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CHAPTER - V
FINDINGS, SUGGESTIONS AND CONCLUSIONS
5.1 Introduction
This chapter deals with the summary of the study, followed by the
discussions and the implications for the future policy development, curriculum
design and implications for future research considerations. Firstly, the
background of the study will be presented, followed by the discussions of the
findings. Implications are drawn followed by the conclusion to the study.
This study was attempted with the primary purpose of understanding
the skill gaps across select industries in the twin cities of Hyderabad and
Secunderabad. They are (i) Financial Services, (ii) Manufacturing Sector, (iii)
Process Industries, (iv) Service Sector, (v) IT/ITES, and (vi) Research &
Development.
For the purpose of the analysis and comparison the select forms have
been discussed in six sections.
5.2 Summary of the findings
All the results presented in the previous chapters have been presented
in brief as a summary in the following sections.
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5.2.1 Drivers of future skill needsi. The organisation under study were found involved in activities like
(a) processing goods and services to the common people
(b) focus on R&D and
(c) administrative office only.
ii. The current financial turnover being one of the drivers of skill needs.
The study highlighted the fact that in all the sectors of business, the
turnover had significantly increased, indicating increased level of
activities and consequent use of skilled workforce.
iii. Majority of all the sectors were found being the major players in the
market; and are further found operating in the competitive markets.
iv. A Majority were found involved in new product development as it is
considered crucial for survival in the future.
These findings indicate the dynamic environment of the sectors under
study.
5.2.2 Skill Acquisition Barriers
This study brought to light certain barriers to skill acquisition in the
selected sectors of business.
i. Surprisingly, majority of the executives were of the opinions that the
applicants lack motivation or right attitude towards work irrespective of
the sector of business.
ii. It was also found that a large majority of the executives were of the
opinions that the applicants for jobs in their companies lack adequate
qualifications.
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iii. Similarly, a large majority of executives were of the opinions that the
applicants for the jobs in their companies lack relevant experiences,
besides relevant skills irrespective of the sector of business to which
they belong.
iv. As regards ability to pay according to market rates for attracting talent
a large majority of the executives are of the opinion that their
companies are having the ability to pay according to the market rates.
v. It was also found that a large majority of executives stated that in
respect of certain operations though it is hard to fill the vacancies, it is
not because of the shift system or because of unsocial working hours
such as night shifts etc.
vi. Another reason for not filling the vacancies as majority of the
executives stated is that applicants are unwilling to work for the market
rates. Similarly they are also having the opinion that they lack adequate
resources for effective recruitment.
vii. A majority of the executives are also of an opinion that one of the
reasons for not filling the vacancies is that, the applicant are reluctant
to relocate to other cities, besides poor career progression being
another reason.
viii. A majority of them though said that seasonal work is not the reason,
applicants lacking right attitude or motivation being reason for not filling
the vacancies.
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5.2.3 Skill Profiles
In this section findings relating to executives opinions about the levels
of skills that are needed in their companies sector wise have been presented.
i. With regard to level of numeracy skill needs, large number of the
executives, irrespective of the sector which they belong were of the
opinion that their employee numeracy skill was either basic or
intermediate.
ii. On the contrary with regard to level of literacy majority of them were of
the opinion that such literacy level should be high.
iii. A majority of them were of the opinion that the language skills of their
employees are expected to be high, surprisingly including
manufacturing sector.
iv. As regards the trade/process skills, it was found that a good number of
them were of the opinion that their employees are expected to have
high or advanced, skill level in this area.
v. With regard to the problem solving skills, a large majority of the
executives are of the opinion that they expect such skill to be high.
vi. Communication skills requirements were considered to be high as
majority of the executives opined. Some of them even wanted such
skills to be advanced.
vii. As ability to follow instructions is an important skill, a majority of
executives said that such skill is highly expected, followed by around
one forth of them wanted such skill to be advanced.
viii. IT skills were found either basic or high level in large number of
industries.
