And here we are not talking of the problem existing only in the Information Technology sector but in the Life Science sector too. The Indian Biotech industry growing at 38 per cent, and is expected to cross $5 billion by 2010. And a large portion of the talent pool of this burgeoning sector will come from the academia in the coming years.

Focussing on the talent scenario in the Life Science area, a study by Leader Prospects, a Bangalore-based HR consulting firm, found that campus trainees which are below the industry acceptable standards are highly trainable and mouldable. The study proves that with adequate training even students below the 60 per cent category are employable.

Great divide

Examining the qualitative gap that exists in the industry, Leader Prospects conducted the study with two colleges and two batches of students in 2006. The agency carried out an annual orientation programme called ‘Industry Integration Programme’ (IIP) focussing on three aspects:

Technical insights: Getting students acquainted beyond theoretical and syllabi based intelligence.

Industry interface: Students offered adequate industry interaction opportunities.

Soft skills development: Improving areas of personal development keeping in mind the industry specific requirements.

Students were broadly classified into three categories i.e. above average, average and below average. Leader Prospect found that around 70 per cent of students fall in the 'average' category, and the IIP was aimed at taking this category of students and moving them up the value chain.

The programme conducted on a sample size of 25 students from various MSc specialisation courses for the academic year 2006-07 offered: 250 hours of technical training, 150 hours of hands-on-hands laboratory training, 75 hours of soft skills orientation, participation of four Life Science organisations and technical presentations, company presentations, industrial visits and subject matter presentations.

Following the selection process, the students were then assessed on their technical knowledge that is required in the Biotech industry and soft skills focussing on communication, teamwork, logical reasoning et al. The annual programme included technical training where students were trained in basic science and other relevant topics, which are usually taught at the formative years of science education. Besides lectures and discussions, students were also given selected topics for presentation. With efficiency in laboratory techniques being crucial  to the industry, IIP allowed each student to

perform experiments and work on equipments related to techniques such as Basic Microbiology & Recombinant DNA techniques and Immuno techniques.

Training helps

While technical and other domain specific knowledge is essential, soft skills such as communication skills, teamwork and logical reasoning is vital as well. Keeping this in mind, IIP held regular programmes including presentations, group work, discussions and simulation exercises. Students were offered programmes for personality trait identification, goal setting, group dynamics and teamwork among others.

After the completion of the programme, Leader Prospects observed that students who otherwise were in the average category, improved significantly. Fifty per cent of these students moved up into the above average category, whereas the remaining students showed increase in their individual scores.

The IIP increased the score of technical skills in 85 per cent of the students and 60 per cent in soft skills areas. Ten out of 20 students who were identified for the programme scored over the industry acceptable mark of 60 per cent in the technical skills and soft skills.

Through this study, Leader Prospects observed that with the right orientation of technical knowledge, industry interface and soft skills, nearly 50 per cent of the students in the average category and 35 per cent of the overall campus talent could be made industry-ready.

Steps to improve

The study reiterates that with the percentage of hireable campus talent being abysmally low, it is important for the academia and industry to collaborate for increasing the talent pool of the industry.

With academic institutions producing a large portion of the industry talent, industry must articulate their interest and commitment to the academia as a part of their business plans, to increase industry-academia partnerships.

On the other hand the academia should also make the syllabi more industry centric and redefine methods of teaching to make it more effective.