Nasscom for filling talent gaps

New Delhi, May 1 (UNI) NASSCOM has identified a gap of half-a-million between the demand and availability of trained manpower for the IT (Information Technology) industry.

''We need to take steps like expanding the network for assessment to reach out to smaller cities and fixing a benchmark for assessment of skilled workers for the IT sector so that India's IT sector can keep growing in leaps and bounds,'' NASSCOM president Kiran Karnik said today.

Speaking at the inauguration of the Delhi merit assement zone of MeriTrack, a major skills assessment company, he said that the assessment tool must be so designed that it reaches out to all talent pools of the country and the benchmarks need to be raised so that people with proper skills can be recruited.

Mr Karnik stressed that there is an ardent necessity to improve basic communication skills. ''Our system of education does not encourage development of communication skills. Rarely are we required to communicate. We are only expected to take notes in class. The result is that while we produce the best of technical brains, when required to explain the technicalities to the customers or even to the board room, they fail miserably,'' he said.

He explained that communication skills did not only mean accent improvement but also parameters like articulation, assertiveness and confidence.

''Ours is a huge country and there are several pockets of talent pools in different regions. Assesment tools or testing methods should be so developed that anybody anywhere can take the tests and there is a degree of equity in the assessment process. For example if there is a potential worker from the North East he should be able to access the testing process with ease,'' he added.

UNI ARB MP KN1616