Vijay Prakash Srivastava
Those who have been associated with talent management and have had the opportunity to meet, interview or hire rural youth, strongly believe that these youths may not have fluent English speaking skills, But there is no dearth of his passion and hard work. It’s just a matter of getting the opportunity.
Despite all the concerns, there is not much improvement in the availability of employment in the country. With the speed with which the army of educated youth is getting ready, new employment opportunities are not being created in that proportion. Although there are many problems in the country, but unemployment can be kept at the top of them. Experts have also been saying that the government should act as a catalyst for economic growth and therefore it becomes necessary to join hands with the private sector.
At the same time it is also said that talent is valued everywhere, but the reality is that talents are also neglected in the country. If a qualified person does not get work according to his ability, then in a way it will be said to neglect his talent. It needs to be understood here that talent is not the only thing that needs work in every case. People are eager to work in good organizations, so organizations also need people. One cannot work without the other. In fact, today there is a shortage of suitable talent in many areas of industry and business.
India may be a country of villages and about two-thirds of its population lives in rural areas, but the reality is that the urban population dominates the people employed in the organized sector. If the question is raised whether talent is found only in the people of the city, then the answer will be that talented people can be anywhere in the city or village. But it is also a fact that in the distribution of resources, whether it is related to education, industry or any sector, there has been a serious imbalance in the country from the very beginning.
Cities have become more resourceful and villages remain neglected even after all the changes. In government jobs, people from rural areas are still represented, but in the best companies of the private sector, people from urban background are the majority. This situation does not match at all with the ideal of establishing socio-economic equality.
If we look at the statistics of the last few years, it will be clear that the number of government jobs is decreasing day by day. The effect of the shadow of the Corona crisis on the employment sector still remains. In such a situation, there will be a lack of new employment opportunities for the youth until the economy is completely back on track. Most of the recruitments that are happening are expected from the corporate sector.
The corporate world should take some innovative steps to include rural talent in its manpower. There is a severe lack of employment opportunities at the local level for rural youth. Agriculture alone is not enough to employ the local rural youth. Compared to global standards, the number of people engaged in agriculture in India has been more than the actual requirement. The holding may be small, but the whole family seems to be engaged on it. But now a big change is being seen here.
In fact, despite the increase in agricultural production, the number of people engaged in it is continuously decreasing. This simply means that the youth of many agricultural families now want to leave agriculture and take up some other work. The rural youth who are already unemployed and who now want to do something other than farming, the corporate world can fulfill their social responsibility in a way by providing them employment.
People who have been involved in talent management and have had the opportunity to meet, interview or hire rural youth are of the firm view that these youths may not have fluent English speaking skills But there is no dearth of his passion and hard work. It’s just a matter of getting the opportunity. After the break of British domination, the dominance of rural youth in the civil services has increased. This can have many implications. Experience also shows that it is relatively easier to mold youths from general education and backgrounds according to the needs of the organisation.
There can be many models of entry of rural youth into the corporate world. The companies may initially engage the youth of the villages on training and give them regular employment after the work is found satisfactory. It may also happen that companies select youths who have completed their studies in rural areas, give them intensive training and then employ them. If companies sponsor professional courses like engineering, management for some rural teenagers or youth and keep them after their completion, then it can also be a good initiative. Companies can also keep the option with them to recover some or all of the cost of education in installments from the salary received by the employed person. It will be a win-win deal for all.
According to the Center for Creative Leadership, about seventy percent of learning takes place while at work. People from rural background may need more technical training, but while working they are also able to learn everything that youth from urban background learn. Companies here should also take note of reports from industry bodies such as CII and FICCI that over three-fourth of the country’s engineering and management graduates are considered unemployable. Obviously, in this class too, urban youths have a majority. If so, then there should be no problem in training and hiring rural youth.
By adopting the strategy of employing rural talent, companies will also increase the diversification of manpower, which is a major goal of corporate HR policies these days. Organizations will get loyal, enthusiastic, hard working and long lasting manpower. An organization with a broad outlook does not care whether the personnel employed by them are from an urban background or a rural background. They are concerned with work and results.
Many organizations describe themselves as equal opportunity employers, no doubt about their intentions, but somewhere in their systems there is something that puts those who know less English and come from smaller places behind others. Is. It is now imperative to correct this discriminatory situation. Experts in talent management believe that personnel should be selected on the basis of their potential and not just their degrees.
There is a lot of such potential in the rural youth generation. The corporate sector has contributed a lot in the development of the country and strengthening its economy. A major part of their profit comes from rural areas. From this point of view also their responsibility towards rural India becomes. This will not only strengthen their organization, but will also help in removing socio-economic disparity and maintain social balance.