Employers conundrum of employability

Isn’t it surprising that we in India have the largest pool of to-be employed people and still organizations are screaming that there is a huge shortage of talent in the marketplace? So, what is the missing link? The missing link is “Employability Skills”

Employability Skills, are specific conceptualisations of what are known more broadly as generic skills. They are also referred to as generic capabilities, enabling skills or even key skills. These are the skills, attitudes and actions that enable workers to get along with their fellow workers and supervisors and to make sound, critical decisions. Unlike occupational or technical skills, employability skills are generic in nature rather than job specific and cut across all industry types, business sizes.

If we were to simplify the definitions employability skills can be broadly divided into three simple categories, namely: (a) basic skills, (b) higher-order thinking skills and (c) personal qualities.

•       Basic skills are still essential for high job performance. Ideally, new hires will have the ability and will want to learn. They also need the ability to listen to and read instructions and then to carry out those instructions.

•       Higher-order thinking skills are the skills that enable ability to think, reason, and make sound decisions and are also crucial for employees desiring to do well and advance. 

If basic skills and higher order thinking skills are so important, why then are employers deeply concerned with personal skills? Because in most jobs, it is difficult to utilize workers effectively who lack personal skills. Entry-level employees with good personal skills have confidence in themselves and deal with others honestly and openly, displaying respect for themselves, their co-workers, and their supervisors regardless of other people’s diversity and individual differences. Rather than blaming others when things go wrong, they are accountable for their actions.  

Failure to equip young people with the employability skills / job readiness skills critical to job success is equivalent to placing employability barriers in their path. Hence, even though there is a pool of people waiting to be employed, on one hand, and plenty of jobs which needs to be filled on the other… the twain has to meet.