per cent weight is given to innovation, flexibility, networking skills and speed, while 60 per cent is reserved for traditional functional competencies,” says Siddiqui. Rather than pay lip-service to innovation, the company expects a minimum of one suggestion from each employee every month. Till now, such suggestions have helped the company save Rs 147 crore in operations.

Today, it has an online two-way appraisal process which takes into account customer orientation and peer assessment, according to Siddiqui. He adds, “Peer assessment helps in ensuring objectivity in the process because it identifies inconsistencies.” The quarterly performance reviews don’t translate into monetary rewards but into gestures such as free movie tickets or mentoring where needed. Feedback is not restricted to the formal appraisals. Daily meetings and monthly interdepartment meetings keep a tab on performance of the different team members.

Objectivity is topmost on Google’s agenda. Since its inception, Google has been known to encourage open and flexible workplaces. Its two-way feedback which is ploughed into the performance reviews is calibrated on a global scale. Managers across functions and offices have a visibility of their team and others’ performance to compare their ratings. “The discussion among the group of managers ensures that calibration of performance is not done in isolation but is consistent across the organisation,” says Sunil Malik, HR head (sales), Google India.

Conversations and coaching help motivate employees. Like a lot of companies, Google too introduced anonymous feedback on managers by their teams about a year ago which are incorporated in the manager’s performance review. However, for organisations of the scale of SBI, trying a two-way feedback is a challenge, points out Bhattacharya. “We had piloted with a small group of people but we are not taking it forward. It is an annual appraisal for us. We are trying to make it half-yearly and the feedback is expected to be sent to the reportee.”

Open to change
Workplaces are embracing the concepts of flexi-timing and work-from-home, and we are not talking only about IT companies. Sehgal of GSKCH says, “The age-old beliefs of performance being linked to how long a person stays in office everyday have been thrown out of the window. We encourage employees to give equal emphasis to their personal goals. We employ people who are in various stages of their lives and careers and give them the chance to manage the requirements of these stages. The performance objectives are calibrated accordingly, with the challenges in mind.”

In organisations where this is not institutionalised, there is an informal system in place wherein a marketing executive or an accounts manager, for instance, can work from home on days she has a client meeting far away from the office or near her place of residence. Customer-facing businesses still require a person to show up at the counter on time.

Then there is also the issue of managing expats. At Maruti Suzuki, for example, the Japanese expats are appraised by their superiors based in Suzuki headquarters, bypassing any uncomfortable mismatch in expectations. At other places, Lala of TeamLease points out, inter-cultural sessions to sensitise both parties come in handy.

Chopra at Viacom18 has also worked on linking performance appraisal with rewards in a seamless process. “Employees can now calculate their own bonus from the ratings they have got. It has got a clear line of sight from what she does, how she is assessed to how she is rewarded. There are no ambiguities,” adds Chopra.

Increments and monetary benefits are increasingly being seen as one of many ways to reward employees in performance management schemes. Development in a non-threatening way is also on the rewards list at companies. Viacom18 sponsors training and education and contact programmes through its learning academy called Bodhi Tree. Ogilvy too encourages its employees to make themselves redundant in their jobs by handing the reins to the next set of stars.

Sehgal points out that at GSKCH, “Employees are expected to take ownership of driving their development objectives to move to leadership roles. While the organisation and manager will provide the resources and support, the onus lies on the employee. This is a departure from the erstwhile mindset of expecting the organisation to tell an individual what she needs to do.” The company also sets different development objectives. According to these, 70 per cent of the employee’s development is through on-the-job training, 20 per cent through mentoring and 10 per cent through formal learning interventions. At SBI, the possibility of the clerical staff to move up the ranks and become an officer has increased. Bhattacharya points out, “Apart from increase in scope, there is also the chance of working across functions.”

Performance appraisers face a lot of challenges, not least of them is the mindset of employees. Some resist setting down tangible measures for hitherto unmapped competencies while others worry about the system being somewhat subjective. While companies are already addressing these, there is also the new challenge of breaking the bad news to employees — there would be no rewards a particular year. Transparency regarding the company’s business expectations is the key, says Krishnan, while Lala adds that reaching down the value chain is what will carry the employees along.



