There has been great advancement in the state of technology which is truly a boon for the industries. This has reduced work load and production costs. But what about the workers lined up hoping to be employed somewhere?

There is no firm’s fault anywhere. Firms are firms. What they only want is to earn maximum profits by producing the maximum at the lowest cost. They would always prefer technology to labour. Technology basically has “NO COMPLAINTS, NO DEMANDS.” They do not get tired, do not take leaves and do not require any wages to be paid except a yearly maintenance. Labour on the other hand is cumbersome and requires a lot of monitoring and huge workload on the part of management.  Investing on latest technology requires huge initial costs- from purchasing to installation costs but over a period of time, the firm could cover up this cost and would not require any more investment.  So, it is obviously true that if there is any innovation in technology, firms would always want to avail the benefits of the improved technology.

But looking at the scenario from the point of view of the economy, technological advancements have an adverse effect on employment. People find it difficult to find jobs as there is no job requirement in any firm- All thanks to the scientists and engineers who come up with latest gadgets/gizmos! It is even predicted that by 2020, robots and other technological stuffs would take away all the jobs from the people. In fact in technological advanced countries like the US, the process of destruction of jobs has already begun. This has led to stagnation of income, thereby leading to a fall in the tax revenue and growing income inequality in the country.

But at the same time I would say that firms would require people skilled I software and maintenance work. Although firms may not absorb that much labour that it used to before, but it would still require people who could handle all the latest technology and ensure that there is no trouble. Thus, the firms would only employ those who are well-equipped and knowledgeable in the fields of IT and maintenance.   However, the harsh reality is that in skill deprived country like the HR hub- India, this act as a major hurdle for getting jobs. Most of the people do not possess these skills, thus, leading to job crisis in the country.

Let’s hope that with the advent of the Skill India campaign, everything is sorted out!

Click here for government certification in Human Resources

The post Technology – The Giant killer of unskilled jobs appeared first on Vskills Blog.

Tell me this- What is the key to the success of an organization? Some of you would say ‘hard work’, while the others would say ‘creative marketing and sales promotion techniques’. Hard work, risk, employee efficiency, production, state of technology is a variety of answers that I would get for this question. In fact, all of them are actually true. But a major reason often missed  is the good Boss-employee relationship.

Boss-employee relationships play a crucial role in the success of the organization. Good employer-employee relationship involves taking care of each other’s interest. Employees want to protect their personal interests, ensure that are being aptly remunerated, work in a good and safe environment, ease in communicating with the boss/employer etc. And employers should work to fulfill all the employees’ needs but at the same time take care that they are working and contributing something for the growth of the organization. In fact, one of the main objectives of management is to fulfill ‘Personal objectives’ which means satisfying financial, social and high-level needs of the employees.

Good employer-employee relations lead to the development of trust which is like an engine for the smooth functioning of the organization. When there is trust, various activities and work can be done with ease with one party not questioning the work done by the other. It also reduces the burden of the employers to strictly monitor the employees, thus, enabling the employers to focus on other core areas.

Along with trusts, comes another important thing, i.e., knowing. If employers know the strengths of the employees then they could delegate work accordingly and ensure that the employees’ strengths are channelized in the right direction. Moreover, employers could also help the workers overcome their weaknesses and make the employees true assets of the organization. Besides this, if employees know the leadership style of their bosses and they are comfortable with it, then there is better coordination between them.

It ensures the satisfaction of the employees and improves employee morale. Because the firm trusts the employee and the employee too believes in the organization, employee satisfaction is restored. This would enable them to fully dedicate themselves for the betterment of the organization and nothing else.

The employer-employee relationships act as a base/pillar for the growth and success of the organization and if this base is strong enough then, nothing cans stop the firm from achieving new heights!

Click here for government certification in Human Resources

The post Employer-employee Relationship appeared first on Vskills Blog.

What is Separation?

Well, I am not talking about the English meaning of the term “separation” which means not together or moving away. No, what I am talking about is a very important phenomenon observed in the labour markets frequently.

