08 chapter 2

CHAPTER - 2
EMPLOYEE SKILLS: A REVIEW OF LITERATURE
2.1 Introduction
In this chapter, an attempt has been made to present the review of
literature on the concept of skills and skills gap in the industry today. Various
sources like, the print and the digital media from the commercial databases
like EBSCO have been adopted to review the research studies.
A concern by employers that the skills needed for their workforce today
are running in short supply has been voiced and heard (Carnevale, Gainer &
Meltzer, 1990; Cappelli & Rogovsky, 1995; Natriello, 1989, Bridging the skill
gap by ASTD 2010, Mc Kinsey, 2009). Indeed, sensitivity to the needs of
employers is evident in the research. For instance, Natriello (1989) indicates
that under girding much of the consideration of the reform of education stems
from political leaders' influence and respond to the increasing competition for
economic development. Carnevale, et al. (1990) point to the work of the Apex
training bodies that have responded to the same employer concerns through
research of workplace skills. Additionally, many commissions today have all
addressed employers' competitive challenge concerns through research on
the dynamics of today's workforce and the needed workplace skills in a new
economy, which is said to be defined as "newly dynamic, with excesses and
chronic instability" (Prowse, 1992).

22
Further, the recent research in this area, as in the early 1970's and into
the 1980's, continues to demonstrate the concern for productivity and quality
levels (Cappelli & Iannozzi, 1995) for the purpose of economic
competitiveness through a skilled workforce (Prowse, 1992; Sheets, 1992;
Noyelle, 1989; Natriello, 1989, McKinsey, 2009, ASTD Skill Survey Report,
2010). Under girding the workplace/workforce research is the assumption that
a skills gap exists. Recent attention given to the skills gap in the research
indicates that there is telling evidence of deficits in the skills from all workers
(Cappelli & Rogovsky, 1995; Cappelli & Iannozzi, 1995; Hanser, 1995), just as
there is evidence of "inequalities in a job skills" (Kalleberg & Leicht, 1986).
However, while there is only a little research investigating what the skills gap
is, there is no investigation as to where it actually exists. Cappelli & Iannozzi
(1995) indicate that "to locate the source of the skills gap in the landscape, it
is necessary to consult a map drawn by employers." What skills do employers
consider required? When? Why? To that effect, this study addresses the
question where such skills gap exists.
As Carnevale (1991) and Cappelli & Iannozzi (1995) impress, the
employer eventually determines the skill requirements of jobs. For instance,
Spenner (1985) indicates that "some of the 'skill' of jobs depends on the ways
in which bureaucracy and workplace interaction define the job." Hanser
(1995) adds support by distinguishing between what are job tasks and
emergent job tasks. Job tasks are those tasks required to do the job, but
emergent tasks change the requirements of the job, per se, because of
differing organisational arrangements. Kalleberg and Leicht (1986) further

23
support this very phenomenon by providing evidence that different work
structures clearly impact the sub dimension (task) level of skill.
It is, however, imperative to note why employers today have impressed
the necessity of general multi-skill requirements to workers and potential
workers alike (BVIMR Management Edge; 2011, McKinsey, 2010). Whether in
big, middle or small-size businesses, employers are concerned about the
speed, the vastness and fluidity of the new economy and they see that it is
bringing "radical and unsettling change" (Prowse, 1992). As Prowse (1992)
continues, employers grappling to adapt to the new economy believe that
"security depends on merit, hard work, technical skills, and perhaps most
important of all, the ability to learn and adapt to fast-changing environments."
While the changes, in aggregate, regarding skill requirements are considered
slow, the evidence, according to Spenner (1985), suggests that skill
requirements of jobs world over are changing" and it is "the employer" who is
determining the change (Cappelli & Iannozzi, 1995).
The aim of this investigation was (1) to examine skill gaps in particular
occupations within selected firms of interest across the Hyderabad and
Secunderabad industry by describing the relationships and structure of
existing broadly-defined skills (SCANS, 1991), and (2) to further examine the
relationship of these skills to work performance by recent hires. By studying in
one industry the firm-level variations of importance and proficiency given to
the "sub dimensions" (Spenner, 1988) of the SCANS skills, the relative
importance of an array of different entry-level workplace skills found in the

24
research (Cappelli & Rogovsky, 1995) (McKinsey, 2010) may be better
understood and addressed.
The study seeks to understand what the skills gap is, in general, where
it is in particular, and provides an empirical basis for understanding general
workplace skills and performance of those skills (Cappelli & Rogovsky, 1995).
To this end, the literature review addressed the following topics: (a) the
history of the skills gap, (b) the workplace skills employers want.
The history includes an illustrated synopsis of the connection between
schooling and work; a synopsis of the economy, technology, education and
connection; and, also, an illustrated synopsis of the vocational education's
role in the history pertaining to skill requirements. Furthermore, as part of the
history of the skills gap, the literature review in this study takes a look at the
new economy. Lastly, included in the history is a scant look at the debate
over skill requirements pertaining to upskilling and deskilling arguments.
The next section—what employers want regarding workplace skills—
first, gives a definition of skill followed by a description of those skills to
include the Secretary's Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS,
1991) general workplace skills; and, a section on the assessment of skill
requirements. The final section included in this literature review is a synopsis
of the Insurance industry in the State of Wisconsin.

25
2.2 The History of the Skills Gap
In this section, an attempt has been made to trace the History of the
skills gap as it originated, was recognized in various situations and in various
forms as well as its impact in the organisations.
2.2.1 The Economy, Technology and Education
The Connection between Schooling and Work: The history of
schooling and the relationship between work and youth dates back to the turn
of the twentieth century (Prowse, 1992; Kantor, 1986; Grubbs & Lazerson,
1982, skill inventory matrix 2008, Jackson, 2009, Johnson, Russell E, 2011).
However, several writers have shown that labour market changes
began to influence this relationship in the late nineteenth century with the
coming of large firms (Prowse, 1992; Piore & Sabel, 1984; Grubbs &
Lazerson, 1982; Kett, 1982). With the large firm came mass production,
otherwise resulting in standardization or "scientific management" (Prowse,
1992; Kett, 1982) and brought with it noted te implications for skill
requirements (Prowse, 1992).
Due to large firms cutting in on the craft production into new ways of
working, i.e., automated (mass) production (Piore & Sabel, 1984; Grubbs &
Lazerson, 1982), a degrading of skills concurrent with the demeaning of the
abilities of front-line workers had resulted (Grubbs & Lazerson, 1982). For
instance, mass production quickened factories to organize so that the bulk of
workers had neither control of the beginning nor the ending of the tasks to be
performed in their respective jobs (Prowse, 1992).

26
With the large firms emerged the dictating of job structure and
personnel policies as well as advancement on the job have become a regular
mainstream phenomena (Prowse, 1992). This, according to Grubbs &
Lazerson (1982) introduced the idea of "surrogate skills," i.e., a substitution of
the job-related skills to include more appearance and literacy skills. Here, the
connection between schooling and work had become evident. Moreover,
particularly during this time, reformers argued to use schools to prepare youth
toward "the nature and meaning of industrial life" (Kantor & Tyack, 1982).
According to Kantor (1986), this early era was rife with ideologies about the
restructuring of the society, particularly since Germany's rise to international
economic power. Kantor (1986) goes on to say that through a dedicated
school system closely tied to the needs of its industry and commerce,
Germany was able to rise to international economic power and compete for
economic supremacy. This was the impetus for industry to court the idea for
training youth toward a transfer into work life despite the fact that
standardization was the new way of work (Kett, 1982, Jackson, 2009,
Johnson, Russell E, 2011).
Meanwhile, education reformers, tied to their political arguments of the
"integration of youth into the occupational structure...[would come into
agreement about the inducement of] differentiated programs and courses and
a new spirit of vocationalism" (Kantor & Tyack, 1982). But, according to
Grubbs and Lazerson (1982), vocationalizing the schools was not the only
evolution due to market changes to affect schooling and work. Grubbs and
Lazerson (1982) indicate that, indeed, the link between education and work

