Youth Skills Day: NEC translating India’s youth potential into global talent powerhouse

"If you ride technology, you can ride the future" - Corinne Vigreux, TomTom

?The above quote stands true for any company that intends to rule in this tech-ade. Embracing accelerated technology disruption is the best way to stay ahead and overcome any tactical challenges. However, one challenge that continues to trouble c-suite leaders is the vast array of risks presented by the dynamic labor market. While CHROs are evolving internal policies and initiatives with an increased commitment to DEI (diversity, equity & inclusion) to sail the 'Great Resignation', they can definitely not ignore the value of investing in the existing workforce to thrive in this uncertain scenario.

?According to a recent report by Nasscom-Zinnov, India is projected to face a shortage of 14-19 lakh tech professionals by 2026. In this context, the upcoming Youth Skills Day themed around ‘Learning and skills for life, work, and sustainable development’ world leaders are reminded of the significance of young and skilled people in driving positive socio-economic revolution.

Hiring new resources with the latest skills might not be sustainable in a constantly transient landscape. Then, how do business leaders meet this rising talent demand in the long term? Studies have shown that starting to build a learning culture where every employee thrives can add to the bottom line. And NEC Corporation India has experienced this firsthand through its novel interventions.

?Here are some lessons from India's long-standing digital transformation partner's journey on developing potential leaders, preparing tomorrow's change-makers, and equipping Indian youth with the requisite skills.

?Building a Learning Organization

Everything, everyone, and every system evolves with time. NEC India believes that change is the only constant that leaders can embrace in the 'Next Normal.' Built on a strong foundation of the Japanese hallmark of excellence and skill-intensive labour, NEC provides on-the-job learning opportunities to its people who can practice the latest skill sets on global deployments.

NEC's workforce has a considerable role in driving solid business outcomes, collectively spending over 84,000 hours on upskilling in a year. Additionally, team members of NEC Global Development Centre (GDC) get a chance to learn from their global counterparts, innovate and draw learnings from international projects as part of its 'In India - For India' & 'From India – For Globe' strategy.

Over the years, NEC India has further bolstered its organizational culture of meritocracy and transparency by implementing the 360-degree employee evaluation process based on the nine-block framework. This system places a robust two-pronged focus on its employee's performance and their workplace behavior. In fact, the repercussions of the market volatility did not deter NEC's people-first policy, for it forged ahead to reward its employees with promotions, performance bonuses, and increments, keeping up to its word of a People-centric organization.

To foster enhanced learning amongst different strata of the workforce, NEC India incepted its leadership academy, "LEAP," to groom its senior leaders and managers to become leaders of tomorrow, equipping them with skills to adapt to a dynamic world. The organization continues to motivate every employee to upskill and undergo training programs to unleash their potential and grow up the ladder.

A Mechanism to Find Radical Ideas

One of the primary concerns for leaders in the boardroom today is the inability to compete for the long-term without a solid innovation engine that can grow from bottom to top. As an organization committed to improving lives in the country, NEC Corporation India has evolved to provide tailor-made services and solutions and thus continues to invest in R&D capabilities. Under the unconventional leadership of Aalok Kumar, NEC Corporation India's President and CEO, the technology leader is inculcating a change mindset through innovation first approach based on workforce competency. This unique and purpose-led approach provides agility and resilience to pivot NEC India's organizational strategy in this VUCA (volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity) world.

With its 'India Go big' strategy, NEC's R&D teams have worked cohesively and developed innovative solutions that create social value and are globally scalable. By nurturing an intrapreneur mindset amongst its workforce, NEC reinforces its commitment to its clients, industry, and society. Its vast talent pool of 6000 members across various verticals, including public safety, communications, infrastructure, aviation, logistics, and transportation solutions, takes pride in powering a billion Indian dreams through meaningful endeavors.

Making Upskilling the Norm

NEC's focus has not been limited to its existing employees alone but the world leader has initiated multiple partnerships with colleges, including IIM Ahmedabad, IIM Bangalore, ISB Hyderabad, AKG, KIET, IET-Lucknow, ABES, BNMIT, IILM, BIT, Amity University, etc. to contribute towards the industry ecosystem. The main objective behind this has been to have a pronounced and new age-enabled curriculum to increase students' employability and corporate adaptability score. As part of NEC's college placement program, around 60 Gakkou (Japanese word for schools) and campus freshers were onboarded in 2020 alone.

As an organization conducting its business activities in two large nations, Japan initially and later expanding to India, NEC recognized the language and culture gap to be bridged between these two countries for seamless integration of its business endeavors. Therefore, to aid mutual economic growth between them, NEC led a first-of-its-kind corporate initiative with the inception of NEC Japanese Language Academy (NJLA) in 2013. With NEC as a skill-building partner for Japanese language and intercultural training, this academy strives to bring together the best of industry experience and academic excellence under one roof. The underlying mission of this unique initiative is to serve as a gateway for those who want to explore various avenues in the field of Japanese and make their career in IT through their specialized training, employment opportunities and placement support.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent meeting with NEC chairman Nobuhiro Endo in Tokyo further cemented the latter's aspirations to invest in India for a better tomorrow. NEC intends to make India a global innovation hub with its youth serving as a powerhouse for global tech talent.