The Hindu Business Line : Learning to serve

For very long, one invariable bane of Kerala’s progress in the New Economy has been the lack of “soft skills” in its otherwise edified labour force. Soft skills – as opposed to hard skills, which are the technical requirements of a job – denote the bundle of personality traits, social graces and etiquette, language facility, personal habits and grooming, friendliness, and optimism that embellish people.

Increasingly, organisations around the world – especially those frequently dealing with customers face-to-face – are realising that soft skills can contribute to their success. That is why they train their staff to use or upgrade these skills, apart from seeking out potential employees who boast such skills in addition to standard qualifications.

TOURISM INITIATIVE

Thus it was heartening to hear of the “Let’s Learn” initiative launched last week by Kerala Tourism to upgrade skills in the sector. A first step in human resources (HR) development in the industry, the programme incorporates learning modules for both the hospitality and tour operator sectors. The aim is to polish communication and interpersonal skills, as well as improve the services and operations at all HR levels in the sector.

The Let’s Learn programme is part of ‘Synergy’, a new public-private sector partnership initiative in tourism. The training modules – designed by institutions such as the Kerala Institute of Tourism and Travel Studies (KITTS) and the Institute of Hotel Management and Catering Technology (IHCMT) – include sessions for front office, food and beverage services and guest handling in the hospitality sector, and travel counselling, and sessions for tour executives and senior/middle-level executives in the tour operator sector.

U.S. study

As one of the growth sectors in Kerala’s industrial landscape, tourism will undoubtedly benefit from this attempt to upgrade soft skills. In 1990, the US Department of Labour’s Employment and Training Administration appointed a commission to determine the skills young people need to succeed in the world of work. The commission’s fundamental purpose was to encourage a high-performance economy characterised by high-skill, high-wage employment.

WHAT THEY WANT

Among the top skills employers seek, according to the commission, are courtesy; honesty; reliability; flexibility; team skills; eye contact; cooperation; adaptability; tendency to follow rules; self-direction; good attitude; writing skills; basic spelling and grammar; reading and comprehension (the ability to read and follow instructions); and communication skills with the public, fellow employees, supervisors, and customers. These are skills that cut across sectors and that should be taught early in life.

Thus also cheering was a report that the Pallikkal grama panchayat in Malappuram district has given shape to an innovative English learning programme targeting primary classes in 10 select schools in the panchayat. The project titled “Grama Siksha Abhiyan-2007” will reach out to 900 students of the first standard in the initial phase.

According to The Hindu, K.C. Saidalavi, president of Pallikkal panchayat, said that the panchayat would freely supply an English primer titled ‘My English Book’ prepared by linguist N. Anand. All first standard students would be given the book this year. The project would be expanded to the second standard next year, he said. He added that the project would orient Malayalam-medium primary school students to learn English the modern way. “We will follow up the project in the years to come,” he said, pointing out that it would ultimately cover the entire primary school section in the panchayat.

Perhaps such initiatives could be expanded to cover a larger gamut of soft skills. Catching them young could go some way in inculcating the right aptitude in tomorrow’s generation of entrepreneurs.

According to Carole Nicolaides, President and Executive Coach of Progressive Leadership, “More and more corporations around the world recognise that, in order to gain a competitive advantage, they also need to make sure their people know how to handle themselves at work and how to relate with their customers and peers. Soft skills are the underlying principles that trademark a company for professionalism and customer service.

They play a vital role in customer loyalty. In today’s working environment, instilling the use of soft skills in your team members is something you simply can’t survive without.”

That is the message that Kerala Tourism’s Let’s Learn programme is trying to spread. It is a message worth spreading for the larger good of the industry.

The writer can be contacted at kgkumar@gmail.com

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