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VIDYA POSHAK- GRADUATE

FINISHING SCHOOL

2

Are our students really employable?

Government of India boasts of an impressive improvement in the Gross Enrolment Ratio

(GER) in the last leg of the 11th five year plan. India indeed achieved a GER figure of 18.8%.

It created a huge fuss when N. R. Narayana Murthy, the chief of Infosys, commented earlier

in 2011 that only 25% of India’s graduate youth are employable. Within months, Mrs.

Prathibha Patil, then president of the Union of India, corrected the figure saying that only

15% of our boys and girls passing out of college have the skills required to become

employable. The latest shock came when Goverdhan Mehta, the chairman of the National

Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC), commented earlier this year that only 10

percent of graduates are employable.

The British Council categorically stated in their 2009’s report on employability in India:

“India is facing a national skills deficit. Twelve million young people are leaving school each

year without the vocational and life skills required for basic employment.1” The British

Council’s recipe for the identified problem came in the form of “English for progress’, a

unique initiative for making a good number of college graduates employable in the thriving

BPO sector by providing them with basic working English knowledge. The government of

India has also given special emphasis to tackling the problem of employability, and efforts

have been made pan-India level. The saddest part is that many of these initiatives remain

within pockets of certain urban and semi-urban peripheries and vast geographies remain

insufficiently covered. The Northern Karnataka Sandbox region unfortunately happens to be

an area which failed to attract much of any institutionalized initiatives to scaffold the existing

college education system; hence, it fails to be injected with some of the most critical

employability skills and attitudes required by the corporate realm for hiring graduates,

especially from non-technical backgrounds.

1 British Council,2009, Citation from http://www.britishcouncil.org.in/efponline/sessions/19_3.html

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VIDYA POSHAK’S GRADUATE FINISHING SCHOOL

Vidyaposhak, a non-governmental organization has been working on some of the pressing

needs facing the student community in Karnataka and Parts of Maharashtra since last 12

years. The organization has successfully helped transform lives of thousands of under-served

students by providing financial assistance to the students to pursue higher education. As the

organization worked with students over a decade of time, Vidyaposhak identified the failure

of the present day educational system in equipping the students with the critical

employability skills that the job market ask for. This identification led to a offering a solution

to in the form of Graduate finishing school.

Prof. Raghavendra Tilkot, founding member and CEO of Vidya Poshak, remembers the

initial thoughts of the core team and the earlier days of

initiating GSF.

“Only close to 18 percent of the students in the ages of 18-23

opt for higher education - beyond 10+2 - in India...the most

worrying factor here is the quality of education...the university

education system clearly failed to meet the quality

requirements of the contemporary industry, economy and the

general society they live in. So there is a huge gap...this is a

well known fact and Vidya Poshak wanted to do the little

which we can to address the issue. Out of the vast periphery of

problems, we identified one element to work and that was

imparting skills required to fetch a job in the larger job market.”

“Thanks to Deshpande Foundation, they send Sheela, an Indi-Global Fellow from USA to

work with us. She worked with our team for two years, and she along with the team members

visited not less than 20 companies and took extensive information regarding the

employability skills they were looking for - to be specific, for the service sector entry level

jobs. We realized that it is the service sector industries that absorb large chunk of the

graduates from non-technical backgrounds and we, after considering the inputs received from

the industry, framed a curriculum after 6 months of works and in 2007 we launched Graduate

Finishing School...We may not be bringing in the excellence, but [we are] bridging the gap

very successfully.”

Prof. R.N.Tilkot, Founder,

CEO, Vidya Poshak

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Prof. Tilkot had a clear view of the kind of training to be given for a fresh university

graduate: “Teaching any skills is not paramount. The students comes from the typical

university system and they need to be brought out of the university mindset...The biggest

thing we do with the students is that we break the time barrier. Once you tune someone to

work happily for 10 hours a day, our work is done...The first 15 days of the program is the

most important period in programs like GFS. We should demonstrate what we expect and

demand the same back from the students...”

(See annexure 2 for the daily schedule at GSF)

Sanjay Vaidya, finance manager of Sankalp Semi Conductors, an ex-employee of Vidya

Poshak, agrees with this: “The biggest thing that GFS had done is that they broke the time

barrier for the students. They taught them not to look at their watch, and that is a big

attitudinal change.”

Graduate Finishing School, as a scaffolding institution, helps add that extra skill and

attitudinal elements into students which differentiates an employable and non-employable

candidate. As stated by Prof. Tilkot, the key elements like breaking the time barrier and

putting the spirit within the students to go the extra mile actually help students hailing from

some of the most underserved regions of the state of Karnataka to excel in the highly

competitive work environment in some of the big names in the market.

Mary Cathrine Sandhya from Raichur went

on to do her Masters in Business

Management after working with Hewlett

Packard in Bangalore for 14 months.