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ix. A good number of executives were of the opinion that employee
initiative skill are expected to be high or advanced among their
employees.
x. Leadership and motivation skills, as opined by executives in majority is
that such skill should be high, followed by few of them were wanted it
advance.
xi. Management skills were as expected to be high as expressed by a
majority of the executives irrespective of their sector of business.
xii. Ability to learn and develop self was expected to be high are advanced
by a majority of executives irrespective of the sector to which they
belong.
xiii. Team working skills were also expected to be high by a majority of
executives irrespective of their sectors.
xiv. Understanding the customers needs was also expected to be high by a
majority of the executives irrespective of the sector.
xv. A majority of the executives expected adaptability and flexibility skill to
be high irrespective of their sectors.
5.2.4 Skill Gaps
In this section the findings are presented according to the executives’
responses sector wise for quick understanding of the skill gaps prevalent in
the sector.
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FINANCIAL SECTOR
Specifically, out of 13 skills in this sector, the serious skill gaps found in
the order are communication skill, Adaptability/ Flexibility, IT, Ability to
learn, Management Skill and ability to follow instructions.
MANUFACTURING SECTOR
In this sector, the serious skill gaps are found in order of
communication skills, Adaptability/ Flexibility skills, IT, Ability to learn,
management skills and ability to follow instructions.
PROCESS INDUSTRIES
In this sector, the serious skill gaps are Communication skills, ability to
follow instructions and management skills.
SERVICE SECTOR
In this sector, it is interesting to note that the serious skill gaps exists in
language skills, communication skills and management skills as
reported by the executives.
IT/ITES
In this sector many serious gaps were found in the skills indicating that
the sector suffers from the shortage of skills. Some of the serious skill
gaps are found in communication skills, ability to follow, language
skills, problem solving skills, leadership/ motivational skills,
Management skills and Adaptability/ Flexibility skills.
RESEARCH & DEVLOPMENT SECTOR
As this sector is an emerging sector, serious gaps were found in many
skills. They are, in order, Management skill, Communication skills,
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Ability to follow instructions, showing initiative, IT skill, Understanding
customer needs, Adaptability/ Flexibility skills, Leadership/ Motivating
skills.
5.2.5 Consequences of skill gaps
In this section, the impact of the skill gaps are being encountered by
the sectors have been presented.
Numeracy Skills
It was found that a majority of the executives are of the uniform opinion
that there is severe impact are numeracy skill gap on their day to day
operations irrespective of their sectors.
Literacy Skills
Similarly in all the sectors of business the impact of gap in literacy skill
is felt severe by all the executives working in the sectors.
Language Skills
Except in finance sector, the language skill gap has created severe
impact in all the sectors as stated by a large majority of the executives.
Trade/ Process Skill
A large majority of executives stated that the severity of impact created
by the lack of trade/processing skills was faced in all the sectors of
business.
Problem Solving Skills
Executives in large majority were of the uniform opinion that the impact
of gap in problem solving skills is felt severe in their respective sectors
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Communication Skills
Except in manufacturing sector, executives were of the uniform
opinions that the impact of shortage in communication skills is felt very
severe in their workplaces.
Ability To Follow Instructions
A majority of executives were of the uniform opinion that the impact of
gaps in the skill to follow instructions had been severe in their
workplace irrespective of their sector.
IT Skills
It was found that in all the sectors, a majority of the executives were of
the opinion that the impact of shortage of IT skills was severely felt in
their workplaces.
Ability To Learn
It was found that a majority of executives were of the opinion that the
impact of gap in such skill had been severe in their workplaces
Showing Initiative
A majority of executives were of the opinions that lack of initiative
among employees created a severe impact in their workplaces
irrespective of the sectors.
Leadership/Motivational Skill
It was found that except in service sector, a majority of executives were
of the opinions that the impact of shortage in this managerial skill is felt
more severe in their workplace.