27
began at the turn of the century, but that only speculation can explain, if
labour market changes had transformed the role of schooling and work in the
preparation for work. According to Grubbs and Lazerson (1982) five
"hypothesized" changes that occurred in the early 1900s could explain why
work and schools became connected.
The shattering of mobility through on-the-job skill acquisition because
of the deskilling of craft work; the creation of barriers to mobility in the
development of internal labour markets and rationalized hiring procedures
that relied on schooling credentials; the growth of discrimination against
youth; the expansion of office and managerial position for which skills and
behavior could be readily acquired in schools; and changes in the nature of
professionalism (Galagan, 2010, Steve Inskeep, 2011).
At the same time, i.e., turn of the century, that the challenges of
international competition, the changes in industry, and the arguments of
vocationalization by reformers were impressing the preparation of industrial
life for youth (Prowse, 1992; Kantor, 1986, Beladi, Hamid; Marjit, Sugata;
Weiher, Kenneth, 2011), the concern over skill and skill requirements for
entry-level jobs had grown, i.e., large businesses looked to education for help
(Kantor, 1986). For example, according to Kantor (1986) the National
Association of Manufacturers (NAM) clearly asked "how schools might help
with the growing international competition for markets." Additionally, in the
work of Marshall and Tucker, Thinking for a Living, (as cited in Prowse, 1992),
they indicate that this same time period brought the beginning of the high

28
school system in order to address the needs of the new work structure, i.e.,
the institution of scientific principles introduced by Frederick W. Taylor.
The Connection between Three Forces: The first half of the twentieth
century indicated the growth of both the economy and the educational system
(Hess, 1979). (Beladi, Hamid; Marjit, Sugata; Weiher, Kenneth, 2011).
As Sava (1975) put it, "on the basis of the performance of schools,
educators, during much of the 1950s, had been arguing that schools needed
to be changed in some dramatic ways. For example, a massive period of
government financing for educational improvements had occurred as a
response to such demands (Parker, 1981).
Although not delineative, what was seemingly being birthed, besides
the apparent sweeping motion to overhaul of education (Travaglini), and the
shift of educational responsibility and influence from the state to the national
level (Galagan, 2010, Steve Inskeep, 2011), (Nagle, 1969), and the favoring
of science and technology in the curriculum (Thompson, 1978)—all brought
by the reactions to advanced technological innovations—was an unspoken
connection between the economy, technology and education regarding
performance and quality in the country.
The events that occurred later, developed this connection definitively.
For instance, manpower needs in the country particularly of all types of highly
trained specialists had been predicted after technology. (Galagan, 2010,
Steve Inskeep, 2011), (Glenny, 1971). This was evidenced by the money that
were poured into the educational system, including colleges and universities,

29
in order to uphold the new national attitude that "education" was now vital to
national defence (Sava, 1975).
While this three-tier connection developed, as evidenced by the
attention given to it in national reports that came later, the skills gap had been
continuously burgeoning. The Forgotten Half (1988), yet another major report
that was advanced in the 1980s, challenged educators to examine the
changing requirements in the workplace.
According to Hudelson (1992), the prescription given by the
Commission was to "improve the education of the average worker and get
industry to streamline work organisation (technology) so our country could
also compete on the basis of high skills and high wages. Many other reports,
too, have connected school, technology and the economy with the underlying
premise that there, indeed, is a skills gap. Three in particular were Workplace
Basics: The Essential Skills Employers Want by Carnevale, et al. (1989), the
Work Force Study completed in 1990 by the National Alliance of Business (as
cited in Cappelli, 1992), and What Work Requires of Schools, by the
Secretary's Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS, 1991).
The economic, technological and educational connection is upon us.
Although India is challenged by other forces, i.e., political, social,
environmental, etc., considerations for a more consistent look at high quality
in the country through this connection cannot possibly be overshadowed
today (Skill Gap Report by MFGI 2011, Study on Skill Development in MSME
sector).

30
Vocational Education's Role: Vocational education has played a definitive
and important role in the history of the nation's workplace skills gap. Besides
the first outpouring of federal funding for vocational training, an illustrative
synopsis of apprentice act and the directives that under girded them, indicate
that vocational education's role was important to any country’s "competitive,
market-centered economic system" (Meyer, 1977).
Additionally, vocational education was one of many responses that
swept the nation shortly after advices in technology (Nagle, 1969). In
response to intense international competition, the mission of our apex
education system was to target educational programs for the improvement of
academic and occupational skill proficiency that would be transferable at the
"new" workplace. Hence, it was clear that vocational education was preparing
for a type of support to students that afforded opportunities for "training" for
the new, flexible workplace.
2.2.2 The New Economy
Definition: According to economists, Carnevale (1991), Wallace (1989),
Piore and Sabel (1984), and Bailey (1991) and business men and women
(Skill Gap Report by MFGI 2011, Study on Skill Development in MSME
sector). Tapscott, 1995; Gendron, 1995; Huey, 1994; Prowse, 1992) a new
economic order, i.e., our future economy, is upon the U.S. today. Sociologists
also sense that the line of development of the U.S. economy is visibly
changing (Sullivan, 1989; Kalleberg & Leicht, 1986). However, as much as
economists, business men and women, and sociologists agree that the

31
nation's economy is under a new economic order, Carnevale (1991) indicates
that it is still dimly perceived and remains nameless. For lack of a better
name, it is addressed as the "new economy." Furthermore, from a business
perspective, the "new economy" is differentiated around emerging themes.
For instance, the "new economy" as a knowledge economy, a digital
economy, or a networked economy, to name a few (Tapscott, 1995).
Moreover, as Tapscott (1995, abstract) goes on to say, "as information shifts
from analog to digital, physical things can become virtual—changing the
metabolism of the economy, the types of institutions and relationships
possible, and the nature of economy activity itself."
Both economists and sociologists have made reference to the new
economy as one of industrial transformation and the emergence and adoption
of new technology not only in the workplace, but also in the home (AMA 2010
Critical Skills Survey, National Employee Skill Survey 2005, Skill Gap
Analysis 2008, Carnevale, 1991; Wallace, 1989; & Sullivan, 1989). Business,
however, is more specific about what the new economy is and is not, based
on their experiences with "the bottom line." Business definitively refers to
technology as a characteristic of the new economy, but, it is more than
technology. In order to define the new economy for what it is, although the
confusion about it is stemming from "the exacerbating speed at which it is
unfolding," it is important to clear the air about what it is not (Huey, 1994). For
instance, one particular misconception about the new economy is that it's all
about "technology," i.e., new technologies (Huey, 1994; Carnevale, 1991b).

32
Indeed, it is much more than technology. The new economy envelopes
space (Huey, 1994; Carnevale, 1991; Wallace, 1989; Noyelle, 1989), scope
(National Employee Skill Survey 2005, Skill Gap Analysis 2008, Huey, 1994,
Carnevale, 1991b), and time (Huey, 1994; Prowse, 1992; Carnevale, 1991;
Noyelle, 1989).
2.2.2.1 Characteristics of the New Economy. Features of the new economy
are far from anomalous (National Alliance of Business, 1987, Filling the skills
gap by Mansfeild Journal, 2010, Huey, 1994; Prowse, 1992). The safest
manner in which to describe the new economy is summed up as follows:
"there is more that is going on in the new economy than meets the eye." The
new economy has been perceived by economists as a combination of the
best features of both the craft production and mass production economies
(Carnevale, 1991; Wallace, 1989). The Craft production era was
characterized by customized production; and, mass production, by
standardization. The nation's adherence to both means of production results
in a "system of flexible, specialized production that is capable of responding
quickly to changes in consumer tastes and [allows for] new opportunities
made possible by technological innovation" (Wallace, 1989).
Under girding the new economy is fierce international competition that
is webbed within a complex pattern of market standards, suggesting that
national competitiveness today is "based not only on productivity, but also on
quality, variety, customization, convenience, and timeliness (Carnevale,
1991). However, the new economy is also about what is going on at the
home front. The following characteristics—space, scope and time—will

