AIESEC Summit on HR challenges in the future and the road ahead

The event was addressed by Kiran Karnik, president, National Association of Software & Services Companies (NASSCOM). A panel discussion on War for talent had speakers like Shailesh Tewary, Managing Director, Human Resources Institute of Development & Analysis International (HRIDAI); Ashutosh Sinha, Director, Recruitment, of leading ITES company Converges; and Richa Tripathi, Vice President, Talent Management and Development, Wipro BPO, discussing the issues of talent management.

The event also included a session on Operationalizing HR, International Diversity, Retention and Attrition Management and a leadership session. In the youth opinion session, young people got a chance to voice their opinions on what they want from companies.

In his keynote address, Mr Kiran Karnik said, Today, the image of India in international markets has changed. Indian human talent is in great demand both in India and overseas. This creates a war for talent among organizations. So there is huge opportunity for Indian managers particularly the Human Resources (HR) people because they understand the mindset of people, their attitudes, behaviour etc which is changing very fast. HR is a critical function.
The issue of War for talent was taken up in the panel discussion where Richa Tripathi said, The major challenge that companies are facing is shortage of skilled professionals, which leads to the war for talent. There is sharp shortage of talent in India.

To fill this gap, institutes need to create the professionals relevant to the industry but the HR recruiters felt that the education institutions are not fulfilling this need. Said Ashutosh Sinha, There are a large number of educational institutions in India but how many of them are producing employable talent which can be absorbed directly into todays industry? Very few.

Commenting on the responsibility of recruiters and organizations, Mr Shailesh Tewary advised: HR managers of different organizations need to define the rules of recruitment and poaching. Also we need to develop the talent pool by collaborating with different institutions to update the curriculum.

While defining talent and outlining some of the qualities that corporates are looking for, Richa Tripathi said, By talent we mean finding the right person for the organization. While recruiting we are look for a person having self-confidence, learning ability and who can deal with people.

Highlighting the role of the IT/ ITES sector in employment generation, Ashutosh Sinha said, Fifty percent of employment opportunities are there in banking & finance, IT/BPO and healthcare sectors. The new emerging areas are aviation, retail and hospitality.

Student leader Mayank Batheja, president of AIESEC, also participated in the panel discussion.

The AIESEC came into existence in 1948. Its a student organization present over 800 universitiesinover 90 countries and territories. According to AIESEC, It is an international platform for young people to discover and develop their potential so as to have a positive impact on society.