Employability amongst fresh talent has increased significantly in the past few years and is likely to rise to 45.6 per cent this year, led by key domains such as engineering, B Pharm and MCA, says a report. According to the India Skills Report 2018, the percentage of employable population is likely to increase to 45.6 per cent this year, from 33 per cent in 2014.

The report noted that focused vocational courses were creating more job ready candidates than generic courses. Moreover, those courses were fairing better in terms of employability, where practical experience and internships had been made part of the formal course content. “It is great to see that while employability on the supply side is improving, organisations too are gearing up to create more jobs after subdued job-market activity in 2017,” said Pankaj Bansal, co-founder and CEO of PeopleStrong.

Bansal further said “a lot of effort is needed both on the talent supply and the demand side to ensure we complete this phase with flying colours. What is reassuring is that our analytics show we are definitely on the right track”. The report is a joint initiative of the HR solutions and technology company PeopleStrong and talent assessment firm Wheebox, in collaboration with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

The report, however, noted that there has been a drop in employability amongst MBA graduates due largely to an exponential increase in the number of MBA colleges, following which the quality of talent has dropped. “Government efforts towards skill development is paving the way for quality hiring. Moreover, efforts from the government and institutions are showing results now,” said Nirmal Singh, Founder and CEO, Wheebox.

The report was backed by partners such as Pearson, the United Nations Development Programme, AICTE, AIU and various state governments. It captured insights from the largest employability test conducted across 5,200 universities and professional institutions in India.

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