EDUCATION AND SKILL REQUIREMENTS: A STUDY OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY INDUSTRY IN BANGALORE

EDUCATION AND SKILL REQUIREMENTS: A STUDY OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY INDUSTRY IN BANGALORE

India is passing through the crucial phase of demographic transition wherein a majority of its population is in the working age, giving India a never before opportunity to cash in on a huge demographic dividend. This brings spotlight on the human capital benefits that can accrue as a result of this phase with 54% of Indias 1.2 billion population under the age of 25. It is highly imperative for India to cash in on this critical phase through the creation and capitalization of knowledge, competency and the skill base of its people or the Human Capital and pave the way for faster economic growth and development of its economy. The study takes in to consideration the Information Technology industry, wherein Indias prowess has been widely celebrated with Indian software engineers doing exceedingly well and there has been an apparent unstoppable outflow of jobs to India from U.S and Europe. India has become the undisputed global hub for outsourcing and technology mediated work. This has been possible primarily because of the rich pool of technically proficient English speaking workforce with superior logical and reasoning skills. One of the prime reasons for this has been the vast network of academic infrastructure in India churning out more than 500,000 technical graduates annually (NASSCOM, 2012). But multiple surveys by NASSCOM and CII have shown severe gap between employment and employability of technical graduates with only 25% of technical graduates suitable for employment, the rest lacking in skills which the industry wants. In order to solve this paradox, the study was initiated to examine the skill requirements of new recruits in the IT sector. It aims at bringing about the differences, if any between the perception of academia and the industry on the importance of specific skill sets for new IT recruits. The study also explores if there is any disconnect between what the industry perceives to be the available skill sets among the new IT recruits and what the academia perceives to have imparted in terms of those skill sets to their students. In order to capture the perception of the academia and the industry, the study takes in to account their responses on a five-point likert scale on the desired level and actual level of proficiency of new IT recruits on technical, business, interpersonal and management skills. The study found that there were significant differences in the perception of IT Managers and Academicians on the desired level of proficiency of new IT recruits in 4 out of 7 skill sets analyzed, which were Interpersonal and Management Skills, Emerging Technologies Skills, IT Infrastructure Skills and Critical Thinking and Problem Solving Skills. IT Managers and Academicians differed in their views on the actual level of proficiency of new IT recruits too, as significant differences were found in their responses to 5 out of the 7 skill sets which were Interpersonal and Management Skills, Emerging Technologies Skills, Technical Management Skills, IT Infrastructure Skills and Critical Thinking and Problem Solving Skills. It surely does call for an active and productive partnership between the industry and the academia through meaningful communication, coordination and rigorous steps to bridge the gap and eventually to sustain and strengthen the inherent advantage that India has in the field of Information Technology.

M .Usha

Economics