HOW TO CONDUCT A COMPENSATION ANALYSIS
The basis for a good appraisal system is to have a well-defined job. The starting point is to ensure that the job description and key result areas — KRAs as they are commonly referred to — are well laid out at the start of the evaluation period for the employee or team. And this needs to happen early on so the employee is completely aware of the areas which are likely to affect her year-end feedback process.

The typical key elements of the appraisal process include:

* Measurement, that is, comparing target objectives to actual achievement. Objectives should be divided into organisation, team and individual objectives.

* Feedback on the individual’s performance.

* Reinforcement on what has been well done versus not well done.

* Exchange of feedback on how performance can be improved.

* Agreement for the future.

It is not a good idea for managers to wait till the end of the year to evaluate their teams. Here are some suggestions for a sound appraisal process and for tackling the most common challenges:

* Assessment of actual performance: Focus on actual productivity, output, quality and other defined parameters than on personal traits. For instance, a project output than the flexi-timing options of a team member.

* Data-based assessment: Feedback and evaluation need to be based on data, not perceptions.

* Continuous feedback: One of the goals of an appraisal is to help identify and improve performance-related gaps; hence doing this only at the end of the year may mean nothing if the employee sees this as a do-or-die situation and walks out of the door.

* Integration into an overall career path: The appraisal process outcome needs to show the employee a career path to improvement.

* Focus across performers: An appraisal should be across performing and non-performing employees; in fact, it should capture the highlights of the best performers to set an example for the rest of the team.

* Address diversity: With companies going global and employing people across cultures, languages and backgrounds, appraisals need to tackle diversities at the workplace.

* Make it a two-way street: Create an environment so the appraisee is open to sharing feedback instead of being intimidated by the manager’s stance.

* Coincide with actual project or business deadlines and before the next cycle for maximum impact.

* Owning the people and process: Often the manager in a large team may not be fully aware of all her direct reports, their strengths and weaknesses, and highs and lows. Ownership of a team can be the key to avoiding favouritism; it also helps reach out to the team members on a continuous basis.

The author is vice-president, TeamLease Services

http://educationtimes.com/educationTimes/CMSD/Newsroom/1/20110810201108101537261189e908cc3/Vocational-Training-Fair.html

Kolkata: Indian Institute of Job Training (IIJT), a vocational training provider, is holding a job fair for the youth of the city, and promises good job opportunities in top companies. The event is scheduled for August 12 from 10 am to 5 pm. The job fair would be held at IIJT Education, Dak Bunglow Plaza, 43 Jessore Road, Kolkata - 700 124.

More than 250 vacancies are available for plus two candidates and fresh graduates. Companies like Rose Valley India, Opaque Solutions, Comantra E Solutions, etc are participating in the day-long fair. IIJT also provides training to candidates in soft skills, post an assessment test. This allows the candidate to ensure he or she makes the best of the opportunity.

IIJT has been conducting job fairs across several cities over the past few months and has got extremely good responses from candidates and participating companies. For Job Fair registrations and details contact: 9836861260 or call toll free number 18002666777 

http://www.educationnewsindia.com/2011/08/teamlease-iijt-offer-employment.html

Mumbai, Maharashtra -- TeamLease Services, India's largest staffing solutions company and Indian Institute of Job Training (IIJT), India's fastest growing vocational skills training company organized a job fair for youth in Nagpur today. The job fair was conducted with an aim to connect job aspirants with employers, assessment counselors and training professionals. Top companies like A'XYKno Capital Services Ltd, VASAVA GROUP, Café Coffee Day, Ankur Seeds Pvt. Ltd., Trust Systems & Software (I) Pvt. Ltd., S.M. Wireless Solutions (P) Ltd. participated in the day long job fair. 

The job fair drew around 250 candidates and major openings were seen in sectors like Sales & Marketing, IT, Human Resource. Around 60 candidates were shortlisted and 15 candidates were provided spot offer letters. 