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Leadership And Development Skill
As regards the impact of leadership and development, the impact of
such skill shortage is found more severe in all the sectors except in
Financial services, IT/ITES and Research and Development.
Team Working Skills
Except in service sector, the impact of shortage of such skills was
severe in all the sectors as reported by the executives.
Understanding Customer Needs
As regards the impact of skill gaps regarding understanding customer
needs, it was found that except in financial sector, the impact was
severe in all sectors as reported by the managers.
Entreprenuer Skills
It was found that except in service sector the impact of the shortage of
this skill was severe in all the sectors as felt by the managers.
Adaptability / Flexibility
Lastly with regard to the employee skill of adaptability to change and
flexibility, though the impact is felt in all the sectors, the severity was
not there in any of the sector as felt by the managers.
5.2.6 Management Challenges
Some important challenges that results due to the impact that of skill
gap in various sectors have been explored. The challenges identified by
them as the once to be addressed for survival and growth of business have
been presented.
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Training as a Challenge
It was found that except in financial services, the majority of managers
in all other sectors were of the opinion that they met the challenge of
the skill gap by providing training to the existing employees. Rather
than recruit afresh.
Losing Business
It was found that a majority of executives in all the sectors were of the
opinion that losing business to the competitors is not at all a challenge,
a little over one third across all the sector said that it is a challenge to
be addressed.
Loss of quality of service
Except in IT/ITES sector a majority of the executives in other sectors
were of the opinion that loss of quality in the service was a major
challenge which needs to be addressed.
Developing new products/ services
In the wake of significant gaps in the skills, addressing development of
new products/ services is a very serious challenge. Surprisingly it was
found that this one is not a serious challenge in process industries and
service sector.
Withdrawal of products/ services
In manufacturing, the majority of the executives are of the opinion that
they are under the pressure to withdraw certain products/ services
since the impact of skill shortage is more.
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Meeting Customer service Needs
A majority of executives with exception in process industries, service
sector and R & D sector were found reporting that meeting customer
service objectives is a major challenge than in other sectors.
Difficulties in introducing Technologies
As regards difficulties in introducing technologies at workplace, it was
found that majority of the executives were of the same opinions that
there is difficulty in introducing new technology with an exception in IT/
ITES sector where 50% of the respondents said no to such challenge.
Difficulties in introducing new work practices
Similarly, majority of the executives were of the opinion that it is also
difficult to introduce new work practices.
Increased running costs
It was found that a large majority of executives in all sectors said that
increased running costs due to use of overtime subcontracting or
temporary staff. However either a little over one third or one fourth said
that it is a challenge.
Difficulties in meeting delivery schedules
It was found that, surprisingly a majority of executives in IT/ITES said
that meeting delivery schedule is not a challenge. Whereas majority in
all the sectors said it is a challenge and were so in financial sectors.
Loss of efficiency/ increased wastage
It was found that except in service sector and IT/ITES sectors, a
majority of executives in all other sectors said that loss of efficiency is a
challenge.
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5.2.7 Addressing Skill Gap
A large majority of executives said that they have taken all the
precautionary measures to address the skill gaps irrespective of
sectors and did not leave it to the market. Some of the measures are
presented below.
Increased Apprenticeship
It was found that though a majority of executives in all sectors have
increased apprenticeship. To combat skill gap problems, however, this
was not so in process and service sector.
Providing further training
In order to address the skill gaps, a majority of executives in services,
IT/ITES and R & D said that they are providing further training.
Changed work practices
A large majority of the executives said that they have changed work
practices to address the skill gaps, irrespective of their sector. This
could result in use of new alternative skill set or ensure maximum
output from existing skill set.
Relocate work elsewhere
A large majority of the executives said that they did not initiate
relocation of work elsewhere. In other words they combat the skill gap
by other means such as training, work practices, technology up
gradation etc.