Separation is a labour market situation wherein people move out of/into the job markets. Before I begin with the process, let me just brush you up with a few terminologies that we need to know to understand the concept of separation.

The total non-institutional civilian population of the country is bifurcated under two heads:

1. Labour workforce
2. Out of labour workforce

Now, labour workforce is that component of the population who are willing to work or are working at the current wage rate. It includes employed labourforce and unemployed labourforce. Employed workforce is those who have jobs and are currently working. Unemployed are those who do not have jobs but they are willing to work that means they are looking for work.

The next component of the population is the out of labour workforce. It refers to that workforce which is not looking for jobs that is they do not want to work at the current wage rate.

Now we formally begin with the entire process. Separation involves quits and lay offs. Under separation, we observe the following pattern:

• There are some people who are not happy with their current job and so they voluntarily quit their jobs and seek employment somewhere else. Or it may also happen that firms are incurring losses and so decides to lay off some employees. Employees may manage to get employment in another firm. In both these cases, there is movement within the employed category of the workforce.
• Now it may also happen that the employed who are fired from their jobs or who voluntarily quit their jobs do not work anywhere. In such a case, there is a shift in the workforce from employed to unemployed. Besides this, some people who were earlier unemployed may find jobs and enter the employed category. Hence, we can have movement to/from the employment segment of the labourforce from/to unemployed category.
• This is regarding a case when people find themselves unemployed for a very long duration of time. They may be frustrated because they are unable to find work. They may end up leaving the labour markets, thus leading to a shift from the unemployed to out of labour force. Similarly, movement to/from unemployed segment from/to the out of labourforce can also be possible.
• And finally, people who are currently not willing to work, may suddenly get an opportunity to work and become a part of the employed category of the labourforce. On the other hand, people who are currently employed may leave the market or may be retired.

I think you may have understood the entire process observed in the economy.

Click here for government certification in Human Resources

The post Labour Market Phenomenon appeared first on Vskills Blog.

                                                                          “The Right People can help to take the business to the top;                                                                                  the wrong people  can break the business.”

I think this line is enough to explain why staffing is a crucial function of management in an organization. Adequate and appropriate staffing is the key to the success of an organization. Let us understand the term “Staffing.”

Quite simply, Staffing is the act of finding and putting the right people to jobs for the growth and development of an organization. The management, after deciding on what is to done and how is to be done, needs to work on ‘by whom the work is to be done.’ This aspect of management function is covered under staffing.

Now I have kept on saying ‘right people’, but who are the right people? Right people imply those people who have the required skills, knowledge and expertise in the department they are working. Staffing ensures each and every individual is adding something to the organization. If they are not working efficiently, then it leads to wastage of resources, efforts, money and time along with falling productivity.

It plays a very important role in bringing out the right people to the organization, optimally utilizing the human resources for the welfare of the organization and working on improving job satisfaction and morale of the employees.

Earlier there was no department as staffing. This was a part of the function of organizing. But now we have a separate and a distinct department as Staffing, owing to the rapid advancement in technology, increasing level of competition and the dearth of skilled workforce.

Often Staffing is used interchangeably with Human Resource Management (HRM). Well, let me clear this out. STAFFING IS NOT HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT. Staffing is only a subset of the broader concept of HRM. HRM is a functioning area of management and staffing is a part of it. It includes a wide range of activities and duties which are not a part of staffing. It includes-

• Recruitment
• Developing job descriptions
• Developing compensation chart
• Maintaining labour relations
• Handling grievances and complaints

On the other hand, staffing process involves recruitment and selection, placement, performance appraisal, compensation, training and development of personnel. All this is a part of HRM but HRM also involves other areas of work not included in staffing.

So, you see that the two are quite different. Now I think you may be clear about what staffing is and the role it plays in an organization.

Click here for government certification in Human Resources

The post How Recruitment and selection are critical.. appeared first on Vskills Blog.

There is a heated debate on whether reservations should be given or not. This blog is an effort to understand the arguments for and against this motion. To begin with, let me brief you up what this debate is all about.