Candidates were taken through assessment and employability evaluation conducted by TeamLease and IIJT counsellors. Based on assessment tests results, IIJT counsellors suggested requirements of necessary vocational skills training to the candidates. 

According to Mr. Babul Soumen Saha, Divisional Head -West, IIJT Education, According to Babul Soumen Saha, Divisional Head-West, IIJT, "Unemployment and un-employability are the two major issues in our country. An integrated approach, adopted by such initiatives that bring together job seekers and employers to link the demand and supply of manpower will certainly help bridge this gap." 

"The IIJT job fair generated more than 250 walk-ins and 15 students were offered spot jobs. The unique feature of IIJT job fair is to synchronize candidate profiles and match with actual job profile. We ensured that students who meet the criteria pertaining to job profile only attend the interview so that there are fewer disappointed students, hence we conducted a pre registration drive to filter students, so that the best qualified candidates get a chance to be interviewed and employed "added Babul Soumen Saha, Divisional Head-West, IIJT 

Notes to Editor 

About TeamLease 

TeamLease Services (TeamLease™) is India's largest staffing solutions company and has been spearheading the Temporary Staffing revolution in India for more than seven years now. In this short span of time, TeamLease has deployed more than half a million candidates, and in doing so, it has emerged as one of India's largest private sector employers. The company currently has over 65,000 employees on its rolls, in over 700 locations across the country, working for more than 1,200 clients. In a recent acquisition, TeamLease has acquired a substantial majority stake in the Indian Institute of Job Training (IIJT). 

About IIJT 

Indian Institute of Job Training [IIJT] is one of India's largest and leading vocational training providers with a capacity of over 1 lakh concurrent students in courses. Started in 2006, IIJT is the fastest growing educational brand in the country with over 120 centers across the country. IIJT offers short term and long term courses in the areas of Finance, Information Technology, Retail and Sales & Marketing. The TeamLease and IIJT strategic alliance aims to help bridge the employability gap and support the industry's demand for skilled manpower.

http://www.newspolitan.com/india/business/2011/08/07/india-pr-wire-TeamLease-IIJT-offer-employment-opportunities-to-over-250-youth-in-Nagpur-Job-Fair

Continuing series initiatives to enhance employability in India Mumbai, Maharashtra, August 6, 2011 // -- TeamLease Services, India's largest staffing solutions company and Indian Institute of Job Training (IIJT), India's fastest growing vocational skills training company organized a job fair for youth in Nagpur today. The job fair was conducted with an aim to connect job aspirants with employers, assessment counselors and training professionals.

NEW JOB: A training session at Mangalore’s new employment exchange. Karnataka has tied up with Team-Lease, iRize and Laurus Edutech to modernise its employment exchanges (BW Pic By Dayanand Kukkaje)

Most readers of this magazine will not be familiar with this institution. Spread through the nation’s 612 districts across 28 states and seven Union Territories, there are 969 registries you could go to and plunk your name and detail down if you are looking for a job. Fuddy-duddy though they might be, the government-run employment exchanges have over 40 million people looking for work registered with them —from rural to urban India. 

Official estimates show that in 2012, India will have to create over 51 million jobs. One would think that given the number of people registered with the exchanges, meeting the demand should be a lot easier than it is. But in 2010, these exchanges filled in a little over 500,000 jobs. Because they are government-run, most of these jobs were in the government or quasi-government sector. Privately owned businesses — where most new jobs are — do not use these repositories of potential employees.

One reason could be that employment exchanges do not have the kind of people firms may wish to employ. Second, labour is on the concurrent list — meaning both central and state governments can establish labour policies and enact legislation for job creation. All too often, the two levels of government do not act in sync. Third, while the potential employment pool at the exchanges is large, the people on the lists may not have the requisite skill sets that potential employers are looking for.

For India to maintain its current pace of growth, millions of jobs have to be created each year. Given the country’s demographics —there are more than 200 million people in the working age group of 18-59 years of age, with millions being added each year — the urgency to modernise and make the employment exchange system effective cannot be emphasised enough. Is anything being done?