Increased recruitment activities
A large majority of the executives said that they have increased
recruitment activities, to acquire new skills in addition to other
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measures to address the challenges of the skill gap.
It is seen that the industries are resorting to various measures to fight
the skill gap including measures like training, technology up gradation,
changing work practices etc.
5.2.8 Summary of Hypothesis
The Hypothesis formulated at the beginning of the study and the
results of the testing of these hypotheses is summarized in the following table
and brings out the entire study into a nut-shell.
Table: 5.1: Summary of Hypothesis
S.No. HypothesisAccepted/
Rejected
Ho1There is no significant association betweendrivers of future skills and the type of sector inthe select companies
Rejected
Ho2 There is no significant association betweenskill acquisition process and the type of sector.
Rejected
Ho3 There is no significant association between typeskill reserve and the type of sector.
Rejected
Ho4There is no significant Gap in the skills asreported by the managers in the selectcompanies across the sectors
Rejected
Ho5 There is no significant association betweenconsequences of skill gaps and type of sectors.
Rejected
Ho6 There is no significant association betweenmanagerial challenges and type of sector. Rejected
5.3 Discussions
ASTD research in 2009 identified two underlying causes of the skills
gap:
1. Jobs are changing
2. Educational attainment is lagging.
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In addition to those factors, which have long contributed to creating and
widening skills gaps, the large-scale loss of jobs during the recession that
began in late 2007 also plays a role. The recession is the longest since World
War II, and in the 2009 the jobless rate has soared up.
Even though organisations may have skills gaps, they will not be filling
them from the ranks of the unemployed. “Recessions accelerate the trend to
eliminate low-wage, low-skills jobs”, “and those jobs don’t come back.”
Instead, companies create jobs requiring more education and skill. Growth of
these jobs is slow in part because they require paying higher salaries and
providing costly technological infrastructure for these workers. “Employers will
hire cautiously to fill skill gaps that they couldn’t address by hiring during the
recession,” (Carnevale, 2009). He predicts that pressure to fix skills gaps will
intensify again, probably by 2013, when the economy has added back the
millions of lost jobs and will need to create many millions more to produce
growth (Carnevale, 2009).
5.4 Implications
In this section, Implications are drawn for the development of a skills
Policy at government, enterprise and industry levels. Secondly implications
are also drawn for Curriculum Development, and lastly, implications are drawn
for Practicing training and development in organisations.
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5.4.1 Government and the National Skills Development Policy
This study suggest that the government needs to focus on raising the
education and skill levels of its citizens so that people and the businesses can
continue to compete and thrive in the global economy . Some of the important
recommendations that need to be followed in observing the policy
considerations are:
1. Educators must emphasize science, math, and technology-related
programs in central and state curricula, invest more in effective teacher
education focused on math and science, and ensure that programs
regarding career opportunities and requirements for graduation are
geared for the next century employment.
2. Employers should invest at least five percent of their profits, whenever
possible, to provide training opportunities for their current employees.
3. Central and state governments should invest in the capacity of
university and technical colleges to prepare individuals for careers in
high-growth industries.
4. Government education standards should include career education as a
measurable criterion for success.
5. The Higher Education & its funding mechanisms should provide
increased access for adult learners. Further, there should be strong
interface with the industry for making the young people more skills
driven.
6. Individuals must take responsibility for their own careers and
employability by earning relevant industry certifications and formal
education credentials.
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7. The apex bodies that promote the interests of the employers,
employees and the industries must strengthen their mutual
engagement in order to better advise workforce functions on rising and
declining economic conditions, business investments, skill needs, and
employment requirements.
8. Public and private partnerships should be encouraged to support
career awareness campaigns.
5.5 Curriculum Development
As mentioned above, the findings of this study are important in
understanding the skills gap in two ways—the importance assigned to tasks
by the employer and the measure of proficiency derived from the proficiency
ratings. These findings also can inform policy, curriculum development and
practice.
