The Hindu Business Line : The transient competencies

In the face of skill shortage, those in a disadvantageous position in the labour market end up bearing the brunt of the shortage by becoming a ready hunting ground. Most importantly, the common man on the street has to contend with poor quality, bad service, delays and high costs.

The constant efforts by organisations to de-skill their jobs
in the interest of keeping wages low and making hiring easier also lead
to employees possessing knowledge which is fragmented and of little value in the long run.

Ganesh Chella

The first part of this article looked at two of the four factors driving the skilled workforce shortage — migration and the vocational education and training gaps.

In this part, I look at two of the less recognised factors influencing skills shortage: The myth of education and the transient competencies.

The myth of education

While it is reasonable to assume that appropriate education aids economic growth, the mere presence of a large number people who have gone to school and college, and hold a certificate or degree does not guarantee progress. To understand why “more education in” does not guarantee “more growth out”, you do not need to look far beyond the 25 lakh graduates including the 4.5 lakh engineering graduates we produce year on year.

The most vocal advocate of reassessing the role of education and its real correlation to economic growth is Alison Wolf who has written a book titled, Does Education Matter. Wolf argues that the mistaken belief about the impact of education on economic growth has led many developing countries, notably in Africa, South-East Asia, and South America, to spend a very great deal of money on education without creating successful economies in the process.

He recommends greater emphasis on quality education at the school level rather than an overemphasis on higher education.

Coming to think of it, what do most of us expect from fresh entrants into the workforce?

We expect them to have the basic intelligences that Dr Howard Gardner, Professor of Education at Harvard University, describes in his multiple intelligence theory – linguistic intelligence or being “word smart”, logical – mathematical intelligence or being “number/reasoning smart”, interpersonal intelligence or being “people smart”, and intrapersonal intelligence or being “self smart”.

It does not take an expert to tell us that all of these are acquired before one leaves school. Learning or teaching any of this much later is a Herculean task.

In other words, it is on this foundation (supposed to be laid by our primary and secondary education) that the superstructure can be built by organisations and individuals.

The sad reality is that organisations are today digging below the superstructure of great degrees and diplomas to strengthen this very foundation much the same way we dig freshly-laid roads to lay cables! Organisations are forced to do this because the new entrants hired by them quite often lack some of these basic intelligences.

In my opinion, if the vast majority in our nation acquired this sound foundation in their basic education, we will have a nation of highly employable people.

Transient competencies

Given all the inadequacies of our educational system, are organisations taking upon themselves the task of training their employees in the critical skills that will make them employable and thereby add to the talent pool? Not always, I must admit.

In fact, George Spafford in his article titled “The Transient Knowledge Trap” (http://itmanagement.earthweb.com/columns/article.php/3633441 ) argues that many organisations train employees purely on transient skills that have a relatively short shelf-life; for example, sending people to focused technology training that may not be needed by the organisation in five years.

While many organisations claim to invest in employee training, what needs to be seen is whether this training is in fundamentals that are of enduring value or are in transient competencies.

For example, one of the charges against BPOs is that the training provided by them makes employees proficient only in a narrow process and seldom gives them an understanding of the big picture, leave alone the fundamentals of the function that he or she is supporting.

The constant efforts by organisations to de-skill their jobs in the interest of keeping wages low and making hiring easier also leads to employees possessing knowledge which is fragmented and of little value in the long-run.

As a result, the person who comes to install your computer knows nothing about the printer and the person who installs your printer driver cannot remove a paper jam.

Employees with transient knowledge and skills cannot claim to be part of the trained workforce of the country in a real sense.

It is for this reason that a large number of young employees leave organisations when they realise they are stuck in a transient rut.

Against this backdrop, when I hear of large corporations partnering with schools and interacting with school children, I am left wondering if they are helping these kids develop the basic intelligences or are creating more transient skills that will serve their specific needs. Maybe our corporations should “leave them kids alone”.

Conclusion

The skills shortage is far more serious than most seem to realise.

While organisations lament about shortages, the young “educated” aspirants do not have access to the abundant opportunities in the labour market. In the face of these shortages, those in a disadvantageous position in the labour market (a smaller company, a less prosperous state or nation) end up bearing the brunt of the shortage by becoming a ready hunting ground.

Most importantly, the common man on the street has to contend with poor quality, bad service, delays and high costs.

While all this is going on, employees with skills make hay while the sun shines and those without the right skills or with transient skills keep moving on constantly in search of organisations that will provide more marketable skills; and organisations get far more aggressive in attracting and protecting their labour pool.

In my mind, if India’s projected rise as a super-power rests on its human capital, skill shortage could well be the show-stopper!

(The author is the founder and CEO of totus consulting, a strategic HR Consulting firm. He is also the co-founder of the Executive & Business Coaching Foundation India Ltd and can be reached at ganesh@totusconsulting.com)

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Skilled workforce shortage: Hard realities

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