Thomas, her proud father said: “My daughter

got a job in HP Company in Bangalore right

after doing her course in Vidya Poshak in

Gulbarga. Now she is pursuing her higher

studies in Management with Human

Resource as her specialization. She was

getting Rs. 1.8 Lakh per annum, and she said

she will get an even better job in HP itself

once she completes her masters.”

Basappa Guli from Goswar, Belgaum

district, testifies that he could not have

had been able to get a job in Bangalore

like the one which is currently fetching

him a 5-digit salary right after graduation

lest he had joined GFS. A pass out of the

2011-12 batch from Dharwad centre, he is

the lone graduate from his family of finve.

Both his father and younger brother are

farmers and his elder sister got married.

Basappa is confident of climbing up in the

career ladder after 10 months of corporate

experience in Indocom Global.

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Many students who had joined corporations right after the course stayed with their recruiters

for more than two years. The 15 odd repeated Multi National Corporations recruiting

repetitively from testify that the students add value to the organizations, and in most cases

GFS gets a higher number of recruits through alumni reference rather than by any other

means.

Table 1: Number of GFS students by district:

DISTRICT 2009-2010 2010-2011 2011-2012 TOTAL

Bagalkot 14 36 24 74

Bangalore 0 2 0 2

Belgaum 47 64 57 168

Bellary 0 6 6 12

Bidar 4 4 5 13

Bijapur 20 22 11 53

Chamraj Nagar 0 1 1 2

Chikmangalore 1 0 14 15

Davangare 0 1 7 8

Dharwad 29 31 25 85

Gadag 7 5 13 25

Gulbarga 40 19 32 91

Hasan 0 1 1 2

Haveri 12 11 28 51

Karwar 1 5 12 18

Koppal 1 2 5 8

Mahboobnagar 1 1 2

Mandya 0 1 2 3

Mysore 0 4 22 26

Raichur 5 15 10 30

Shimoga 2 3 4 9

Udupi 0 1 0 1

Uttara Karnataka 14 17 26 57

Yadgir 0 0 1 1

TOTAL 199 252 306 757

Diagram 1: Number of GFS students by district

*SB-Sand Box districts- Dharwad, Belgaum,

Highest number of students has joined from districts like Belgaum, Gulbarga, Haveri, Bijapur

Bagalkot and Uttar Kannada. Students from these districts had been largely successful in

getting placed in reputed MNC

and JP Morgan, in positions for which

Metros and other states. a good number of placements are happening in cities like

Chennai also.

“Students from the villages and underserved backgrounds have more serious reasons to stick

with an employer for longer periods. They are in a dire need for employability, unlike an

average Bangalorean for whom a job is more of a choi

reason why students from this region tend to work hard, and because most of them have

commitments and responsibilities to shoulder they tend to stay longer with their employers.”

Sanjay Vaidya, who handled placement

One big thing that the recruiters look for apart from the skill levels in their recruits is the

tenure that one stays with the company for. In the KPO/BPO sector, where the HR managers

find it extremely difficult to maintain the required number of employees at any given point,

programs like GFS come in very handy. “Recruits from Vidya Poshak tend to stay for longer

periods and that is one of the most important reasons why we hire from them regularly,” an

HR associate from HP Bangalore iterates.

From

N.Karnataka

Outside SB

districts

40%

From Districts

other than

N.Karnataka

9%

Distribution of Students

6

Diagram 1: Number of GFS students by district

Dharwad, Belgaum, Gadag, Haveri and Uttar Kannada



etting placed in reputed MNC’s like Hewlett Packard, Fidelity Investments,

in positions for which they mostly competed with candidates from

other states. a good number of placements are happening in cities like



average Bangalorean for whom a job is more of a choice than a serious necessity. This is the



, who handled placements for more than three years in Vidya Poshak, added.

thing that the recruiters look for apart from the skill levels in their recruits is the


difficult to maintain the required number of employees at any given point,



HR associate from HP Bangalore iterates.

From SB

51%N.Karnataka

Outside SB

From Districts

N.Karnataka

Distribution of Students



, Fidelity Investments, Tech Mahindra,

with candidates from the

other states. a good number of placements are happening in cities like Pine and



ce than a serious necessity. This is the



s for more than three years in Vidya Poshak, added.

thing that the recruiters look for apart from the skill levels in their recruits is the


difficult to maintain the required number of employees at any given point,



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Nitin Desai, regional head, Agastya International Foundation, feels that “Vidya Poshak is an

ideal place for us to hire fellows. Our earlier hiring has been quite satisfactory and most of

them are still with us. They understand the culture and contribute well in the organization.

We hired Srishail two years before and he is one of the best trainers I have. This year we

wish to hire three more from GSF.”

Indeed, GFS is also a spot for recruiters from the North Karnataka region to pick some

market-ready employees quickly.