Vallas (1990), in his research on "what is skill?", indicated that skill
research and public policies form a relationship. That is, the development of
policy around skill research is a known fact. Furthermore, Cappelli (1995)
indicates that shortly after the Commission's first publication of the SCANS
Report, efforts were made to have these skills institutionalized in curricula
across the nation.
Because of the very nature of this study on skills research, and
because the SCANS’ general workplace skills findings, both policy and
curriculum issues are raised in this study. For example, regarding policy, the
question is raised regarding whether there is the need for more research and
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development to deepen the understanding of the skills gap in particular
industries, as well as attention to the definition of skills in relation to
educational preparation.
These observations are a first step in the curriculum or policy
development process toward aligning educational programs with general or
basic needs of employers in industry. As the findings reflect, the top one third
of the skill (tasks) assigned ratings of importance by the front-line supervisors
were also found to be important in how the worker interacts with other
workers-employers, supervisors, and customers, and, as was mentioned
above, in technology basics.
5.6 Suggested Training Programs – Sector-wise:
Based on the findings of the research, sector wise training programs to
address the skill gap have been drawn up and presented in the following
tables. However, these are only suggestive and generic and the actual
training in any organisation/company should be only after a through analysis
of the training need and specific need based.
The tables below presents the curriculum for training and education of
employees sector-wise indicating both the technical and socio behavioral
skills as brought out by the managers of the companies in different sectors in
this study.
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Table 5.2: Skill Building Programme in IT/ITES SECTOR
Functional skills Technical skills Socio behavioral skillsLanguage Skills
Good Communication skillsGood Problem solving skillsListening skillsLeader ship skills andTime management skills.Good grip over subjectThinking out of the box and coding itin a simple manner.Should be a quick learnerEtiquette and grooming skillsManagement Skills
Quantitative SkillsInformationTechnology Skills
Updated knowledgeon the softwares onwhich they areworkingCoding and decoding Potent technicalskills. Good simulationskills Solving technicalissues quickly.Upgrading thesoftware ortechnology andmaintaining themintelligently.Quality assurance
Problem Solving SkillsAbility To LearnShowing InitiativeTeam Working SkillsLeadership/MotivationalSkillsUnderstandingCustomer NeedsAdaptability/ Flexibility
To be a good teamplayer and good teamleader Must have patience Friendly Adjust yourself to theambience. Must be a goodmotivatorAbility to FollowInstructions
Table 5.3: Skill Building Programme in Research and Development Sector
Functional skills Technical skills Socio behavioral skills
Good knowledge in their field of research
Good presentation and communication
skills
Ethics and governance
Negotiation skills for research contracts
Good project management skills
Good time management skills
Good written communication for
publications
Simulation based training at
the early stage
Should know how to handle
the equipments
Good research skills
Use molecular mechanics
and dynamics to study
biomolecular systems.
