International Journal of Research in IT and Management

On an average, India produces 3, 50, 000 management graduates in 3, 217 institutions across the country. But various research reports and surveys indicate that only 10–20% of them are really employable. Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh accounted for 70% of the management institutes in India. This paper investigates the employability skill gaps prevailing among management graduates in India. The focus of this paper is to identify and list out the employability skills expected out of management graduates to meet the needs of dynamic work environment and also to find out the reasons for the prevalence of employ ability skill gaps.

The research method involved unstructured, open-ended interviews and discussion with corporate executives, experienced management teachers, alumni of various management institutes and the long experience and observation of the researcher as the management teacher. Delphi method was used in the study to identify the essential skills and competencies of Management graduates. About 10 management teachers, 10 corporate executives/consultants and 30 management graduates from all around India constituted the sample study.

The investigation reveals that employability skill gaps prevail primarily because a sizable portion of management graduates do not undergo the right educational experience and process on one hand. On the other hand, they don't possess the portfolio of employability skills required out of them by the corporate

The management graduates fail to undergo the right educational experience and process because of the following reasons: outdated syllabus, employability skills not forming a part of syllabus, lack of competent teachers, inadequate teaching methodologies, teachers ’non-exposure to corporate experience, lack of learning ambience/infrastructure, insufficient practical session, absence of career counseling facilities and admitting students with low intelligent quotient (IQ) followed by poor attendance in the class room.

The portfolio of employability skills required out of management graduates are: Domain expertise/technical skills, quantitative skills, communication skills, leadership skills, team building skills, strategic thinking skills, critical thinking skills, problem solving skills, global skills, loss and stress coping skills, negotiation skills, computer skills(ICT), ability to re-skill/multi-skill, and the ability to see the larger picture. Apart from skills mentioned earlier, the management graduates are expected to possess the following attributes: discipline, flexible, emotionally stable, positive attitude, loyalty, reliability, common sense, maintain enthusiasm, sense of humor, motivated, resilient, adaptable, honesty and integrity.

This is a study providing a detailed analysis on the type of employability skill gaps prevailing among management graduates and their reasons. This paper will help both the institutes and the management graduates to reset their focus of attention.