Is it very important to provide training and why? What are the benefits of providing training? What are the costs of training the fresh graduates? These are some of the questions that most companies ask themselves when they are planning to hire new recruits. Although companies prefer graduates who can become productive in quick time and at the same time possess the required knowledge, most graduates do not possess either skill sets. What hurts companies the most is that a majority of the students passing out from the numerous engineering / management institutes lack basic skills such as communication, presentation and the ability to adapt to the dynamic work environment. As the fresh graduates do not possess the necessary practical knowledge, the basic skills and the ability to adapt quickly, a large number of companies that hire them take a lot of time to train them and also have to utilize a lot of resources.
Although there are many solutions to the above stated problems that the hiring parties face, the best solution which companies can utilize effectively is a two pronged approach � Learn and Apply. Under the learning approach, students can train themselves by self learning or through short term courses on the necessary subjects which will be utilized in order to complete the projects at work. With the knowledge gained from these courses, students can also crack interviews and can contribute to live projects soon after joining the companies. While the two pronged approach maybe one of the solutions; companies can also expose the fresh graduates to live projects as another solution which will help them gain applicable skills and knowledge.
Adapting quickly is very beneficial
Companies ideally look for individuals with the ability to quickly learn new methods and technologies, and a willingness to work hard. It is highly advised that the fresh graduates must have a thorough understanding of all aspects mentioned on their resumes which may include projects and internships. In doing so, the graduate is able to instill confidence in the company that he or she will be an asset to the company. Apart from gaining technical skills and project exposure, most corporate entities also look at how these graduates fit with the attitude and values of their organizations. This is also a key aspect as the companies employing these fresh graduates want to retain them as long as possible. It is also done in order to avoid re-hiring alternate candidates and training them again, thus saving a lot of time and resource.
The Various types of Training
While it is true that institutes should work upon their students and ensure that they are industry ready so that they can face any challenge in the corporate world, the companies should also provide them with training which will help them adapt to their jobs faster. Furthermore, companies can offer training programs in two parts � internal training and on-job training.
The Internal training programs comprise of a combination of core technical training, business skill training, orientations, and domain training. Along with internal training programs, companies should also focus heavily on on-the-job training. Experiential learning is also an excellent idea when a company believes in utilizing the concept where fresh graduates are encouraged as new members to contribute from day one. The benefit of the experiential learning concept is that it presents them with an opportunity to perform and learn in a competitive environment while working on live projects. Furthermore, they are able to get a feeling of contribution and belonging to the project and the organization from day one.
Apart from the necessary training required, companies can also utilize an experiential learning environment combined with competitive salary packages which is the best strategy to attract quality fresher talent. In this aspect, companies could also show the graduates that the prime focus is in terms of career development and remuneration. For example, we at hCentive offer enormous career development opportunities along with good salary packages to attract these graduates and ensure that we are able to retain them for as long as possible. While the salary is an important factor to attract freshers, the most coveted aspect of the first job for any fresher is a plethora of learning options.
I feel that it is important that both the academic institutions and the corporate entities need to lead by example to ensure that the skill gap keeps getting smaller and is bridged completely. With the gap bridged completely students will be industry ready and therefore contribute much better to the corporate organizations that they work in.
About the Author:
Manish Garg has more than 15 years of experience in the information technology space. He is currently heading HR, Workforce Management & Planning, Hiring, Administration, Legal Compliance and IT Support for hCentive�s India development centre.
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