Develop computer software
for chemical applications
In depth experience with
computational chemistry
programs including SYBYL,
MacroModel,
Insight/Discover,
Quanta/CHARMm, Cerius2,
Biograf, Chem-X, AMBER
Must have lot of
patience
Good team player
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Table 5.4: Skill Building Programme in Service Sector)
(Hospital Industry)
Functional skills Technical skills Socio behavioral skillsGood communication skillsTime management skillsPatience level should be highLeadership skillsDecision making skillsTeam working skillsEmergency management
Technological advances inhealth caresimulation-based trainingGood surgical skillsProper usage ofequipments
Individual situationawarenessEmpowerment issuesand team situationawarenessPatient safety andmanagementHumanity
TABLE 5.5: Skill Building Programme in Process IndustryFunctional Skills Technical skills Socio behavioral skillsGood communication skillsGood leadership skillsGood maintenance skillsHandling uncertainitiesHandling unions and strikesGood motivational skillsThe ability to optimize the supply chainGood decision making skills
Good mechanical skillsKnowledge about thesoftware that are used intheir industry in the processof manufacturingCutting-edge engineeringexpertise
Good team playerFlexible
TABLE 5.6: Skill Building Programme in Financial ServicesFunctional skills TECHNICAL SKILLS SOCIO –
BEHAVIOURAL SKILLSApplication oriented domainknowledgeGood communication skillsCustomer orientation – servicing& acquisitionInfectious positive attitudeHigh levels of integrityExposure to application softwareSelf learning capabilityOther soft skills like ability to workwith teams, deadline and targetorientation etc…Location flexibility
Sales and customer acquisition:Business Development, Sales,Marketing & RelationshipManagementFront office operations: Branch andCorporate, and other Customerservicing functionsBack office operations: Transactionprocessing, underwriting, queryhandlingHigh end operations: Treasury,Forex, high end underwriting,Financial Planning for HNI, WealthManagement and many moreEntrepreneurial : Consulting,Financial Planning, WealthManagement, Insurance advisors toindividual & corporate
Listening skillsGood networkingHigh levels of patience
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Table 5.7: Skill Building Programme in Manufacturing
FUNCTIONAL SKILLS TECHNICAL SKILLS Socio – BehavioralSkills
CommunicationMathematicsInformation and communication technology(ICT)Reading and writingLanguage competenciesNegotiationAnalytical
Computer knowledge(advanced)Manufacturing materialsand processesMechanical measurementand instrumentationQualitySafetyElectronicsDigital design and modelingMechanical design andfabricationpurchasing and managing
team playerleadership skills
5.7 Conclusions
The problem of skill shortages among people across the world has
never been felt as it is now. Such scenario is globally relevant and nations
across the world have been constituting national skills commissions one after
the other. Indian is no exception. Industries across all sectors of economy
have felt such need direly / and voiced their concerns for the future of the
economy. Encouraged by such challenge, the present study was undertaken.
The present study was conducted primarily to explore the skills gaps
that are prevalent across six sectors of business namely i) Financial Sector, ii)
Manufacturing Sector, iii) Process Industries, iv) Service Sector, v) IT / ITES,
and vi) Research & Development.
The study had four-fold purpose. They are i) to analyse the type of
skills across the six industry sectors under study. Secondly, it intends to
access the skills gap analysis Industry –wise since analyzing the gaps in
various skills is the centrality of this research. Thirdly, the consequences of
skill gaps in the industries have been examined. Lastly, the managerial
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challenges in response to the skill gaps were explored.
There were six null hypotheses tested in this study. Interestingly, all of
them were rejected based on the chi-square test results and the paired t-test
results. Such rejections indicate that the problem of skill shortages across all
the six sectors is very harmful to the economy which is at present positioned
at 5 percent.
Human resource functionaries from 210 companies across six sectors
mentioned above participated in this study. Their responses to a structured
questionnaire formed the basis of the results of the study.
Therefore, in relation to the findings of the study, various implications
have been drawn. Particularly, the implications for designing new training
programmers across the sectors customized and generalized, followed by the
managerial implications of skill building through various programmes of
mentoring, coaching and counseling.
5.8 Recommendations for Future ResearchSeveral workforce studies have analysed skills gaps by utilizing a mix
of workforce survey research and aggregate labour market supply/demand
indicators. This hybrid approach of using both survey and labour market
supply/demand data is recognized as a “best practice” of addressing skills
gaps for many state workforce agencies and labour market information offices
around the world.
One example of this hybrid approach is to determine skill supply from
responses to telephone-based labour shed surveys and skill demand on
employer job vacancy surveys. Such surveys are need of the hour.
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Another variation of this hybrid approach to skills gap analysis includes
more general comparisons of aggregate labour market supply indicators
various occupational projections data in combination with employer job
vacancy survey data to represent skill demand.
