Pharmaceutical companies are increasingly preferring to hire fresh graduates over experienced candidates in departments of sales-marketing and manufacture, according to TeamLease. There is a manifestation of skill deficit and this has led a lot of pharma companies to look at the fresher talent pool which are easily available from campus recruitments.
 
Furthermore, one third of the present working population comprises Gen Y aged between 20 and 23 years. These are fresh graduates and postgraduates who sport a lot more energy, enthusiasm and are motivated to arm themselves with broad-based skill sets over their experienced counterparts seeking for lateral job shifts.
 
There is 16 to 18 per cent increase in hiring of a fresher talent pool across companies and particularly pharma companies which have always preferred experienced capability to inexperienced entrants, Amit Vadera, senior general manager, TeamLease Services told Pharmabiz in a telecon.
 
Fresher hiring momentum is palpable particularly from mid-2015 and we are sure that this would continue as a just out of college candidate despite lack of experience is seen to be adaptable to any environment. Companies see that with adequate in-house training the fresher candidates can be seen to achieve the much-wanted professional maturity, he added.
 
The fresh talent is also preferred because companies can train them to suit their work environments over the experienced or seasoned professional who it difficult to unlearn and also unwillingly to up-skill. Therefore pharma industry is now creating a ‘fresher’ candidate pipeline that could spur and adopt innovation and be able to face the challenging environment that demands high pressure deadlines. said Vadera.

Global pharma majors and Indian drug companies now increasingly looking at college fresher talent pool. The companies are now willing to infuse fresh blood and see that their energies are channelized to generate new ideas and novel concepts, There is also a move by pharma companies to improve gender diversity are consciously increasing women workforce. Moreover, there is also an increased interest by young women to opt for openings as medical representatives because are willing to commute and are seen to also adept with good communication skills.
 
“We are also noting that while the fresher is willing to be trained and adjust to the corporate culture, the employers are also aware on the absence of office exposure. Yet, there is a willingness by companies to invest in them. Here the choice for a freshers is not based on saving salaries because human resource training constitutes a major chunk of capital resources, pointed out Vadera.

Opting for the fresher candidate also comes in with challenges. Matching expectations of both employer and employees is seen as an issue. There are also concerns about the lack of clarity on job roles for a fresher which requires understanding and acceptance from the companies on what is expected from the candidate. Therefore we do see companies dealing with fresher talent pool through induction programmes which is seen to be the most critical component for the candidate to pursue the career growth path, noted Vadera.