The Indian job market is anticipated to whisk up by 22% over the next 5 years and the economy is expected to rise by 6% this financial year (2023). The "Make in India" approach and the increasing foreign investment in India are propelling the workforce machinery rendering more job openings.
With job opportunities rising, the number of qualified candidates is also increasing. To select suitable candidates from a pool of resumes, soft skills are becoming key distinguishing factors. Some of these include effective communication, leadership, professional ethics, people management, cross-functional collaboration, and multitasking to name a few.
Soft skills are often overlooked in traditional academic classrooms. In fact, many students are unaware of such metrics while interviewing for a job or planning a corporate career. Over the past few years, the interview processes have also changed to some extent. While candidates showcase core abilities very well in the technical rounds, many of them struggle in the behavioral rounds. In reality, many candidates are unprepared for such interview questions despite being highly qualified.
Proper communication plays a critical role in the above scenarios. Effective communication is the first step in job search, growing a network, and maintaining a healthy work atmosphere. In fact, poor communication skills of the candidates and employees affect the hiring and employee retention rate. It can also diminish the performance and growth of current employees, which is directly linked to the organization’s overall success.
For instance, a major reason behind incompetent interview answers is the lack of modern thought processes. Candidates need to back up their existing expertise and churn out transferable skills from years-long training. While crafting such answers requires detailed and organized thinking, proper articulation and crisp verbal/written communication make it look effective.
This may sound cliche, but speaking, active listening, and effective writing are severely underestimated in curriculum-bound teaching. While there are numerous exams in the form of writing and multiple choice questions in public schools, there is little to no effort into speaking and listening activities (two key aspects of communication).
Students from rural India and non-English medium schools face significant challenges in English conversations. More often than not, it makes these students feel insecure and less confident. As a result, many such students are unable to reach their full potential and achieve career goals despite their merits.
Dhi-e Foundation currently offers several courses for professional and personal development of students starting from 8th standard to early college levels. The goal of our non-profit organization is to increase awareness, train students early, and empower them with competitive skills so that they can independently create their own long-term vision and succeed.
English Proficiency is a training that we offer in our soft-skill course portfolio. Experts around the world are currently instructing this comprehensive course, which focuses on speaking fluency, active listening, effective reading, and good writing skills. The course begins by developing a strong foundation in grammar and vocabulary and gradually progressing towards building fluency in social skills, public speaking, and group discussions.
We use an interactive learning program that repeatedly allows students to participate in debates, impromptu speaking, storytelling, role-playing exercises, situational conversations, and many other exciting initiatives. These varied methods aim to make the learning process more engaging, enjoyable, and effective. The main takeaway from this course is to inculcate lifelong language learning habits. This innovative approach has already been helping 250 students towards being more resilient and growing self-confidence while cultivating a mindset of adaptability and professional growth.
Stay tuned for our monthly blogs on how the Dhi-e Foundation aims at building a strong groundwork from an early age of students and molding the students to become lifelong learners.
Keywords: Communication, English Proficiency, Career Growth, Job Interviews, Dhi-e Foundation
Contributed by: Tufan K Mukhopadhyay, PhD
Published by: Dhi-e Foundation (www.dhi-e.org)
Edited by: Somnath Biswas, PhD
Background image source: https://www.digits.co.uk/
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