In each case, the hybrid approach provides a balanced approach that
incorporates both aggregate and customized data to determine gaps in skills.
The phrase “skills gap” is used in industrial / organisational (I/O)
psychology literature within the context of competency analysis and modeling.
The task force was charged with studying the related issues of job
analysis and the burgeoning practice of competency modeling used as a
method for addressing the strategic needs of organisations. Specifically, it
noted that job boundaries were increasingly becoming blurred and that this
trend necessitated the use of competency-based approaches to job analysis.
While the task force concluded that there was disagreement among
practitioners at the time regarding a common definition for competencies and
competency modeling, the importance of such research continued to be a
focus in the literature over the years.
A gradual consensus formed in the competency analysis research
conducted soon thereafter around defining the process of competency
modeling. Competency modeling generally includes the steps of: (1)
competency mapping, (2) competency gap analysis, (3) competency
development, and (4) competency monitoring.
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The second step of the competency modeling, a competency gap
analysis, has been defined as the gap between the competencies that
employees possess in comparison with the competencies required by an
organisation. While there is a noted distinction between the concepts of
“competencies” and “skills,” the I/O literature uses the terms “competency
gap” and “skills gap” interchangeably in researching the process of
competency modeling. This report will not enter into the fray of determining
the appropriateness of investigating either competencies or skills, but rather
will provide a review of the methodologies used in conducting a gap analysis
in the context of the I/O literature. Irrespective of the use of “competency” or
“skill,” the results of a gap analysis are often used by I/O and human
resource management researchers to indicate whether present employees
have the necessary skills and competencies for their jobs and, if not, where
they need development.
The practice of using competency modeling and gap analysis to meet
the goals and strategies of a business is referred to in the I/O literature as
competency management.
This concept includes a larger framework of documenting, mapping,
and assessing competencies, sometimes in the context of future, as well as
current, organisational needs.
Within competency management practices, a gap analysis is critical to
minimizing time spent in training and enabling workers to focus on specific
skills that they lack.
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The ability to create cost effectiveness in organisational training
systems has increased the use of competency management systems in large
organisations, resulting in more granular distinctions in the definition and use
of skills gap research.
The I/O literature has many variations on defining and implementing
competency or skills gap analysis. While some of the gap analysis is
conducted within the context of an organisation, there are also many
examples of I/O gap analysis conducted from an industry-wide perspective.
In addition to variations on research context, the literature also contains
major differences in the definition of skill supply and demand. In defining the
concept of gap analysis, some of the I/O research uses supervisory
perception to define skill supply and demand.
Research by McClain defined a skills gap as any difference between
supervisors’ perceptions of the importance of a skill versus their perception of
actual skills possessed by entry-level employees.
Other researchers have to define supply as skills identified by
hospitality educators as important, and demand as skills identified as
important by industry recruiters.
A critique of this approach is the assumption that perception of skill
importance by educators can be used as a proxy for skills possessed, either
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by graduates or by entry-level workers. Similar problems exist in studies that
utilize self-reported skill level to determine supply rather than actual assessed
level of skills.
Another recommendation in regard to the future research is replication
of the results using an instrument similar to this instrument. For instance, this
study could be replicated in similar industries and occupations in different
states which would assist the National Skill development commission in
determining the viability of "national" skill standards.
For gathering information about skill gaps toward understanding the
skills gap, a third recommendation is to apply a combined direct measure
approach in other entry-level occupations, firms, and industries. Replication of
this "skills gap analysis" model in another industry, at the firm level, and in
another entry-level occupation will confirm the relationship between
importance and proficiency of the SCANS general workplace skills and will
determine if different or similar patterns of clusters in core skills are evident.
A fourth recommendation addresses the use of case studies. A series
of case studies should be conducted where teachers are given these data and
asked to develop a curriculum for high school and technical college students.
It would be useful to know how teachers interpret and use this information in
creating learning experiences and assessing learner outcomes.