Huge 'talent deficit' may hit Corporate India: Deloitte

India Inc is likely to face a huge 'talent deficit' in the coming years, as the country is not producing enough people equipped with the right skills required for the globalised environment, global consultancy Deloitte says.

According to report titled on the 'New India Manager' by Deloitte, the new talent management model in companies would need a shift in outlook where the paradigm of 'scarcity of jobs' would convert into a 'scarcity of talent'.

"Talent deficit is likely to grow significantly in the coming years as universities and educational centres are not providing the adequate skills for the country to produce required number of talented managers," Deloitte Vice President (Strategy & Innovation) Manish Agrawal said.

Unless a fundamental shift occurs in the educational system it will continue to produce degreeholders but they will lack skills to operate in a corporate environment, he added.

Agrawal has authored a study on the evolution of the Indian manager from the pre-liberalisation period till now.

The report stated that globalisation, post 1991, has helped the Indian managers to develop their competencies and a global outlook unleashing a wave of creativity and innovation in the domestic industry.

"However not many managers in the country have required soft skills, like communication abilities for operating in a global environment among others. We need to build such skill sets to enhance our talent pools," Agrawal said.

The Deloitte report stated that it remains to be seen as to what extent the country would be able to enhance the competence level of its young population to make them employable.

And this is also a challenge which the Indian policymakers would have to deal with in the years to come, it added.

Asked if the Indian government were to make favourable changes in the educational system to focus more on innovative skill sets in the coming years, Agrawal said, "if the shift is made it will take five to 10 years to generate a good quantity of employable talent."

Other than the upgrade of skills, the challenges which managers have to face going forward include retention of existing talent in the company, support learning and development of employees.

The Indian managers also need to enhance outlook and mobility as with domestic companies making inroads into foreign shores the need for a global outlook and experience has increased many folds.

Moreover, there is growing talent gap in the developed world as well which will continue to target Indian managers. In the years to come US, Europe and Japan are going to see an ageing population and a reduction in available talent and workforce.

The report revealed that there was already an increasing recognition of the quality of Indian managers and there is very chance of this trend accelerating further.