India Shining:
GDP Growth: 9%, New Jobs in 2007: 1.5 million, Salary Hike: 14.4%, Number of Graduates: 9 million (India Today May'07)

When every thing is rosy, why HR managers are not getting enough employable people?

During an HR meet on "Retention and Motivation of Employees", Nymph Kaul, Executive Director-Rai Foundation, said, "to sustain this phenomenal economic growth education has to take the onus of providing enough people with skills." Taking a cue from the discussion, she announced the Skill Enhancement Program (SEP) for all the Rai Foundation students irrespective of their academic streams. Rai Foundation, through its intensive research and interaction with industry, drew some conclusions about the missing links. Traditional theory based education lacks emphasis on soft skills and practical training. This deficit in soft skills overshadows even core skills, which leaves students well short of being employable.

The one-month exclusive SEP will start before the beginning of academic session. Rai Foundation Colleges will not be charging any extra fee for this special program. The program is designed to initiate students into professional programs. The program aims at acclimatizing students to professional environment. The SEP includes social and intellectual activities that develop the right aptitude in students.

The program focuses on ensuring that every student enters first session with richer perspective and communication skills. The SEP starts with rapport building session. The SEP has sessions on: language, diction, phonetics, communication, business etiquettes, body language, lateral thinking, leadership, makeover, etc. Through these sessions, the student knows beforehand, the areas he/she needs to focus on during the professional program.

Dean-Rai Business School, Deepika Arora says, "The foundation of corporate growth is laid in college; and the people who communicate well and are versed in corporate etiquettes, make it to the top." She further added that the SEP is just an initiation into the program. Life Skills Program at Rai Foundation takes the process forward from the point where the SEP leaves. Life Skills Program instills winning traits in students. As, the corporate success depends on the traits like: how you collaborate not compete; how to perform in a team not just individually; how you communicate clearly in English the global language and the language corporate India uses; how to be open to new ideas and people; etc. Because, climbing up the corporate ladder is not about skills alone it's a delicate mix of professional skills and attitude.

Rai Foundation is a non-profit body set up to address various socio-cultural concerns of India and its people. With India's largest network of professional colleges and 10 campuses across the country, Rai Foundation is committed to make India a knowledge superpower. It nurtures talent by offering several scholarships to the meritorious and needy, especially underprivileged / orphan girls every year. Rai Foundation was the first in India to launch Rai OpenCourseware - FREE online study material - that made world-class higher education within the reach of one and all throughout the world.