Employment Vs Employability Skills - Both Are Vital : Mr. Sanjeev S. Vakil

India has a large youth force, with millions of fresh graduates, diploma holders & persons with vocational skill seeking out for a job every year. These fresh force, as well as existing people, competes for gaining employment every year. HR department of every company has a huge task in hand to filter and choose the suitably qualified candidate for their respective post to ensure their company maintains its day to day operation & also grows to meet various challenges.

For the institution, the task does not end when they find suitable person for the post. The recruit should be employable so that he continues to add value to the company. Where the new recruit thinks his mission is accomplished by gaining an employment, what the company is looking for is to ensure the recruit remains employable.

Employment vs Employability Skills – Both are vital for the recruit & institution to prosper.

Employment skills ensure the recruit is capable of performing the bare minimum tasks he is employed for. If recruit can satisfactorily carry out his specific task he is employed for, he has Employment skills. For example, a person employed as purchaser should have knowledge of basic computer skills, office software, communication skills, etc… With these skill sets, they can do their task as a purchaser.

While Employment skills ensure the recruit gets his initial employment, it is not good enough for him to climb up the career path. If the above employee takes initiative to up-skill himself with latest purchasing trends and learns newer trends, he becomes Employable to the company.

Employability skills ensures the recruit can face the ever changing challenges in performing the day today task as well as keeps him ready to face tomorrows challenges too. Employee with Employable skills ensures they gain regular promotion & climb up the career ladder.

Employability skills relate to a host of skill sets which are desirable for an employee to ensure he continues his employment in the long run and help company meets its objective. These skills include higher qualifications, soft skills, etc. Even though the employee should show initiative to gain employable skills, employer too can play their part by motivating the employee to gain such skills. Basic employable skill is showing initiative to learn new skill. This willingness to learn should come from the employee themselves and it cannot be forced on them. Employer can help those showing such initiatives and ensure they are given necessary support & guidance to gain employable skills.

Employable skills go beyond employment skills when the employee was recruited. In our present education system this key employable skill set is not given its necessary due. All efforts go in churning out personnel with minimum qualifications, though they are qualified for the job, they severely lack employable skills. If this is taught during Higher Secondary school & College level, we can add a lot of value to the personnel to ensure they remain employable in the long run.

Following are some of the few employable skills which should be given attention on priority:

1. Initiative to learn new skills – Most important skill, which helps a person to be ready to accept new ideas, and adopt new methods in problem solving skills,
2. Being Sincere & Dependable – Ensures they maintain integrity in ensuring work & moral ethics are always complied with
3. Effective Communication skills – Includes Verbal, Nonverbal, negotiation, resolving inter personnel conflicts, mediation, etc.
4. Planning & Organizing – Prioritization, Delegation, problem solving, thinking out of the box, etc.

Employee with Employable skills is win-win for both them & the institution.

Brief Profile of The Author:

Mr. Sanjeev S. Vakil represents one of the brightest minds in shipping industry. After his B.E. graduation, gave up an option to study at Illinois States University and chose instead to join Damodar Bulk Carriers and was one among the 6 selected on All India basis to be sponsored for GME Training at Garden Reach Shipbuilders, Kolkata.

Set up a Maritime Training Institution named Hindustan Institute of Maritime Training (HIMT) in Sept 1998. Mr. Vakil has set very high standard in maritime education and training. He has become the 1st Marine engineer in the World to be conferred with fellowship by the Nautical Institute, UK