'Employers Are Not Looking For Just A Degree'

'The first job you pick up may not be your ultimate dream job.'
'When the situation is no job or any job, my advice will be, pick up any job at the moment.'

'You should use that job as a learning experience.'
'It is easier to find a job when you are working somewhere than when you are sitting at home with no work.'

"Employers want people with soft skills, people who can be put in multiple job roles, people who can adapt to changes in industry and people who can mould themselves as per the changes," Shantanu Rooj, CEO, Teamlease Edtech, tells Rediff.com's Shobha Warrier in the concluding part of a two-part interview.

• Part I of the Interview: 'Industries Are Fairly Bullish About Hiring Freshers'

You have GDP growth, but what you see is jobless growth...

See, unemployment rate in India is hovering around 6% to 8% since 1950 which means that if anybody wants a job, s/he gets the job.

The problem is that s/he doesn't get a job befitting her/his aspirations or the kind of wages that s/he is looking at.

The problem in India is more of under employment than unemployment.

In fact, we, at Teamlease are unable to find people to take up open job roles for many employers. For example, those who prefer international posting like to remain unemployed rather than take up a domestic posting in a local IT company. How do you classify this situation?

I think realisation has to set in that today, employers are looking for not just a degree but whether the person can showcase her/his skills apart from academic prudence.

Even today, employers in India complain that Indian employees are unemployable... What do they lack in?

If you look at the situation from the employer's perspective, they are going through an uncertain period now.

Every employer is uncertain about their future. Nobody can predict what future holds for them five years from now.

Because the future is uncertain, they are not sure what type of people they should hire.

People with great academic degrees are not the people who can walk in through the gate now.

They want people with soft skills, people who can be put in multiple job roles, people who can adapt to changes in industry and people who can mould themselves as per the changes.

When you look at fresh graduates, there is a lot of gap between what the employers are looking for and what the colleges are teaching.

In fact, we have been telling all the colleges to allow the students to do at least a semester of internship and apprenticeship in the industry. On-the-job learning has to be part of the curriculum.

The students have to see the reality of the work field, and only then they actually understand how work happens.

They can amalgamate that experience while learning and it will make the students more employable.

We are working with 100,000 students who are studying for their degrees along with doing apprenticeship with one of the employers we have in our panel. Because of this, they get theoretical knowledge as well as practical hands on knowledge directly from the industry.

So, every student who is graduating now must ensure that they have some sort of practical experience through project work by interning somewhere and picking up hands on experience to make her/him employable.

What is needed is the evidence of continuous learning, beyond the academic curriculum.

What employers look for is whether the person is learning all the time, and whether s/he is trainable.

The focus today is work, and understanding the value of work.

When hiring of fresh graduates is said to be a 20 year low, would you say the students should take up whatever they can grab?

The first job they pick up may not be their ultimate dream job.

When the situation is no job or any job, my advice to them will be, pick up any job at the moment.

You should use that job as a learning experience.

Instead of sitting at home, you will at least be picking up soft skills, if nothing else.

You should remember that it is easier to find a job when you are working somewhere than when you are sitting at home with no work.

Feature Presentation: Rajesh Alva/Rediff.com