From Slow And Unsteady...
In his July 2009 budget speech, finance minister Pranab Mukherjee announced a plan for modernising employment exchanges. At a meeting of labour commissioners from all over the country held in June this year, the urgency of modernising employment exchanges across the country was again emphasised. “This is the most immediate need — to address the skill gap in various industries,” says Sharda Prasad, director general, employment and training, at the Ministry of Labour and Employment. 

“We discussed a report prepared by Hyderabad-based National Institute of Smart Governance and consulting firm Ernst & Young (EY), which recommended creating a national Web portal that would link all industries with the Industrial Training Institutes and vocational training institutes for effective mobilisation of human resource,” he adds.

The 2009 Union budget earmarked Rs 2,167 crore for the modernisation plan, of which about Rs 1,800 crore would come from the Centre, while the rest would come from states. The project, which will take 22 months to implement, is awaiting approval from expenditure finance committee and the Cabinet, says Prasad.

Over the past four years, Haryana, Orissa, West Bengal and Karnataka have announced modernisation plans to convert these exchanges — a misnomer, because there is no exchange or matching of potential talent with real jobs on the required scale — into efficient job portals. One, Karnataka has come with an approach, the public-private partnership — that seems to be producing some encouraging early results.

...To Leading The Way
The state started off with pilot projects in two districts — Bijapur and Mangalore — with a private partner: TeamLease, a Bangalore-based staffing solutions company. The objective was to get private firms and companies to use the human resources registered at the two exchanges. At Bijapur, only 30 people got jobs in 2010. But in the first six months of 2011, that number has jumped to about 1,200. The Mangalore story is also similar: more than 2,600 jobs in the past 18 months after the centre tied up with TeamLease in early 2010.

So, what exactly did the government and TeamLease do? The first was recognising the ground realities. “The existing employment exchanges act only as repositories and are reactive in approach,” says Vishnukanth Chatpalli, executive director at the Karnataka Vocational Training & Skill Development Corporation, an organisation under the state’s department of labour. “We realised that the employment exchanges have to go beyond a registration centre, and have to be equipped to do assessment, counselling, training and finally employment.”

It has been recognised that there are more jobs in the private sector compared to the public sector, and that competencies are to be tuned to present needs. It was not easy; the exchange acted as repository of candidate data and job openings, but had no system of matching supply with demand. There was not attempt to match job requirements with candidate skill descriptions. Mismanagement was rampant. 

http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2011-07-30/news/29833194_1_permanent-job-temp-job-security

NEW DELHI: Many Indians are quitting permanent jobs to move into more attractive temporary roles. As many as 15% new recruits of temp staffing firm Teamlease are permanent employees switching to temp jobs, company officials say. Adecco India, another such firm, also says the trend is catching on. The development suggests that for the first time, the Indian workforce is putting opportunity ahead of security. The carrots - better career profile, money and organisation brand.

Ruchika Upneja, 26, is a financial analyst at Microsoft's corporate office in Gurgaon. Four months ago, she quit her permanent job at an Indian manufacturing company to move into this temp job that is "a better opportunity in terms of career profile, money and brand". Upneja says she has three years of experience and perhaps it will take her another three years to reach some kind of a leadership role. "It hardly matters to me whether it is a temp or permanent job. My objective is two-fold - a good profile and building my CV."

Adecco has placed permanent employees from banking MNCs, consulting and tax credit companies, and software services firms into temp roles. While the company did not divulge names, it said employees are placed at various levels - from software testing to project managers, senior analysts and director (technology).

"A shift such as this can give the employee exposure to new growth areas, experience of working on cutting-edge technology and an opportunity to get absorbed as a permanent employee eventually," says Sudhakar Balakrishnan, managing director & CEO of Adecco India. In most cases, employees get a higher pay packet for shifting, but that does not seem to be the biggest incentive.

A permanent job holds the promise of security, but employees are rising above that as they now believe they have 'employment security'. They are confident that after an exit -- voluntarily or forced -- they can get the next job easily. This was not the case earlier.

Also, young employees in India have a higher risk appetite in terms of job movement. What exactly do employees lose when they leave permanent jobs? Nothing much, it seems.