BRANCHING OUT STRATEGY

A man with a clear vision, Prof. Tilkot is very sure about the future of his program. “An

NGO should not hang on to a project for hundreds of years. They should partner with others,

develop and model through a pilot, build the model and once they evolve a successful model,

they should start sharing it with others. Since the NGOs do not work like business

enterprises, their intention is the benefit of a large number of people...There should be

hundreds of colleges running GFSs. By that time Vidya Poshak should be working on some

other pilot to branch out,” he said.

National Educational Society, Shimoga, and Swami Vivekananda Girijana Sahaya Samiti,

Mysore, are two organizations which had currently partnered with Vidya Poshak to run GFS

in their own premises. The branching out strategy, where Vidya Poshak transfers the

technology and facilitate setup of GFS centres at locations outside Dharwad, has helped the

program reach out to more number of students Year on Year (YOY). From 2010-11 to 2011-

12, YOY growth has been an impressive 19.3% and 32.1% respectively. The best part of the

branching out strategy has been that the new centres also managed attract some of the best

companies as recruiters that have traditionally been recruiting from the mother centre at

Dharwad and maintained the tradition of placing 100% of the students.

“There is a good amount of exchange between the three centres and we from the Dharward

centre visit other centres at regular intervals. There has been a good amount of handholding

in the beginning and we make sure the new centres reach the level of operating their own.

They maintain the same quality that we have here and that’s why they are able to maintain

almost the same level of placements as we have in Dharwad,” Anand Rao, Director, Vidya

Poshak, added.

Diagram 2: Number of Students Graduated

The unique distinction that differentiates GFS from other similar initiatives is the scale it

managed to achieve over the years.

and South Karnataka through meaningful partnerships.

NOT ONLY ENGLISH AND COMPUTERS

One of the key distinguishing factors

the basic BPO/KPO skills. “We have kept a good amount of time on analytics training which

help students clear the elimination test in the first pl

obvious – More than 60% of the students get placed in

students receive help them clear elimination tests.

in analytics - which is basicall

and analytical reasoning - have indeed helped them to clear competitive exams as well as

elimination tests. Prof. Tilkot is very sure about this as he said: “

unique, but we ensure that the

Sector-wise breakup of the recruiters gives testimony for this. Even though the BPO&KPOs

hire 68% of the total graduates, share of other sectors is also worth

banks like ICICI and HDFC recruited more number of students in the most recent batches,

increasing the number of non BPO recruiters.

337

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

09-10 10-11

Students Graduated

8

Number of Students Graduated


over the years. The program successfully penetrated in the North, West

and South Karnataka through meaningful partnerships. The

SH AND COMPUTERS

One of the key distinguishing factors of GFS has been that the program imparts skills beyond

basic BPO/KPO skills. “We have kept a good amount of time on analytics training which

help students clear the elimination test in the first place,” says Anand Rao

of the students get placed in reputed MNCs. Analytics training the

students receive help them clear elimination tests. Students also feel the training they receive

which is basically a preparatory training for quantitative aptitude

have indeed helped them to clear competitive exams as well as

Prof. Tilkot is very sure about this as he said: “Our products may not be

ensure that the process is unique and keep on evolving.”

breakup of the recruiters gives testimony for this. Even though the BPO&KPOs

hire 68% of the total graduates, share of other sectors is also worth mentioning. Private sector


increasing the number of non BPO recruiters.

402

531

11 11-12

Students Graduated

Students Graduated


The program successfully penetrated in the North, West

GFS has been that the program imparts skills beyond

basic BPO/KPO skills. “We have kept a good amount of time on analytics training which

ays Anand Rao. The result is

. Analytics training the

training they receive

y a preparatory training for quantitative aptitude, data analysis,

have indeed helped them to clear competitive exams as well as

Our products may not be

breakup of the recruiters gives testimony for this. Even though the BPO&KPOs

mentioning. Private sector


(See annexure1 for detailed course content

Education

Institution

0%

Financial Service

15%

Government

Service/

Projects

0%

Internet

Service

provider

1%

Travel and

logistics

2%

NGO

3%

Others

1%

Retail

Sectoral break up of recruitment

Basavaraj Pawadi from Uttar Kannada opted not to have a corporate

career. But the analytics and competitive examination training given

during the course helped him get a job in the postal department. “My life

is settled now. I got posted in my home district itself and my

really happy...I can attend departmental examinations and get a

promotion in the next two years.” Having a central government job at an

early age of 22, there is every reason for his parents to be happy with their

son.