India is a multi-religion, multi-linguistic, multicultural country where people from varied cultures, traditions and religions live and flourish together. However, along with this diversity come various disturbing issues like untouchability and discrimination. Such issues have been prevelant from centuries where people were categorized on the basis of their birth and later their occupation. People who belonged to a “lower caste” faced a lot of hardships- from being denied entry into public places to restricted access to education and jobs. As a result, these communities remained backward with denied opportunities for their growth and survival. They became poorer and poorer with every passing generation and were completely cut off from the society.

So, in the wake of this grave issue, the reservation policy came into existence during the colonial rule in India. This system aims to improve the well-being of socially and economically backward communities by reserving their seats in education institutes and seeking jobs at government offices.

This system has achieved great success in incorporating people from all communities and has helped these communities to come out of their plights in the past.   Now after 68 years of independence, do we still need this system? That is the question that is the debate all about.

• Arguments in favour of Reservations:

Yes, I do agree that instances of discrimination and untouchability have reduced as compared to the past but this issue not completely eliminated from the society. Instances of discrimination and exploitation of backward communities is still very much persistent, especially in rural areas and so, we do need this reservation system to uproot this issue from the society.   India is a democratic country where equal opportunities must be given to each and every citizen of the country and the reservation system is the best way to include all the sections of the society under its framework. With increasing competition in every sector of the country, backward classes must also be given opportunities to be a part of this race. So, I conclude that reservation is a must.

• Arguments against Reservation:  

First of all, the major argument is what is the basis of reservation in India? – Caste, religion etc. But don’t you think this is disintegrating the society into 2 categories- reserved and non-reserved? Moreover, this division is hindering the unity of the country where some communities being given a greater preference as compared to others. Equality which is seen as a major argument in favour of reservation can also be a basis of argument against the reservation policy. Reservations in educational institutions and government offices reduce the opportunities to those belonging to general category. I totally agree that we needed this system during the starting years of independence to ensure development of all the communities in every aspect. I am not saying to ban reservation now but my point is to set a different criterion for reservations in India. Rather than taking religion or caste of an individual as a basis to get jobs or seek education in an institute, the criteria should include only those people who are economically backward irrespective of the caste/religion they belong to.

Well, I have put forward all my arguments. If you want to add something to this or give your own opinion, write it in the comments column below and express your views freely.

Click here for government certification in Management

The post Reservation- Hardik Patel and a debate that never settles appeared first on Vskills Blog.

India is one of the key destinations for outsourcing of core business operations by many firms functioning abroad. One of the emerging sectors for outsourcing witnessed in the 21^st century is the Knowledge Process Outsourcing (KPOs).

KPOs involve outsourcing of high-end activities of the businesses which requires skill, knowledge and expertise of the human resources in their respective areas.  It is a broad concept covering Business Process Outsourcing (BPO), Research Process Outsourcing (RPO) and Analysis Process Outsourcing (APO) under its umbrella of activities. It provides a plethora of knowledge-based services such IT, Engineering, Web Application Development, Business Research and analytics etc.

India over the recent years, managed to gain the top position in contributing the maximum to the KPO sector. As per ASSOCHAM, the share of the Indian KPO sector in the world KPO industry is nearly 70%. But do you know why it is at the top? Let me the question the other way- What makes India the KPO hub in the world?

Well the answer is quite simple. There are many reasons which make India a global leader in the KPO industry which includes reduced costs, operational efficiencies and ease in setting up KPO centre. One of the major reasons which I am going to talk about is the availability of highly skilled and experienced workforce in India.

Yes it is true. India has a very large workforce accompanied with skills and expertise in various fields. India’s strength lies in its manpower resources which gives it a competitive advantage in the off-shore business.  So in order to tap the skilled workforce and gain advantage of efficient KPO services, many companies are encouraged to set up KPO centres in India.

To the Indian workforce, KPOs provide great employment opportunities. Moreover, the salaries given to KPO professionals is way above than those offered to these experts which drive them to seek employment in this sector.

