The placement season is stressful not only for graduating students, but also recruiters. Most of the time, the outcomes of placement exercises are not entirely satisfactory for both parties. Students don’t always get a job profile matching their educational skills and preferences. Recruiters find it difficult to bring on board candidates whose skills match job requirements, as the education system in our country hardly matches strides with the industry where the shelf life of skill-sets are shrinking. In this scenario, pre-employment training proves indispensable for both job-seeking candidates and employers. Pre-employment training helps students gain the skills, experience and confidence they need to begin their career on a bold and positive note. Besides that, it helps these candidates become familiar with their prospective work environment.
The definition
What is pre-employment training? In fact, it would be better to first find out what it is not. Pre-employment training should not be confused with the three-month probationary training programme offered by many companies.
Such a training programme follows recruitment. In contrast, pre-employment training involves the development of employability skills and knowledge in prospective employees.
The skills include communication, teamwork, problem-solving, planning and initiative. As far as knowledge goes, it has to do with the company and the industry it operates within.
The process
How does it work? To many, pre-employment training might seem like college all over again, but it essentially takes the form of a series of courses that have to be completed along with some practical work.
At the end of this is a qualification certificate and in most cases, employment. The design of pre-employment training modules depends on the industry and the specific skills required to enter it. The training is geared towards developing skills sets that are not exercised through education provided at colleges.
Alternative careers
In certain industries, pre-employment training opens up the possibility of alternative careers for graduates. It also helps increase awareness about specific job-related skills within a specific industry that can lead to a lucrative alternative career. However, there is no specific course to develop these skills at college and beyond.
Medical coding is a classic example. It makes for an alternative career, high employability potential and is of great demand in India. Unfortunately though, it is still a skill that no ordinary graduate is generally aware of, let alone possess. In such cases, a period of training in medical coding could not only equip graduates with an entirely new skill, but also increase their employability potential.
Proven advantages
The expense of training potential employees and the increasing tendency of those trained to go job-hopping, have led many employers to see such training programmes in a less than favourable light.
However, a survey conducted by CareerBuilder among employers, job seekers and academicians showed that 49% of employers say job-specific skills were in short supply and 35% of the employers attributed the skills gap in their organisations to job requirements that were many notches above entry-level requirements. As a response to this, 73% of academics felt that companies with more on-the-job training would receive more applicants.
Apart from its proven benefits to employers and employees, pre-employment training would go a long way in addressing the existing socio-economic divide in India in terms of lack of employment opportunities for people in small towns.
( Julius Raj Stephen is Senior Vice-President, Operations at Omega Healthcare Management Services Pvt. Ltd. )
