'Workforce needs to be spruced up'

NEW DELHI: Hewitt Associates, a provider of HR outsourcing and consulting services, on Wednesday recommended creation of a nodal agency for workforce development in India, to align the education system with the skill requirements of the industry. This would enable India to fully capitalise on the growing opportunities in the global offshoring services space.

“With nations such as the US, the UK, Japan and Singapore witnessing change in demographies, fuelled by an expanding ageing population, India is uniquely positioned to meet the shortfall of service professionals, particularly in the software and BPO sectors. However, the challenge is to improve the employability of our workforce to meet this surge in demand,” Anupam Prakash, Asia lead, global sourcing and business transformation, Hewitt Associates, said on the sidelines of a Hewitt-Nasscom summit.

While India is strongly positioned to cater to the global services requirements, the challenge lies in transforming the raw talent supply into employable pool. “Of the three million graduates that India produces, only about 15% are hireable,” he said.

Hewitt has sought a comprehensive futuristic talent development plan for the country, across industry sectors. “Understanding the skill requirements of all high growth and high priority industries and the skill gaps they are experiencing for entry level talent, will be key to tapping opportunities,” Mr Prakash said.