TeamLease is apprehensive over the growing number of pharmacy and biotechnology graduates and post graduates who fall in the unemployable category. On a scale of ten, at least 8 candidates are unemployable. Poor proficiency in English communication, personality and attitude are some of the critical observations seen to disappoint the industry and thus see candidates fail at the interviews.

“This is a cause for concern because students of pharmacy colleges are only looking to arm themselves with domain expertise. From an industry perspective, it is viewed that there is much more required over technical capability. The parameters closely monitored are attributes like the individual’s personality, physical attributes and behavioural patterns,” Neeti Sharma, senior vice president, TeamLease told Pharmabiz.

The candidates despite their qualifications are not competent to take on the industry needs. There are issues of poor communication skills, lack of confidence, unpreparedness to tap job openings, she added.

Comparing a basic need like competence in English language to a  Windows operating system for computers is a primary requirements in the knowledge process outsourcing (KPO) industry where communication over telephone was the key, she said.

“Fundamentals in written communication are also found wanting. In an age of technology, communication is the key. Having this provides an edge and natural confidence to candidates during interviews. This is where TeamLease is increasingly focusing on new training tools via its classroom and e-learning processes at cloud campuses across the country. The company guides and moulds scores of graduates and post graduates to be ready for the industry,” she said.

Some of TeamLease’s tools used for soft skills training for pharma and biotechnology students are simulators, virtual classrooms, e-learning platforms, digital content and apprentices. These according to Sharma enables candidates to be competent.

Further there are also issues of high levels of unawareness on the employment opportunities in the pharma and biotech industry. The big take away for most candidates is sales and marketing over production and research or even regulatory departments. This is evident among candidates coming in from the smaller towns.

Going by the major transformations in the pharma and biotech industry, companies are also looking at the smart candidates to cater to the challenging domestic and international market requirements. Therefore behavioural assessment is critical component in hiring, she pointed out.