9

for detailed course content and list of recruiters)

Administration

0%

Banks

4%

BPO and KPO

Retail

3% Tech

Sales/Marketing

1%

Higher Education

2%

Sectoral break up of recruitment- 2009

from Uttar Kannada opted not to have a corporate



is settled now. I got posted in my home district itself and my parents are




BPO and KPO

68%

2009-12

from Uttar Kannada opted not to have a corporate



parents are




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NEED FOR GOING BEYOND THE OBVIOUS

With more organizations entering the skilling space, the point of differentiation will be the

ability to adapt and respond positively to the ever changing requirements of the job market.

The swiftness in adaptability will very much be reflected in the number and quality of

placements one could make. Thus the need of the hour for any organization is to strive for

excellence in their respective niche by setting higher standards for oneself. A system of

collecting continuous feedback - both from the recruiters and from the alumni - is something

which will help the organization look into itself. A similar system has the prospects of

helping the organization get updated about the real requirements in the market as well as the

current status of their students. Such a system has the potential to make the relationship

between the organization, recruiter. and alumni even stronger. Over time, this initiative has

the potential to become another profit centre for the organization, since the organization will

have a rich database of human resources having varying levels of experience and this can

even help the organization build its muscles as a strong recruitment facilitator.

ALUMNI LINKS

GFS has an informal system of getting feedback from alumni, organizing annual events

where the alumni are invited to join. It is felt that the organization has yet to put serious

efforts into building a strong alumni network and institutionalizing it. Many of those who

passed last year or earlier never bothered to contact the institute back.

Mallikarjun Bhijagmer from Bijapur district, a 2010-11 batch graduate who is

presently working in HP as a process associate, is drawing two lakh per annum. He is

happy to have got the job and gives full credit for the fine opening hegot to GFS. When

asked about possible improvements he said: “We had certain sessions cancelled during

our time since trainers didn’t turn up. I don’t remember anything other than that. The

quality of classes we received was really good, but I still feel the students will benefit

more if Vidya Poshak could conduct more number of interactive sessions with people

who are already working in companies.”

Satish Jigajinni from Belgaum, currently working with Ageis BPO, feels the training

was really useful and shared the same opinion with regards to corporate interaction.

Satish is drawing Rs. 1.8 lakh per annum and recently completed 17 months with his

first employer.

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WAY AHEAD

Started as an answer to the problem of unemployment among youth, GFS has successfully

helped more than 1500 students get decent jobs with decent initial pay packages. The

program is constantly changing and in tune with the vision of the founders Vidya Poshak is

ever striving to solve some of the pressing needs of the student communities. As an ever

evolving model GFS is reinventing itself batch after batch, which it must do so to branch out

to more geographies. It is encouraging to see that certain colleges have come forward to

accept the program as an addition to their regular curriculum. This will indeed help reach out

to multiples of the numbers it could reach over the years in shorter periods. However, this

puts an extra onus on Vidya Poshak to maintain the quality and intensity of the program.

As Anand Rao iterated, “we are continuously striving for improving our systems and keeping

ourselves relevant and updated.” He seems to be hitting the bull’s eye - the craving for

excellence is probably the only answer for the success of an organization working in the

domain of education.

CONCLUSION

The model that Vidya Poshak has come up with for tackling the problem of the lack of

employability among rural youth reiterates the larger role that non-formal organizations

working outside the purview of the university education system can play in finding solutions

for some of the most critical problems in the sector. Being outside the purview of the

university system enables GFS to experiment, invent, and reinvent their course contents and

delivery mechanisms with larger freedom. The entire course had been crafted around a social

business model, having strong elements of financial sustainability along with the stated

objective of making rural youth employable. Vidya Poshak as an organization has exhibited

traits of a learning organization2 throughout its history of evolution; GFS has its genesis in

this tradition of the organization has exhibited traits of a learning organization3 throughout

its history of evolution; GFS has its genesis in this tradition of the organization. Being a front

runner in identifying some of the critical needs and solutions for the problem identified in the

Sandbox region, Vidya Poshak has a more serious role to play by ‘piloting models’ and

2 This is the term given to a company that facilitates the learning of its members and continuously transforms

itself.

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‘branching out’.

ANNEXURE 1:

Course Syllabus- Graduate Finishing School:

A. Functional English:

B. Basic Computer Training:

C. Personality Development:

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D. Analytical Skills:

E. Core Competency Enhancement:

Annexure 2:

A day at Graduate Finishing School:

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Annexure 3: List of repeated recruiters:

ACCENTURE

CMS COMPUTERS

HINDUJA GLOBAL

E4E

MPHASIS

E&Y

FIDELITY

HEWLETT PACKARD

IBM

FIRST SOURCE

ICICI BANK

TECH MAHINDRA

HDFC BANK

MUTHOOT FINCORP

I-GATE

INDIA INFOLINE

TATA CMC

TCS

WIPRO

JP MORGAN

FIRST AMERICAN

BOSCH

VISION NET

FIDELITY

INFOSYS

Date post:	12-Nov-2014
Category:	Education
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