33
describe the new economy in accordance with the purposes of this paper.
Space : When space is digested in the mind as an interval of space and time,
together with speed, and is envisioned as "a boundless three-dimensional
extent in which objects and events occur and have relative position and
direction" (Merriam-Webster, 1993), then indicators will begin to draw the
landscape of the new economy. For instance, and to begin drawing this
picture, central to the new economy are components that have been added
to the mass production way of doing things, i.e., service, convenience,
quality, and timeliness or just-in-time delivery (Huey, 1994; Prowse, 1992;
Carnevale, 1991b; Wallace, 1989). These components are essential
because they result in "tailored" products and services down to individual
customers and they create flexible, specialized production systems at the
workplace (Carnevale, 1991; Wallace, 1989). According to Wallace (1989)
this is based on the "'made-to-order' principle, i.e., production should be
customized to customer specifications." Additionally, these components are
figured into the formula for estimating the overall output of the new economy
(Huey, 1994). But talking about the components is not enough to envision the
new economy. It is already experienced. There are numerous indicators of it,
yet probably have not given it much thought. The following are three
indicators where familiarity and the new economy will most likely have
meaning to the "consumer."
In the business literature, a "normal" indicator of the new economy is
fierce national competition; namely: the software industry. According to Huey
(1994), the software firms "square off fiercely against one another, but face

34
only a booming market, and no competition from abroad until recently."
Behind this powerful market is intellectual capacity or the brain power put into
the microchip and the software. Together with "chip capability," the U.S.
defines processing power (Huey, 1994) that is inexpensive and is being
purchased for use by business, government, and education alike (Carnevale,
1991b).
Another indicator that encompasses our definition of space is that of
the growing importance of the next phase of computer technology; i.e.,
networking capability that translates into two essential elements:
communication and computation (Huey, 1994; Carnevale, 1991b). As Huey
(1994), Prowse (1992) and Camevale (1991b) suggest, the new economy's
local, national and global market standard is demanding stronger
organisational linkages or networks as essential elements for competitive
success in the future.
One final indicator is worth mentioning, i.e., jobs. Two questions to be
asked here are "what about jobs"? And "what will the work look like in this
new economy"? Interestingly, the definition given about "space" must be kept
in mind as the new economy unfolds. Why? Because "big business" in the
new economy is declining (Huey, 1994; Prowse, 1992). That is, the monoliths
of the mass production era are "shrinking," e.g. in the labour force and a new
generation of small companies are growing (Huey, 1994; Prowse, 1992). In
other words, "hundreds of thousands of small and mid-size businesses are
likely to form the future backbone of the U.S. economy" (Prowse, 1992). The

35
advent of the decline of large business and the growth of smaller emerging
companies defines a new "devolving nature" of business organisations which
translates into "job insecurity" (Huey, 1994; Prowse, 1992; Carnevale, 1991).
"The future description of "job" looks like this: "'job'" is an artefact of the
industrial age and has been replaced by meaningful, market-driven work
assignments in emergent post-job organisations" (Huey, 1994). The
phenomenon of "layering" (Carnevale, 1991) has already begun in business
as a response to the new economy's chronic instability (Prowse, 1992).
According to Carnevale (1991b), layering is described as a core of permanent
employees in an organisation and the rest of the work is done by workers in
the periphery—part-timers, consultants, temporaries, LTE's, etc. This is
consistent with the workplace literature.
Scope: Scope is defined as "space or opportunity for unhampered motion,
activity, and thought (Webster, 1991); therefore, indicators of scope in the
new economy, as described by Huey (1994) are the processing power or
digital convergence for new ways of communicating (e.g., interactive
commerce, e-business, videoconferencing), opportunities for success in all
sectors of the economy (e.g. financial risks monitored at high calculating
speed capabilities), and empowerment by the distribution and power of
technology. According to Huey (1994), processing power has been increasing
"exponentially and it has now become an essential, affordable, ubiquitous
fixture in our lives."

36
Regarding work opportunities in the new economy, the depth and
breadth of skill become indicators of the scope. Briefly, skill that provides a
"good fit" in the new economy for both the employer and the employee is best
put by Prowse (1992), "due to the instability of job security, increasingly,
security depends on merit, hard work, technical skills, and perhaps, most
important of all, the ability to learn and adapt to fast-changing environments."
Carnevale (1991) confirms this by indicating that the emergence of
"instability" in the new economy means the underlying premise of learning
how to transfer one's loyalty from the employer to the development of skill.
Clearly, the context in which skills are used is becoming fluid (Carnevale,
1991; Prowse, 1992; Wallace, 1989; Spenner, 1985) and the content of skill
requirements are shifting (Carnevale, 1991; Spenner, 1985). For instance,
two dimensions of skill are growing in importance in the new economy:
technical complexity and the scope of action (Carnevale, 1991). These two
dimensions mean a greater depth of skill (technical complexity) and breadth
of skill (scope of action) and are all the more important to be at the
employees' disposal (Carnevale, 1991).
Time: The indicators of time in the new economy describe both the recent
and the future events, activities, and thought. Time is expressed, particularly,
by the speed in which the new economy is unfolding (Huey, 1994; Prowse,
1992; Carnevale, 1991). A relative example of time in the new economy is the
qualitative change it is bringing to business by the capabilities and capacities
of both micro processing power and speed of communications and
computations (Huey, 1994; Noyelle, 1989).

37
2.2.2.2 Implications of the new economy. The implications of the new
economy are numerous and varied (Prowse, 1992; Carnevale, 1991; Wallace,
1991; Noyelle, 1989). One definite area of concern is the social impact of the
new economy. For instance, social implications become indicators,
themselves, of the new economy because India is not really prepared to deal
with it, which results in what looks like an unequal society (Prowse, 1992);
and, to add to the inequity, Prowse (1992) continues, it looks like "the new
economy puts a premium on education and that, therefore, is the dividing line
in sharing the spoils of economic change [because] it cuts against those with
less learning." For the purpose of this study, however, those implications
concerning the labour force, skills, and skill formation due to market and
technological changes are of interest.
Labour force changes occur for various reasons, but, in the research
literature on work and occupations, the manifestations of the new economy,
i.e., new market standards and new technologies, are the reasons for the
emergence of these and related changes. For instance, Noyelle (1989)
In his study on the impact of market and technological changes on
human resources in the financial industry—banks and insurance carriers—
indicated that "in a context of growing competition and changing markets,
financial service firms [have] turned to new computerized technologies to help
them reorganize production processes, revamp old products, develop new
ones, and in the end, compete better." What occurred in the financial industry
has, in effect, "brought changes on the kind of human resources needed by

38
[financial] firms, emphasizing the emergence of a new matrix of needed skills"
(Noyelle,1989). Here, however, it is important to mention that because the
financial service industry, according to Noyelle (1989), has experienced
technological changes and now relies on highly automated and high-
technology work environments, "upskilling," or increases in skill level in the
work content has occurred (Spenner, 1988).
Carnevale (1991), Wallace (1989) and Sullivan (1989) suggest that as
the new economy continues to discernibly break forth, the role of workers will
change. Predictably, some sociologists are indicating that the new economy
is, indeed, creating an "industrial transformation of the labour force" (Sullivan,
1989). New market standards and new technologies are two of the indicators
of change in organisations under the new economy. Wallace (1989) in his
study of technological change in the workplace found that new technologies
are creating organisational change as well as bringing about changes in skill.
Furthermore, Wallace (1989) indicates, "Very few industries in the new
economy will remain untouched by major technological changes." Evidence of
this has been seen today in such industries as financial services as well as in
such basic industries as steel, auto, and rubber (Wallace 1989). As Carnevale
explains, "the new economy will have profound implications for the way we
will use people on the job...new flexible technologies and organisational
formats will change skill requirements and the context in which skills are used
at work." However, a challenge to the labour force, Wallace (1989) goes on to
say about technological/organisational change, is that it may lead to a worker
competition in the acquisition of new skills.