At the same time, the Indian KPO sector is not free from challenges. There is increasing competition by new entrants into this field like China, Israel and Czech Republic which is a huge challenge for Indian KPO sector. Moreover, there is a dearth of highly skilled experts, although we have a huge workforce. These are the main hindrances to the growth of this sector in India.

Nevertheless, India is experiencing growth in this sector and is sure to maintain its top position in future!

LIC Schemes; protecting one & all

Click here for government certification in Human Resources

The post KPO- An Indian revolution and why India leads appeared first on Vskills Blog.

After our graduation, many of us apply for banking jobs or start preparing to enter the civil services. But why do we actually run for government jobs? What are the perks of being a government employee in India? Let’s find out.

So here’s presenting to you the advantages of being a government employee:

1. Job security: Imagine you get a good employment opportunity in a big MNC with a fairly good package. But, just after 5-6 months, the firm incurs losses and so as to reduce its costs, it terminates many employees. You would find yourself left out of nowhere! Well, that is not the case with a government job. Once, you are employed in any government office, that job goes on for a lifetime (until you retire) and it is only you who can leave the job, not the other way round!
2. Fixed working hours: The government jobs have an advantage over private jobs in terms of fixed working hours. Private jobs demand long working hours (even overtime!) and is really stressing for the employees.
3. Perks/benefits: The government jobs come along with a series of benefits which private jobs fail to provide. It includes pensions, retirement benefits, medical facilities and many more. These provide incentives to individuals to work hard before retirement, so as to enjoy the benefits of the same after retirement. This is truly, one of the biggest advantages of working in a government portal.
4. Reduced workload: During your tenure as an employee to a government firm, one is quite relieved with reduced workload which increases the efficiency of work done by the employee and brings out the best from the employees.
5. Opportunity for growth: Government workers have an opportunity to grow within the organization and reach new heights within the organization. Many exams are conducted within the organizations for acquiring higher positions and are open to all to apply for the same.

Well, now you all know where to apply after you complete your graduation!

Click here for government certification in Human Resources

The post Advantages of being an Indian government Employee! appeared first on Vskills Blog.

India’s population is increasing at an alarming rate. India is till now experiencing a phenomenon, what is called as population explosion. Population explosion refers to a situation when the birth rate is rising and death rate is falling, leading to a tremendous rise in the population of the country. India’s population is nearly 17.5% of the total world population as per 2014 records and is expected to rise in future, surpassing China by 2025. This situation persists at a time where other economies have already reached a stage of falling birth and death rates!

But a serious question struck our minds often. Is population growth good for an economy? This is an ongoing debate with different economists having different opinions on this.

Many are of the view that population growth is a major hindrance to the economic development of the country. They argue that with increasing population, the problem of feeding them becomes a grave issue. Our country possesses only a fixed amount of land and population growth puts in a lot of pressure on the same piece of land for food and housing. Besides, population comes along with other issues like poverty, unemployment, falling standards of living and many more. All this leads to falling economic growth and development of the country.

But now let’s try and understand the other point of view as well. First of all, human resource is an asset to an economy, not a liability. India’s major strength lies in its skilled and efficient workforce which attracts many firms to invest and set up their operations in India. Secondly, India is one the largest consumer markets in the world.  Thus, Indian population offers a huge demand in the world market. Many countries have reached great levels of development but lack sufficient people in their economy to demand the goods and services produced in their country. India has an advantage in this.

Studies have shown that developed country posses nearly 16% of the population of the developing countries and consume nearly 5 times more than what overpopulated countries consume. Thus, these economies face overconsumption which is another serious problem.

You might say that what about the persistent problems of poverty and unemployment which comes along with this ever-increasing population? Well, that is the quality of the population which every economy, whether developed or developing, needs to work upon. Secondly, regarding the food supplies issue- Studies show that Indian agriculture has the capacity to produce 10 times the current rate if proper technology and facilities are made available to the farmers.  So, our lands have the capacity to feed the population.

At the end, I would like to say that economies must be seen, not on the basis of development, but on the resources present in the economies, the quality of these resources and the government participation in improving its quality.

Click here for government certification in Management

The post Population Growth: A Hindrance to Economic Development? appeared first on Vskills Blog.

