Why Are Indian Students Lacking Job-specific Skills? How Can They Enhance The Same?

Half the engineers who graduate out of the country do not have the skill set required to get a job in the industry. In spite of the huge volume of students waiting to prefix “Dr” before their name, the nation still suffers from a severe dearth of healthcare professionals (this is particularly true in view of rural India).

Thus, what we understand from all of this is the fact that there must be something lacking in the education system of the country. Clearly, if a good number of students is faring well in academics (and no one can deny the fact that India has one of the greatest competitions in terms of academics), there is nothing wrong with the quality of students here.

Why Do Indian Students Lack Job-specific Skills?

The main reason for this may be attributed to the obsession Indians have with marks. Such is the society here that there is immense pressure on the student to score good grades.

Often students are so busy scoring grades that they opt for things like rote learning. Thus, they do not really have a firm understanding of the concepts and this becomes a major concern when they enter the job market.

Another factor that is to be noted here is that the Indian education system focuses on I more than we. Thus, even with students who are technically sound, there is often a dearth of interpersonal skills and they end up being very bad in team work, which is the most vital job skill.

How To Enhance Your Job Skills?

• Work On Your Communication Skills

As Indians, we are non-native speakers of English and this is not the first language that we learn. However, in the global scene, English is the language of communication and it is very important for us to be able to communicate with other people in this language.

Here, by communication we refer to both verbal and written communication.

• Interpersonal Skills

During your college life you could have survived by staying in your closed bubble. Listening to your teachers would have got you all those marks that you needed to thrive. However, the actual job scene is very different from that.

Here you need to collaborate with others to arrive at a substantial result and make the project work. Thus, one of the first things that you can do to enhance your job skills is to work on your interpersonal skills.

• Self-confidence

It is important to realise that if you do not have faith in your abilities no one else will. Thus, have faith in yourself (and in all that you have studied over the years) and know that you can do it. If you are having some difficulty with this, take some time out and convince yourself that you do have what it takes. Only when you are absolutely sure that you can do something will you be able to convince a prospective employer about your worth.

• Planning Skills

Any type of job involves organisation and time management (this may be personal time management or that at the organisational level). Thus, it is a good practise and inculcates the habit of planning right from your college days itself. Now that you are no longer a kid, set small goals and for each of them set out personal deadlines.

Try your level best to stick to the deadlines. This small habit of yours will go a long way in teaching you how to prioritise your work and improve your time management skills.

• Flexibility

During your childhood you might have pictured a world where there will be no one telling you what to do and you will be your own boss when you work. However, now that you are an employable adult, it is time that you break that bubble and understand the importance of flexibility.

As a new hire, you should be open to things like variable work timings, relocation and even change of domain if need be. If at the entry level you are too rigid about what you want, you may end up not getting a job at all.

• Analytical And Research Skills

When an issue is given to you, you must not be over excited to jump to a conclusion. Rather, you must take time and analyse the situation and, if possible, arrive at multiple options. Once you have multiple solutions at hand, you can then analyse which option is the best in a particular case.

To be able to do this, you must have done your research well. This sort of a skill will not just make you a more mature human being but will also pave the way for you to be ready and in demand in the job market.

• Donning Multiple Hats

The Indian education system is such that it has made people believe that if they are specialised in a particular field or domain that is what the field we must work in. However, as a student it is important for you to realise that this may not always happen.

In the future you may need to work on something that is not what you studied. Thus, one of the best ways in which you can prepare yourself for the world of jobs would be by accepting that you may need to do something totally different from what you are studying now and in the process learning anything and everything that comes your way.