39
The new economy is also continuously developing as new market
standards are being demanded of organisations and new technologies are
being adopted to meet those standards. Further, Carnevale (1991) states that
while the mix of competitive standards that the organisation has chosen to
undertake will determine the skill required by the workforce, the employer,
being attentive to the manner in which to achieve productivity increases, must
also be attentive to the skill requirements needed for productivity gains.
2.3 The Indian Scenario: In the following sections, the Indian
perspectives of the skills gaps that are prevalent and the policy implications of
such scarcity of skills have been presented.
2.3.1 National Policy on Skill Development
A National Policy on Skill Development has been formulated by the
Ministry of Labour & Employment, Government of India, and which has been
approved by the Cabinet in its meeting held on 23rd February, 2009.
The objective is to create a workforce empowered with improved skills,
knowledge and internationally recognized qualifications to gain access to
decent employment and ensure India’s competitiveness in the dynamic Global
Labour market. It aims at the increase in productivity of workforce, both in the
organized and the unorganized sectors, seeking increased participation of
youth, women, disabled and other disadvantaged sections and to synergise
efforts of various sectors and reform the present system.
The Vision of the ministry on this front is as follows.
(a) Massive Ambition: aspirations must exceed current resources. The

40
vision should be to create 500 million skilled people by 2022.
(b) High Inclusivity: to design the skill system for inclusivity and to deal
with the divides of gender, rural / urban, organized / unorganized
employment, and traditional /contemporary work place.
(c) Dynamic and Self-healing : The system must be designed so that
supply (trained candidates) adjusts dynamically to changes in
demand.
2.3.1.1 The Salient features of the Policy:
(a) Demand driven system guided by labour market signals, thereby
reducing skills mismatch.
(b) Expansion of outreach using established as well as innovative
approaches.
(c) National Vocational Qualifications Framework, which will internally
include opportunities for horizontal and vertical mobility between
general and technical education, recognition and certification of
competencies irrespective of mode of learning.
(d) System to deliver ‘competencies’ in line with nationally and
internationally recognized standards.
(e) Focus on new emerging occupations.
(f) Focus on pre-employment training and Lifelong learning
(g) Equity consideration – adequate participation of women, disabled
persons and disadvantaged groups, including economically backward
and minorities – enhancing their access to training; improving
employability and increasing employment opportunities.
(h) Stress on research, planning and monitoring.

41
(i) Involvement of social partners – responsibility for management and
financing of the system would be shared with all stakeholders and
provide greater space for Public Private Partnership.
(j) Promoting excellence.
(k) Use of modern training technologies, including distance learning, e-
learning, web based learning, etc.
(l) Skill upgradation of trainers, their quality assurance, and improvement
of status.
2.3.1.1.2 National Skill Development Council:
PM's National Council on Skill Development
The Prime Minister's National Council on Skill Development
was constituted on 1st July 2008 in pursuance of the decision of the Cabinet
at its meeting held on 15th May 2008 on "Coordinated Action for Skill
Development and setting up of the National Skill Development Corporation."
The composition of the National Council on Skill Development is as follows:-
1) Prime Minister - Chairperson
2) Minister of Human Resource Development - Member
3) Finance Minister - Member
4) Minister of Heavy Industry and Public Enterprises - Member
5) Minister of Rural Development - Member
6) Minister of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation - Member
7) Minister of Labour and Employment - Member
8) Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission - Member

42
9) Chairperson, National Manufacturing Competitiveness Council -
Member
10) Chairperson of the National Skill Development Corporation - Member
11) Mr. S Ramadorai - Expert in the area of Skill Development
12) Mr. Nandan Nilekani - Expert in the area of Skill Development
13) Mr. Manish Sabharwal - Expert in the area of Skill Development
14) Smt. LailaTayabji - Expert in the area of Skill Development
15) Smt. Renana Jhabwala - Expert in the area of Skill Development
16) Shri Rajendra Pawar - Expert in the area of Skill Development
17) Principal Secretary to PM - Member Secretary
The Committee is serviced by the Prime Minister’s Office, which may
obtain assistance as required by any Ministry/Department/Agency
government.
The expert members in skill development have come out with a
strategy. As regards the Strategy of this council, it is presented in the
following sections.
(a) Folding the future in: The council says “If we start from our current
position, we are likely to extrapolate. Folding the future in allows us to
innovate”.
(b) Skills must be made Fungible: The rigid boundaries between
categories of Education, e.g. diplomas and degrees have created a
structure of rigid “caste systems” within education. This must be
transformed into a more open / flexible system that permits competent
individuals to accumulate their knowledge and skills, and convert them

43
through Testing and Certification into higher diplomas and degrees.
(c) Skills must be made Bankable: To make the process of skill
acquisition bankable, especially for the poor. This will force a demand
driven approach.
(d) Co-created Solutions: The States and Districts within States are in
various stages of development. We have to accept a very asymmetric
India as a starting point. To work with States, civil society and
community leaders. Public-private partnerships are only one part of the
broader concept of co-creation.
(e) Game-changing Delivery / Innovation: To give an example, the
Planning Commission proposal conceives setting up 50,000 Skill
Development Centers over the plan period.
If there is a need to game changing delivery, an alternative
model could be, to make available every public institution above the
high school level, numbering over two lakhs in the country, after class
hours for skill development by the Private Sector. Necessary
regulations could be brought in by the local management authority of
the particular educational institution. It would immediately make
available the stock of public investment to combine with private sector
capacity there by helping the private sector to generate skills at lower
costs, as it will not have to invest in buildings for skill training.
(f) Multi-lingual Instruction; English as a Vocational Skill: English is a
vocational skill. It substantially improves labour mobility and improves
employment outcomes since English is now like Windows, an operating

44
system for business. Accelerated English learning classes must be
included in Vocational training curriculums and attempts must be made
to incentivise English instruction. The council has emerged with core
operating principles which form the guidelines for them. The Core
Operating Principles of this council are as follows.
(a) Government Money must target Market failure; No need to crowd
out or complete with private financing: Private resources are
becoming available in specific industries and functions. The 19 Central
Ministries and their budgets must target the massive market failure in
vocational training for labour market outsiders (less skilled, less
educated, people from small towns, women, women coming back from
a child break, etc) mostly via funding innovations.
(b) Decentralize, Encourage and Incentivise States to form Skill
Missions: Most Delivery systems (ITIs, Employment Exchanges,
Employment Officers, etc) are controlled by States. States must be
Incentivised to set up missions that do not undertake delivery, but as
an aggregator and aligner of skill efforts. Activities for the mission
include funding public and private delivery, underwriting
apprenticeships, introducing performance management systems for
skill delivery, revamping Employment Exchanges, Creating an Asset
Bank, Activating SCVTs, etc.
(c) Do not use money for Building or Hard Assets: Very little of the
massive increase in funds for skill development in the 11th Plan should
be used for building or hard asset creation. The system today does not

45
have a hardware problem but a software problem. Additionally, there
are many government buildings (both centre and state) that could be
put into an asset bank (with no transfer of title or ownership) and used
for private and public delivery.
(d) Focus on Modularity, Open architecture and Short Term Courses;
do not reimburse for courses more than six months: Vocational
training cannot replace what should have been taught in schools. The
current phase of reform (next five years) should focus on short,
relevant and effective courses that get candidates into the workplace.
The Ministry of Labour has evolved a framework called the Modular
Employability Scheme (MES) that is more nimble and must replace all
traditional NCVT curriculums. Requiring longer courses to emerge by
welding together modules keeps the system dynamic and open to
feedback. But the repair pipeline will run dry if the prepare pipeline is
not fixed and skill efforts must be accompanied by a huge dose of
education reform.
(e) Separate financing from delivery; Make public money available for
private and public delivery: Today government money is only
available for government delivery. This lack of choice and competition
(between delivery models and methods) blunts incentives to make the
system effective, scalable and self-healing (real time feedback to
curriculum based on demand). The principle of “let a thousand flowers
bloom” in the context of business models, pedagogies, delivery
technologies and methodologies must be encouraged.