This article aims to acquaint you with the stark reality of our country’s higher education.

While reading an article in an esteemed newspaper, I came across a very interesting , yet disturbing insight about the higher education sector of the country. On the political front, the National Policy on Education (NPE), 1986 and Programme of Action (POA), 1986(revised in 1992) are the last update made in the sector. These programmes have become obsolete and need to be updated. Work has been initiated in this respect which we cannot ignore the fact that we are too late to make the changes as a lot of wrong has already been done and cannot be reversed.

The higher education sector faces some serious issues which need to be rectified as soon as possible. The key areas where our sector is lagging behind is:

• Participation by all
• Equal access to all
• Proper infrastructure
• Relevance

Firstly, this sector suffers from poor enrollment by all the segments of the society. The present enrollment rate is a disturbing 20%. While the authorities have taken this aspect into consideration during their 11^th plan by building up more institutions in the country, the authorities have failed to achieve the target lately.

Secondly, in a patriarchal society like ours, women are given very less opportunities to seek higher education after completing their schooling. Moreover, financing is a major issue wherein families fail to afford their children’s higher education. However, there is relief in this aspect on the part of the outstanding contribution made by the government in bringing about equal access to one and all. The government has been successful in creating awareness about the need to educate women in the society. Regarding the financially inaccessible bunch of people, the government has initiated many scholarships and freeship programmes for such students which is commendable and worthy of appreciation. And now the government has planned to provide scholarship to 400 government school students wherein they would be taught about how to crack competitive exams and enter IIM/IIT.

Thirdly, lack of proper infrastructure is a grave issue which needs to be worked upon so that the existing institutions perform well on the education front.  Moreover, the teacher to students ratio in the institutions are very low. The government’s contribution in this respect has been very minimal.

And finally is the irrelevance of the higher education wherein students are not soft skills which play a crucial role when these people enter the jobs market apart from their academic knowledge. But here, the situation is much under control with the Skill India campaign which aims at providing vocational courses and other skills to the students.

Our government has been really active in improving some of its shortcomings but its contribution in others has been very meagre. Let’s just hope that government considers this while planning and take effective steps to eliminate all the drawbacks.

Click here for government certification in Management

The post The status of Higher education in India appeared first on Vskills Blog.

Agriculture sector, even today, attracts the maximum employment although its share in the GDP is a meagre 17%. In terms of share in GDP, India is a service-economy while in  terms of employment generation, India is still stuck with the agrarian-economy status ever since its independence.

Did it ever occur to you that how can agriculture, despite its little contribution to GDP, attracts the maximum employment? Well if this question ponders your head often, let me clear all doubts.

The agriculture sector experiences a massive unemployment in two major forms, primarily:

1. Seasonal Unemployment
2. Disguised unemployment

Now, let’s discuss these concepts one by one to create clarity.

Seasonal unemployment occurs primarily in the agriculture sector and there are very instances of experiencing such forms of unemployment in the urban sector or in other sectors of the economy. It is a kind of unemployment when people are employed only for a few months or a particular season of the year and the individual remains unemployed during the remaining months of the year. Farmers often employ additional workers during the sowing season or the harvesting season and in the remaining time period that person is unemployed.

The next is disguised unemployment. This is a very interesting type of unemployment because as the name suggests, this unemployment is hidden or not seen easily. It is that form of unemployment wherein more people are employed as compared to the requirement level. Understand this with an example.

Suppose a farmer employs 5 people on his field whereas only 3 people were sufficient for that land. Hence, the additional 2 workers are not adding to the production process and so, these 2 additional workers would be considered disgusedly unemployed.

This is a very basic idea of the concept of disguised unemployment.  Such forms may also be prevalent in urban sectors wherein more labour is employed say, in a factory, as compared to the number of people employed. Hence the marginal productivity of each additional labour falls and eventually becomes negative which no firm tends to be at.

So, firms must be very careful while employing more people!

Click here for government certification in Human Resources

The post Types of Unemployment in Agriculture appeared first on Vskills Blog.