Jobs for Graduates: Easier to find water in a desert

The Barren Desert
Here are two statements from an article that appeared in The Times of India on 2 August, 2014:

• Half of B-school seats go empty
• Students who refused seats have cited poor placement and high fees as two of the prime reasons for their lack of interest.

Industry, in turn, has cited that candidates are simply not job ready.

I am perplexed. After all, education is meant to prepare you for tomorrow’s responsibilities. Isn’t it? That is B-schools as well as engineering colleges.

The Mirage

In my research with industry I have found that organization after organization is clear that the job of a manager is to solve problems. Not the fire fighting problems, but real problems that benefit the top line and reduce the wasteful costs!! In other words, problem solving that improves the health of an organization.

Industry claims that candidates lack problem solving skills. Consequently, decision making skills. As a result, poor placement.

Is problem solving a soft skill or a hard skill? The answer is both.

Problem solving involves structured left-brain thinking for logical solutions; as well as creative right-brain thinking for innovative solutions.

Further, problem solving that reaps financial results is not the job of an individual. It is achieved by carefully selected cross-functional teams.

Therefore, in my opinion, problem solving training should include: the structured methodology; quality improvement tools; creativity tools; and team work.

Problem solving training prepares candidates for today’s responsibilities. QED.

The Oasis

Who should impart this training? Should it be B-schools as an integral part of the two year program? Or industry as part of their respective induction programs?

Theoretically, it can be either. But if one were to do joint-costing for this training, the cap clearly fits B-schools. The cost of induction training is much too high for industry.

If B-schools were to include problem solving training as a compulsory subject, they would certainly improve the job readiness of candidates. They would also not suffer “Half the B-school seats go empty”.

It is a no brainer that large organizations from the Tata Group, Aditya Birla Group, Reliance Industries, Mahindra Group, L&T, Vedanta Group, Godrej Group, and many more would be delighted to consider such job ready candidates with competitive offers. A true Win-Win-Win for candidates, B-schools, and industry.

This is a choice for B-schools…..with no option!

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