46
(f) Link financing to outcomes; overwhelming metric should be jobs:
Today public and private training is financed largely on input metrics
No. of courses, no. of students, faculty etc. Unlike education, outcomes
in vocational training are easy to measure binary; it either leads to a job
or not. We need to move all government financing linked to placement
ratios and outcomes. Subsidiary metrics could be drop out ratios and
entry / exit gate assessment distance.
(g) Use Candidates as financing vehicles rather than institutions;
Create choice and competition: The bulk of the financing must be
made available directly to candidates rather than to training institutions.
This could be structured as a scholarship, skill voucher, outcome
based reimbursement, etc but candidate choice is crucial to creating
competition and making the system self-healing, effective and scalable.
(h) Create infrastructure for on-the-job-training; Encourage
Apprenticeships: Formal training is powerful but formal
apprenticeships are a powerful vehicle for skill development because of
“learning while earning” and “learning by doing”. The enabling
infrastructure for large numbers of formal apprentices needs to be built
that includes modifications to the Apprenticeship Act, Integrating the
MES scheme of DGET, equipping Employment Exchanges to offer
matching etc.
(i) Create Infrastructure for Information Asymmetry; Publicize Rating
and Outcome Information for Training Institutions: Most candidates
today are making training choices without any information around
outcome metrics (largely jobs). We need to create a framework and

47
infrastructure for information dissemination around key metrics for
public and private training institutions. The framework would include a
voluntary rating and participatory ranking system that would be
different from the current accreditation framework.
(j) Infrastructure for Effective Entry / Exit gate; Effective Assessment
and Credible Certification: Today, both entry and exit gates for
vocational training are wide open. But assessment is more important
than training and an entry gate must be effective at “binning”
candidates into various pools. The exit gate must serve as credible
certification that would allow employers to use it as a proxy to fast track
job applicants. Credible certification greatly reduces friction because of
the “signaling value”.
(k) Restructure Employment Exchanges to Career Centers:
Employment Exchanges need to be restructured as aggregators who
will channelize candidates into jobs, apprenticeships and training. They
will need to be equipped with capabilities for the assessment, career
counselling, training registration, electronic registration, call and email
handling etc.
(l) Expand Formal Employment: Formal employment is not only fiscally
attractive, but more amenable to financing innovations, has more
effective matching and a higher “corridor” effect from improved
employability. This will require a review of existing state and central
legislation that encourages or amplifies informal or unorganized
employment.

48
Lastly, the auditing of the strategy of the council having been
implemented needs to be evolved. Thus, the Approach to the metrics of the
implementation of the council’s strategy is as follows.
(a) Diversity of Skills (Number of Skills): There is a need to identify,
catalogue and project the range and depth of skills e.g. Traditional,
Industrial-era and Post-Industrial era skills to understand and present
the vast array of skills that individuals can choose from.
(b) Talent Pool (Number of Skilled): The ultimate measure is the “500
Million” we are envisioning. The idea is to track the population of,
skilled, not to go down the path of estimating needs etc.
(c) Employment Outcomes (No. of Jobs): Vocational education must
ensure a job for those that seek it. The conversion rate must be an
anchor metrics for all spending and institutions.
2.3.2 The Debate: Arguments over Skill Requirements
While the concern over "skill", i.e., "what is skill"? and "what skills"? are
necessary for the workplace, traces back to the turn of the century, in the mid-
1960s, arguments over the consequences of technological change were rife
(Vallas, 1990). According to Vallas (1990), Attewell (1990), and Spenner
(1990) the argument is basically bent on theoretical lines. For instance, two
basic perspectives are at the fore of the debate: (1) upskilling or occupational
upgrading, and (2) deskilling or occupational downgrading (Vallas, 1990).
These two schools of thought deal with the latent variable—skill—differently.
The first perspective tends to centralize skill research based on the problem
of human agency and new technologies. In terms of the concept of skill, this

49
means that the investigator is concerned with the skills of the worker versus
the skills of the job (Vallas, 1990; Attewell, 1990). Watkins (1991) describes
the essence of this perspective via human capital theory: "the emphasis...is
on transforming people to enhance productivity and profitability rather than on
transforming technology and the workplace to promote such concerns as
intellectual development, equity and social well-being." Further, according to
upskilling theory, workers' autonomy on the job is enhanced and control over
the work environment is given to the worker (Vallas, 1990).
The research on the second perspective (deskilling), on the other hand,
is concerned with work structures and the skills requirements of jobs (Vallas,
1990). In this perspective, the work structure continues to utilize mass
production processes even with the adoption of new technologies. The
assertion in this school of thought is that the "information technologies
actually deepen the subordination of workers to the dictates of their
employers in that they enable management to remove whatever technical
intelligence remains in the workers' grasp" (Vallas, 1990). Indeed, the issue of
deskilling brings to the forefront the argument of the underutilization of worker
skills, i.e., that jobs have been deskilled in India despite new technologies
and that many workers are overqualified for the jobs.
Besides a theoretical basis for the argument of the continuing debate
over skill requirements, there is the continuing argument of high technology
adoption in industries and the consequent need for a large number of highly
skilled workers (Watkins, 1991; Carnevale, 1991). However, the argument on
the flipside has been one of over education and the trend of worker

50
underutilization (Tsang & Levin, 1985). In other words, Tsang and Levin
(1985) indicate that "many workers have more skills than their jobs require."
Additionally, Tsang and Levin (1985), using a production-function framework,
suggest the possibility of a relationship between over education on worker
production. In another study of "the impact of underutilization of education on
productivity in U.S. Bell companies," Tsang (1987) found support for the
hypothesis that "underutilization of workers' educational skills affects output
adversely". Further, Watkins (1991) indicates that worker dissatisfaction
translating to low productivity is also possible due to the underutilization of
workers' training and education.
A particular argument, contrary to the deskilling perspective, is that
"an expanded technical role in economic activity does not necessarily signal
a reduction in human contributions, [rather], both "technical and human
elements are usually required" (Carnevale,1991). Also, in a national survey
of employers, a study conducted by the National Center on the Educational
quality of the Workforce, definitive documentation is provided to support that
"neither the restructuring of the economy nor the rapid introduction of new
technologies has lead to a "deskilling" of work" (Zemsky & Lannozzi, 1995).
On the contrary, according to Zemsky & Lannozzi (1995), what the findings
showed was that there was an increase, in skill requirements. A Caveat,
however, cautions researches to define the terms associated with "skill"
(Attewell, 1990; Spenner, 1990) to provide for better understanding of their
use.

51
While the definition and labels of and assumptions about "skill" will
continue to be debated on theoretical lines—determined by social and
ideological forces (Vallas, 1990) ,—the reality of skill requirements, however,
will continue to be disrupted as the economies change worldwide (Wallace,
1989; Watkins, 1991). But, it is well to understand and pay close attention to
the research on jobs for the future. For instance (as cited in Watkins, 1991),
regarding knowledge and control in the flexible workplace, two studies were
conducted by Rumberger and Levin (1985), Levin and Rumberger (1989) that
indicate an increase in high technology occupations, but the percentage of
this increase is significantly less than the increase in job availability in both
the very low-skill clerk-type and service occupations. This puts the need for
high skill requirements into question, but the fact still remains that there is a
reality of changes in skill requirements due to the instability of markets and
new technologies (Wallace, 1989; Watkins, 1991) which are beginning to
demand the need for a multi-skilled worker (Matthews, Hall, & Smith, 1988).
Further, it is important to note that without a doubt, employers ultimately
define what skills are wanted and needed in the workplace (Cappelli &
Iannozzi, 1995).
2.3.3 Workplace Skills: The skills required for works in an organisation are
not only related to technical or occupational but skills relating to work in an
environment comprising of work groups and varied technologies are also
essential. This section examines the skills that employers want in their
employees in an emergent workplace and are presented.

