Academia-industry interface in focus
Girish Nair
WHAT SORT of manpower do software companies look for? What do they expect from educational institutions which churn out prospective employees? How do they evaluate candidates? These are vital questions in today's hi-tech world. Girish Nair, Vice-President, Global Human Resources, Aztec Software and Technology Services Limited, answers these questions in an interview with Shaheed Khan and talks about other issues as well.
Shaheed Khan (SK): Describe how Aztec in particular and other IT companies in general identify the right human capital?
Girish Nair (GN): The boom in the IT sector has led to increased professionalism at different levels. Aztec, a product engineering company, recruits 95 per cent of its new human capital from the elk of professionals with experience varying from one year to 15 years. Campus recruitment is only about two to five per cent but the figure will increase over a period of time. This is small in comparison to other IT companies which go in for about 50 to 80 per cent campus recruitment.
SK: Besides the qualifications of B.E./B.Tech/MCA, what are the add-on technical certifications Aztec looks for?
GN: We do not consider an add-on certification as an added advantage to the process of recruitment. It is only after the normal interview cycle is through and evaluating the type of projects that the associate would be getting into that a decision is taken with regard to the specialisation that the associate requires. We basically look at the facets of Java, PMI, to name a few. In fact, once the associate joins Aztec, the company sponsors the associate to pursue the progamme in-house and get the benefits of the same. If some of the new recruits have these added qualifications, we do look at them as an advantage and expect such individuals to perform better. We look at it as value addition provided the individual lives up to the certification that he/she has acquired.
SK: Do you think professionals who are recruited by IT companies are adequately trained in the educational institutions?
GN: Not many institutions/universities believe in the concept of interaction with the industry and hence, the curriculum is not updated. Moreover, the area of operation at Aztec being product engineering, not much is being done from the academic perspective. Aztec is making efforts to augment quality manpower by making efforts to collaborate with institutions/universities of repute. We are in the process of evolving a curriculum in the field of product engineering, which will be delivered by organisations and academic institutions. We are willing to receive individuals for projects in the final semester, thereby creating a "win-win" situation for the individual, the institution and the industry. We are also working on the facet of providing for a Certification with the nomenclature of Aztec Product Engineering Certification (APEC).
My only suggestion is that educational institutions should interact more with companies as we are open to ideas of curriculum development and instruction specific to the product engineering field.
SK: What skill sets do you look for while recruiting individuals for different roles/levels?
GN: At Aztec, the roles of the individuals are very well defined, and designation mapping ensures that there are no disparities. The technology and the support services are no doubt performing different functions but we put them on the same platform from the perspective of functioning. We have different levels viz., Team Members (1 to 4 years of experience), Project Leaders (5 to 9 years), Technical Manager (10 to 12 years) and General Manager (15 years and more). SK: How do you think competency mapping would help you to find the right candidate?
GN: The competency model has helped a great deal to get the best of manpower. The model focuses on the aspects of Talent Attracting, Performance Management and Learning. We also have a model for Soft Skills and Technical Skills.
SK: Your word of advice to Placement Officers of engineering and management institutes.
GN: Placement Officers should learn to collaborate with the industry and acquire benefits from the same. They have to suit the academic delivery to the industry requirement to make them more effective. Campus is the "key" to the future and recruitment will become cyclical. The academia-industry interface should increase. They have to invest well and get the best. The mantra should be "innovation is the key." It is unfortunate to note that in the engineering colleges, changes are not happening on a scale required. The institutes should gather market intelligence, and sell what companies want rather than sell what they have.
SK: Any advice to budding technologists and managers?
GN: Be very clear about what you want to do, have a career aspiration; work on live project and be sincere, build credibility with the company that you work in.
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