BackFive questions with Jagdish Mitra
Tech Mahindra's mobility business head on India's youth, their aspirations, skill set and preference for jobs in the services sector
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How do you think India can meet the aspirations of its young people?
By creating two things for sure. One, a culture of transparency and along with it a digital environment which creates an equality of opportunity for all our youth. These I think are the most important factors enabling youth to be confident and to assure that in this country they have the same opportunity as anyone else.
Companies and recruiters speak of a skill gap that they encounter when they hire entry-level people. How can this gap be addressed?
Very important question because we face it every day. I think the most important part of managing the skill gap is getting the universities and the industry to work extremely closely. We in the industry also have to lay more emphasis on skills than on qualification. We seem to rely more on academic qualification and get pride in hiring higher qualified people than on looking at what skills are required to deliver. As a country, we need to bring in a lot more in terms of dignity of labour so that people are not hassled doing jobs which get their hands dirty. If we do these things, we can reduce the skill gap.
What are the three things you look for in a young person you are considering for a position?
Most importantly, his attitude. If his attitude is right, which includes soft skills, ability to work in a team, ability to question appropriately, those and hard work. To me the most important factor is not how brilliant someone is but the attitude of these factors which make a difference. Second is obviously understanding of the market and business environment, a keenness to understand it and learn. And the third most important factor is how savvy is somebody on being able to use limited resources that one has. In our country, it is always going to have limited resources and one needs to harness these resources for delivering a solution.
Most young people have, over the past decade-and-a-half, gravitated towards jobs in the services sector. Do you see that changing?
Yes, to a certain extent, I do. But I think services sector will continue to be a bigger provider of jobs. With the government putting a lot more effort on manufacturing, towards the Make In India programme which is extremely important for the country, we will see a transfer towards it (manufacturing) as well. But services having had a head-start and as a country having a lot of English-speaking people, we will continue to play a larger role in the services sector.
What is the one piece of advice you’d like to give young people?
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