52
2.3.3.1 What Employers want: Skills for an Emergent new workplace:
Occupational structures are not the only effects of the new economy. A
broad view of skill formation which includes not only specific skills, considered
technical know-how, but also those skills to work within and through groups is
what the new flexible workplace in the new economic climate is requesting
(Mathews et al., 1988; Carnevale, 1991; Cappelli & Rogovsky, 1995). But,
because we are unable to grasp the impacts of new technologies and the
new economy, which brings excesses and uncertainty (Prowse, 1992;
McGoon, 1994; Tapscott, 1995), confusion of the new workplace abounds
and fear sets in. Here, however, two notations are important to keep
cognizant regarding necessary skill requirements in today's flexible
workplace: (1) market standard changes are not within the control of any one
organisation; but, rather, a whole global society enveloped by fierce
international competition (Carnevale, 1991) and (2) uncertainty dominates
how skill changes are affected (Spenner, 1985, 1988). According to Spenner
(1988) the effects of changes on skill requirements depends on the type of
skill needed, for what job, occupation, industry or firm.
Carnevale (1991) indicates that "the broadened scope of economic
activity is expanding the roles and demanding more of both machines and
people in both manufacturing and services." Indeed, the work environment
today is calling for workers to possess a broad set of skills to definitively
include flexibility and teamwork skills (McGoon, 1994; Mathews, et al, 1989).
Furthermore, evidenced in the research, is the realization that skill
requirements are changing in the U.S. (Spenner, 1985). Therefore, given

53
what we now know about the "new industrial system that is being born—
based on the technologies of microelectronics and new materials, intelligent
production, human-centered work organisation, worker responsibility and
multi-skilling," (Mathews, et al, 1989)—it is safely assumed that workers (it
appears at all levels) must be "multi-skilled prepared" for a realized devolving
process of the nature of work in the new economy. That is, the responsibility
for work and the decision-making on how the work gets done is passed down
to the worker. As a case in point, consider a study by Thierry Noyelle on skill
and skill formation, productivity and competitiveness in banks and insurance
carriers across five advanced economies, where one of the findings indicated
skill transformation occurrences pertaining to "work settings characterized by
more diffused authority and decision-making capacity" (Noyelle, 1989).
Information about the changing workplace in general and extensive
occupational skills needed, in particular, in the new flexible workplace
become real and internalized when conferences, themselves, are dedicated
to the attention of such changes. For instance, a conference titled, “A Wake
Up Call: Responding to the Demands of a Changing Workplace”, held, at UW-
Madison in February, 1996. Paul Johnson, Assistant business editor of the
Wisconsin State Journal (February 27, 1996), reported that employers, who
were presenters, themselves, are looking for the following skills from
graduates: "creative, critical thinkers, who can communicate well, can work on
a computer, want to solve problems and who have a multi disciplinary, global
business perspective." Furthermore, Johnson reported two Madison
employers, Michael Smith, CEO, Lands End; and, Donna Robinson, VP, M&I

54
Bank, as indicating that the skills they are looking for in potential employees
are the "soft" skills as well as the technical skills.
Nonetheless, as was mentioned earlier, illustrated by Carnevale's (1991)
work, the two dimensions of skill that are necessary for workers at all levels
today and in the future are technical complexity and scope of action. Again,
technical complexity is the technical know-how (depth of knowledge for
specific work); and, scope of action, the range of varied activities involved in
getting the job done effectively (the breadth of skill). In this regard, other
writers—Cappelli & Rogovsky (1995); Tapscott, 1995); McGoon (1994);
Prowse (1992); Spenner (1985, 1988, 1990); Wallace (1989) and Noyelle
(1989), to name a few—support and confirm not only the changes of skill
requirements relative to the emerging new workplace, but also the fact that
being skilled today and for the future is a developmental process.
2.4 The Definition of Skill. There are different views on the term ‘skill’ as
expressed by different researchers in different circumstances and
environments. Some of the approaches towards the term ‘Skill’ are as under.
2.4.1 A Conceptual Look At "Skill”: In order to define the skills needed in
the new economy, three concepts need to be, at least in part, understood. For
the purposes of this study, these concepts are illustrated by three questions
"what is skill"? (Spenner, 1985, 1988 & 1990; Vallas, 1990; and Attewell,
1990); "where does skill lie"? (Spenner, 1985, 1988 & 1990); and, "how is skill
measured"? (Spenner, 1985, 1988 & 1990; Vallas, 1990; and Attewell, 1990).
While the first two concepts will be addressed in this section, the third

55
question will be illustrated in the section titled, "Understanding and assessing
skill requirements—Tools for understanding the skills gap." These three
questions are posed in order to find meaning equated with skill in the research
and impart an understanding of its definition of skill requirements in the
various contexts (Vallas, 1990).
According to Attewell (1990) "skill proves on reflection to be a complex
and ambiguous idea." Different notions of skill or rather, "academic nuances"
are prevalent in the skills research (Vallas, 1990). However, Spenner (1990)
indicates that many strands of achievement in understanding skill, at least in
measurement strategy, have been made in the last twenty years of research.
But, the definition of skill remains. Its definition, Spenner (1990), Vallas (1990)
and Attewell (1990) suggest that the conceptual approach used by
investigators or, at the other extreme, in the total disregard of a definition. For
instance, numerous studies have indicated a disregard by investigators to
define for the respondent what they mean by "skill" (Kalleberg & Leicht,
1986). These studies have shown that left up to the respondent for the
definition of "skill," the meaning is correlated more with sub dimensions of
skill, i.e., tasks (Spenner, 1985 and 1990).
However, while there are numerous and various dimensions and
issues that describe "the conceptual approaches to skill in people (i.e.,
talents, abilities, capacities) from the skills that jobs require (i.e., task
demands, role requirements, and what positions demand, permit, and
encourage)" (Spenner, 1990), which could alone be a topic for study, this
review of the definition of skills will be concentrated on where it appears that

56
the skills definition is centralized. In other words, to address the "what" of skill,
knowledge of "where it lies" seemingly must first be in place. Therefore,
"where does skill lie"? can be illustrated by another question: "Is it workers
who are skilled or jobs that require skill"? (Spenner, 1988).
According to Spenner (1985 and 1988), this question is posed as one
of several issues across skill research circles, however, Spenner (1990) adds
that there is agreement between many of the investigators, sociologists,
economists, and educators, that distinguishing the skills that workers bring
into the job is of the utmost necessity. For instance, "when educational
psychologists and human capital theorists use the concept of skill, they
typically have in mind the properties of the worker rather than of the job"
(Vallas, 1990,). Thus, "skill" should be properly defined and distinguished
between two different and distinct features, i.e., features of people and
features of the job or skill requirements (Spenner, 1988 and 1990).
One final note about the concept of skills at the level of people or jobs:
Distinguishing the two will tell where they are best studied. For instance, skills
studied as capacities of people are mostly human capital based (Vallas,
1990; and Spenner, 1985 and 1988). The remainder of this section will define
both features of skill considered necessary in the new economy.
2.4.2 Workplace Skills: A closer look at how researchers have viewed skill
for the new economy appears to be at the level of jobs. For example,
investigators described the leaps made by organisations in order to satisfy
new competitive standards as qualitative (Carnevale, 1991; Sheets, 1992;

57
Noyelle, 1989, Wallace, 1989). An example of the qualitative leaps is found in
Noyelle's (1989) study of the financial service firms across five advanced
economies. The dimensions of the depth and breadth of skills are changing
relative to the contextual shifts; and are defining needed skills from job-
specific to more general ones as well as from concrete to more abstract, such
as those needed in the flexible workplace (Carnevale, 1991b). For instance,
Noyelle (1989) indicates that because of the pressure financial service firms
had been experiencing from the new market environment of the 1980s, banks
and insurance firms had to reorganize work away from the old "Tayloristic"
way, i.e., automation and rigid control processes in order to achieve
productivity. In his study, Noyelle (1989) found the following skills to be those
common across financial firms in the advanced economies sampled.
a. Individuals who were once required to operate in well-defined and
stable environments must now be able to perform in fast-changing,
and often ill-defined, work situations;
b. Individuals who once worked in relatively highly supervised
environments must now perform in work settings characterized by
more diffused authority and decision making capacity;
c. Individuals who once performed relatively highly structured work
sequences, involving only limited necessary interaction with others,
are now thrust into work situations necessitating extensive
interaction with others—be they customers, suppliers, or other
departments within the firm—to explain, negotiate, sell or otherwise
communicate.

