Indian Engineers Face Corporate Learning Challenges

EBN Online | Hailey Lynne McKeefry, Editor in Chief |  7/20/2018 |

As India continues to evolve as a bastion of electronics manufacturing, the country is scrambling to train its engineers for the evolving challenges. It will likely be a challenge going forward. The Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) recently tried to quantify the current status and the challenges going forward.  By the end of year 2020, India is expected to become the fifth largest manufacturing country in the world, according to the Global Manufacturing Competitiveness Index published by Deloitte.  A number of high-tech manufacturers, including GE, Siemens, HTC, Toshiba, and Boeing,  have either set up or are in process of setting up manufacturing plants in India. The growth is being encouraged by government programs including the Make in India initiative launched by Narendra Modi, prime minister of India to India on the world map as a manufacturing hub and give global recognition to the Indian economy.  The IET recently carried out a survey of more than 120 large and mid-sized companies in seven major cities in India, including Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, New Delhi, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Chennai. It looked at a variety of topics including talent gaps, training and development initiatives, decision-making, partnerships with external organizations for training and the future needs of companies.

Shekhar Sanyal, director and country head of the IET, India said:   The IET’s study on corporate training landscape brings to fore some pertinent challenges in the current training landscape. Interestingly, we also find that these challenges are unique to the firm size and priorities. With automation, industry4.0, AI and Blockchain leading the business paradigms, we can’t just stop the conversation at upskilling; neither is upskilling a one-time activity. The only skill that would help organizations and employees excel is ‘ability to un-learn and re-learn.’

The key to successful training is making sure to evolve it to meet the specific needs of both the workers and the demands of the specific market. Sanyal said:    Within the skills dialogue, we also recognize that as providers of training, employers and trainers need to personalize the training module according to the needs of the employees and industry.  Corporate training is no longer a one-size fits all solution. Customized, personalized learning that accounts for each employees’ learning potential, interests as well as skill-aspirations is the need of the hour. We, as an organization, are focused towards helping corporate firms upskill their current work force thereby creating a huge pool of talent in India.

The IET survey highlighted differences between large and mid-sized organizations. For example, while most organizations focus on orientation training, larger organizations are much more likely to offer subsequent training opportunities. Larger companies are also more likely to focus on technical skills development, while mid-sized companies offer soft-skills training more often.  The infographic below from the IET outlines other study findings.  – Courtesy

The infographic from the IET outlines other study findings.