Shilpa Chapukar, National Manager – HR & Admin, V-Trans (India) says soft skills play a major role when looking for new talent and in conjunction with the global economy, there is an urgent need for reskilling.
What are the key general skills that you look to hire fresher?
The modern career market demands more than mere practical knowledge. The key general skills V-Trans considers during the hiring of freshers are communication, attitude, and tech-savvy. For a fresher, soft skills play a major role than we believe.
When hiring new talent, which are the various streams of education/qualification that can apply to your company?
We at V-Trans are looking at various streams like accounts, finance, HR, Sales, and Marketing along with people from any field of graduation. Every job opening should have a clear definition of profile. The job description should include criteria like how many years of work experience are needed, educational background, and proficiency in certain skills.
Moreover, in conjunction with the global economy encountering huge change, upskilling and reskilling has taken on a modernised sense of urgency.
What are the challenges you face when hiring new talent?
Recruiting today is a challenge indeed. It is getting more so with leaner teams and budgets but no compromise in results. The most common challenges we face while hiring are attracting the right candidates, engaging qualified candidates, fast hiring, using data-driven recruitment, building a strong employer brand, creating an efficient recruiting process and meeting the expectations of new generation employees.
Do you think there is a gap between academia and industry? How can this be bridged?
Academia and Industry are two distinct worlds that operate on separate pedestals. Both have different objectives and different ideologies. The gap can be connected by providing exposure at the workplace. There is a need for awareness to be created by exposing employees to real-time situations at the workplace. Internships and more often projects at the workplace work very well in bridging the gap between academia and industry. Most of universities have already made internships mandatory as part of the curriculum.
Also read: Industry-academia skill gap a road-block for auto industry
What steps are you taking to attract, train and retain young professionals?
With a robust job market, employees desire companies with decent work cultures, competitive pay, and progressive opportunities. Some of the ways which will attract and retain the employees are trying to match their expectations, show trust in employees by giving them responsibilities, employees should be respected and appreciated of their good work, rewards, and relaxation time.
What is your hiring target for FY23?
Our organisation is expanding their network across India. As per the business plan, there is a growth of 12% hiring in FY2023 as compared to FY2022.
Is there a possibility for engineering professionals working in different segments like two-wheeler, and component makers will switch to passenger / commercial vehicle manufacturing companies or vice versa?
Engineering plays a key role in the development of professionals at manufacturing companies. The engineers are responsible for safe and efficient planning, management and maintenance of production methods and processes. Adding to this, there can be a possibility for engineering professionals working in different segments like two-wheeler, and component makers to switch to commercial vehicle manufacturing companies or vice versa.
Are there any additional training programs or courses that you have incorporated to upskill your existing workforce?
We have incorporated internal training programs to upskill our existing workforce. As a group, V-Trans has been providing soft skill training and functional training along with strategic, long-term career enhancement programs. Our career enhancement programs have been successful. A significant testimony to that is for the last 3 years we have not hired any BIC from outside as a direct impact of our because of our training program Utkarshta, which prepares the colleagues for crucial BIC roles.
We have created a central theme for career enhancement programs and named it “Prayan – the art of moving forward in career.”
Also read: Top 5 careers to explore across auto industry
How do you ensure to retain your hardworking employees? Is fiscal incentives the only way to motivate employees?
Apart from fiscal incentives, there are many other ways to retain our employees. Initiatives like R&R initiatives, timely PMS, various training programs and involvement in the review system.
What are the policies laid down to ensure work-life balance for your employees?
Work-life balance is a crucial aspect of self-care while managing the responsibilities of the workday. As the global workforce adjusts to the new normal, organization must address the mental health and wellness of employees to maintain a work-life balance. A healthy work-life balance stands for a different definitions to different people. V-Trans has policies like Leave and CO policy, time and attendance, work hours and office culture to ensure the work-life balance of employees.
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