58
Carnevale (1991), in his search for the essential skills wanted by
employers today or demanded by new work structures, describes new work
skills as being the "hard bits of knowledge and physical movements
necessary to perform specific tasks" that require a greater depth of skill as the
job grows in technical complexity. Further, Carnevale (1991) indicates that
skills associated with scope of action take into consideration the breadth of
skills needed in order to accomplish a job. Other researchers, too, have either
predicted based on the literature or have found in their own studies that the
new economy is calling for a transformation of workplace skills. Wallace's
(1989) work regarding "the brave new workplace," as well as Noyelle's work
about the new work environment of financial service firms, are indications of
this. Clearly, it is evident that new labour force requirements are changing the
way not only how workers approach and achieve their work, but also that the
global economies are being affected by the impact of a new economy where
market and technological changes are imminent. However, as Watkins (1991)
concludes in his monograph about the skills in the workplace, "the increased
flexibility and adaptability of the workplace does not necessarily mean an
upgrading of the skills of the workers but rather a compliance to do more
tasks, intensifying the range of work at the behest of management." Spenner
(1988) concurs that it is possible that the defining of skill requirements is
typically played out at the level of managerial discretion than in technology
changes themselves, i.e., mechanization. Ultimately, the conditionings of the
skills required in the workplace, despite the theoretical, methodological, or
practical arguments, are those "roles played by managers, market forces, and
organisational cultures" (Spenner, 1988).

59
2.4.3 Worker Skills. Whatever the nature of the controversy over the skill
and educational implications of changes in technology and other
developments in the economy (Bailey, 1991), the message brought by
economic, educational, political and social changes is clear that new workers
must be creative and responsible problem solvers and have the skills and
attitudes on which employers can build (SCANS, p. v, xv). Primarily,
embodied in these national reports and in individual research is a human
capital and productivity nexus defined in the form of characteristics of work
and skills for an emergent new economy.
Researchers have noted that workers today must not only possess
various skills beyond the basics but must be able to put this knowledge to
work (Carnevale et al., 1990; SCANS, 1991). A key skill needed by workers
today is "the skill of knowing how to learn or learning to learn" (Carnevale et
al.,). Later, Prowse (1992) confirms that the ability to learn is of utmost
importance because "the future now belongs to societies that organize
themselves for learning." Interestingly, this skill is both a property of the
individual worker, himself, and a skill requirement of the job at the same time.
However, Spenner (1988) goes beyond this one-skill-interface-between-
worker-and-job notion to indicate that "sub dimensions of mental,
manipulative, and interpersonal tasks capture well-known points of interface
between people and jobs." This is important to note when distinguishing skill
features. It seems appropriate here to reiterate the essential skills introduced
in Chapter I that are being called for not only by the employer but also the
employee, himself, who, together, are emerged and enmeshed in not only the
realities of global changes, but also in the realities of our own nation's

60
changes—new market standards and new technologies and the exploitation
of information technology in general (Huey, 1994). These skills are essentially
referred to by Carnevale, et al. (1990) and Carnevale (1991b) as well as
Cappelli and Iannozzi (1995) as hard skills, which include reading, writing,
and computation; learning to learn skills; communication skills (both
speaking and listening); and, adaptability skills—problem solving and creative
thinking. The soft skills needed by workers in today's workplace are personal
and interpersonal skills, which embrace self-esteem, goal setting, motivation
and personal as well as career development; group effectiveness, which
includes, again, the interpersonal along with negotiation and team skills; and,
last, but certainly not least, influencing skills that call for organisational
effectiveness and leadership skills. Earlier, Carnevale et al., (1990) found
these skills as essential based on employer wants. Later, the Secretary's
Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (1991) as well as Berryman &
Bailey (1992), and Cappelli and Rogovsky (1995), Mathews, et al., 1988)
indicate agreement to these being the essential skills needed by workers for
the flexible workplace. For the purposes of this study, "skill"' will be defined as
sub dimensions of skill (tasks) that capture the interface of mental,
manipulative and interpersonal tasks of work and people as described by
Spenner (1988).
2.4.4 The SCANS Skills
In 1990, the Secretary's Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills
was authorized by Secretary Dole to address the skills gap that was assumed
to be between what schools teach and the expectancy of preparedness by

61
the employer (Cortina, 1993). Their charge resulted in a first report to the
nation, (SCANS, 1991) which distinguished a set of basic skills said to be the
"know-how," transferable and universal, required for today's flexible
workplace. According to Cortina (1993), the SCANS (1991) report, the
SCANS skills were generated from discussions with employers and
employees across a general occupational span, talking to experts in the skill
areas examined, and several reviews by commission members, themselves.
Accordingly, these basic skills were recognized by the Commission as
generalizable across jobs, occupations, firms and industries. The SCANS
skills are divided into two categories—A three-part Foundational Skills
identification that includes basic skills, thinking skills, and personal qualities;
and, five workplace competency areas encompassing resources,
interpersonal, information, systems, and technology skills.
The "Foundation Skills," likened to academic skills (Cappelli, 1995),
have been defined by SCANS as pertaining to the following sub dimensions
of skill—mental, manipulative, and interpersonal (Spenner, 1988)—as
outlined by Cappelli & Rogovsky (1995): Basic reading and mathematical
skills; communication skills—speaking, listening, and writing; thinking skills-
problem solving, reasoning, and thinking creatively; and, personal qualities-
responsibility and self-management. The "Workplace Competencies," likened
to vocational skills, pertain to the following sub dimensions: The ability to
identify and organize resources, the ability to work with others, the ability to
work in teams, the ability to teach, the ability to allocate material, money,
space or staff, the ability to acquire & evaluate data, interpret and

62
communicate findings from data, the ability to understand systems of
technology or organisation, make changes and improve such systems, and
the ability to select appropriate equipment and tools, and apply to specific
tasks.
Following the development of the set of SCANS skills, a job analysis
was conducted by the Commission in 1992 to examine the use of this
taxonomy of skills (SCANS, 1992; ACT, 1994). Comparatively, these skills
resemble the ones generated by the Position Analysis Questionnaire (PAQ)
conducted by McCormick and Jeanneret (as cited in Cappelli & Rogovsky,
1995). Also, these skills afford investigators the opportunity to research in an
empirical manner important task dimensions in jobs as defined by Spenner
(1988& 1990).
2.5 Understanding and Assessing "Skill" Gaps: A basic definition of
the term ‘Skill Gap’ is the difference between is skill required to perform a job
and the skill available with the worker in the organisation. Understanding the
specific type and nature of skill is necessary for proper identification of the
skill gap and its assessment.
2.5.1 Caveats about the Research. Skill research is directly tied to public
policy (Vallas, 1990; Watkins, 1991; Cappelli & Iannozzi, 1995). According to
Vallas (1990), they tend to have implications for public policies from the skill
research." For instance, SCANS skills are institutionalized in curricula after
the publication Commission ‘s report (Cappelli, 1995). Cappelli (1995) goes
on to say, "empirical studies on the SCANS skills regarding performance have
powerful implications for reform, particularly curricular reform."

63
Researchers must be careful of the methodologies that have been
used to reach what are considered as "inconsistent and contradictory findings
that point in several directions at once" (Vallas, 1990). Spenner (1988) arrives
at a similar conclusion about the limitations of the knowledge base as seen in
the following quotation.
Each type of design has strengths and weaknesses and tends to reach
different conclusions, for example, different theoretical approaches and
different types of designs have afforded uneven coverage to changes in skill
requirements. The available database is far short of a complete temporal and
spatial sampling of technologies or jobs even in the twentieth century.
Further, Spenner goes on to say, that the concepts and measures of
skill, as well as inadequate sampling used, have limitations and that
conclusion concerning skill research can be regarded, at best, only
provisionally.
2.5.2 Strategies for Understanding "Skill" Gaps. The "uncertainty" in the
knowledge base, because of the widely varying conceptual approaches and
measures of skill (Vallas, 1990; Spenner, 1988 & 1990; Attewell, 1990)
appears to have birthed gaps about "the fit between the skill capacities of
workers and the skill demands of jobs" (Spenner, 1988). Further, according to
Cappelli and Lannozzi (1995), the "multitudes of conflicts in the workplace"
identify several types of skills gaps. For instance, productivity and quality
concerns raised the expectations for entry-level workers. Also, the concerns
of "underutilization" (Watkins, 1989; Rumberger, 1981; Tsang, 1987) as well
as evidence in the research about a lack of behavioral and attitudinal skills in

64
workers contributed to the conflict in the work environment. Further, in today's
flexible workplace, there is the "problem of defining 'jobs' because
consideration must be given to the existence of both official and emergent
tasks—official tasks are those assigned by the organisation and labeled as
'job'; and, emergent tasks are those substituted for or added to the official
because of the 'personalization given to the 'job' by different individuals"
(Hanser, 1995). Here, a skill gap might exist between the capacities, talents,
etc., of a given worker and the requirements of the job (Hanser, 1995).
Looking at the tools used by Hanser (1995)—traditional job analysis
and cognitive task analysis—for understanding the skills gap indicates, first,
how to conceptualize it. Hanser (1995) indicated that two principle questions
must under gird a skills gap research: (1) "where is the gap"? For instance, is
it firm-, industry-, or job/class-specific? or, is it national?; and, (2) what is the
"nature of the skills gap"? Spenner (1990) argues that there are dimensions
of skill and that these must be considered in the research. Here, too, it seems
that the multidimensional nature—e.g., sub dimensions of the interface
between a person and a task (Spenner, 1990)—of the skills gap must also be
taken into consideration. Therefore, the next step is to measure the construct
according to its nature, i.e., determine how to operationalize it as a construct
in order to avoid wrong solutions (Hanser, 1995). However, understanding
how skill is measured includes having to understand measurement strategies.
According to Spenner (1988 & 1990), "skill" research imbues one of
several types of measurement strategies: non-measures, indirect measures,
or direct measures. These, however, are rife with validity concerns (Spenner,

65
1988 & 1990). But, as Spenner (1990), goes on to say, "these are the
dominant methodological approaches to the measurement of job skill." Briefly,
the essence of the non-measurement strategy is that it "uses no empirical
operations; the indirect measurement uses wage rates or educational levels of
people or occupational groups as an indication of overall skill level; and, the
direct measure uses empirical operations and/or protocols for the designation
of skill levels" (Spenner, 1990). Given that these measures are used to
understand skill, particularly job skill, it is the direct measure, according to
Spenner (1990) that today is foremost in aiding this understanding. The direct
measure utilizes one of two approaches for research: expert systems—
sources outside of the subject of study, e.g., the Dictionary of Occupational
Titles (DOT); and, self-reporting, which uses sources directly connected with
the people in the jobs (Spenner, 1990).
The direct measure, however, is not without its own problems. For the
most part, according to Spenner (1990), expert systems as well as self-
reporting approaches use the conceptualizations of the DOT as a basis for
stem development. That is, skill questions in instruments or interviews—
regarding jobs or workers—are typically developed based solely on DOT
indicators. In an earlier publication, Spenner (1988) indicates that "while the
DOT is perhaps the best available system due to its comprehensiveness and
national scope, its use requires extreme caution...[for instance],
disadvantages of the DOT include questions about sampling coverage,
reliability, validity, and aggregation to job categories that ignore firm- and
industry-level variations in skill requirements." Issues specific to self-report

66
measurement strategy appear to include, at one end, order and
instrumentation effects and/or single verses multiple indicators usage
(Spenner, 1990) ; and, at a more complicated level, the accuracy of
respondents perceptions of job characteristics (O'Brien, 1986; Spenner,
1990). However, as long as the investigator takes precautionary measures to
sustain reliability and validity (O'Brien, 1986; Spenner, 1990), this type of
measurement strategy regarding skill is "the best prospect for the generation
of new measures and methodological research" (Spenner, 1990).
Since the purpose of this study is to examine skill gaps at the firm-
level, in one type of occupation, and in a particular industry using a general
pool of the types of indicator items needed for entry-level employment, self-
report measurement strategy is of interest. According to Spenner (1990), this
type of strategy gets at the research of job skills by approaching the people
directly connected to jobs through survey-type procedures.
2.5.3 Prior Research Methods used to determine a Skills Gap. There are
many and various methods that have been demonstrated in the examination
of the relationship between performance and skill (Cappelli, 1995; Natriello,
1989), e.g., interviews, public hearings, hiring simulations (Natriello, 1989),
case studies (Tsang, 1987; Spenner, 1988; Gregson, 1994) and job analysis,
structural analysis, and decision analysis (Hanser, 1995). While the methods
used vary for contributing to the knowledge base for understanding skill gaps,
job analysis methods have been used the most by investigators in the past.
For example, one recent large-scale job analysis was conducted by the
Secretary's Commission for Achieving Necessary Skills (ACT, 1994). The

67
SCANS study identified first a set of basic skills called the "know-how"
required for an extant workplace (SCANS, 1991). Next, SCANS conducted a
job analysis (modified version), using this set of basic skills across five sectors
of the economy examining fifty jobs (SCANS, 1991; ACT, 1994). However,
due to what the ACT calls a "poor design and conduct of the study," the
SCANS results from this job analysis are provisional (ACT, 1994).
Hanser (1995) goes on to say that traditional job analysis comes from
industrial psychology, and its goal is to find commonality across extant job
descriptions through job-variability within jobs, i.e., "task" description.
Furthermore, job-oriented (also referred to as task-oriented) and worker-
oriented methodologies stem from job analysis research (Hanser, 1995).
While job-oriented methodologies focus on creating distinct tasks for
successful performance of the job and then have these rated by either the
worker, himself/herself, or the supervisor, the worker-oriented approach
concentrates more on the input, throughput (process), and output of the
worker, i.e., "these focus on general human behaviors that workers perform
on the job" (Hanser, 1995). However, as Hanser (1995) noted, what is
different about these two methodologies is more the "degree" of difference.
Examples of instruments used as frameworks for these two direct
approaches are the Dictionary of Occupational Titles (DOT), which is the
most widely used expert system for job-oriented studies (as cited in Spenner,
1988) and the Position Analysis Questionnaire (PAQ), which is also an expert
system, but does not have extensive use for the study of skill in social
sciences (as cited in Spenner, 1990).

68
Hanser (1995) indicates that the cognitive job analysis is an upcoming
job analysis approach to be used to study the skills gap. This approach
examines the cognitive tasks of workers. Briefly, this method "seeks to
identify the form of knowledge representations involved in the performance of
tasks" (Hanser, 1995); however, methods used in cognitive job analyses—
typically observation and interviewing—are similar to traditional job analysis
and distinguishing between the two methodologies results in structure
ambiguity (Hanser, 1995).
Besides job analysis—traditional and cognitive—the "case study" also
appears to be a suitable methodology to examine skills and the performance
of those skills. Spenner (1988) suggests that case studies could be used for
skill studies, but that these studies need to take into consideration the
restrictions of population coverage.
Not only is the methodology applied to prior studies of "skill" a
consideration, however, studies of skill, and skill and performance, also vary
along other key dimensions such as response format, entry-level positions,
respondent positions, etc., which ultimately mean that the confidence that can
be put in the findings is reduced if these are not in place (Natriello, 1989).
Both Spenner (1988), writing about technology and skill requirements and
Natriello (1989), writing about performance and skill, for instance, address
the issue of "sampling limitations," which, according to Spenner (1988), add to
the "uncertainty of the knowledge base." Overall, the key in studying the skills
gap is giving attention to the key dimensions (Natriello, 1989) mentioned
above and to explore the conceptual, theoretical, and practical

69
considerations of skill-related studies that have been conducted across
disciplines (Hanser, 1995).
2.6 Synthesis of the Review
The literature evidence indicates a substantial number of hard-to-fill
vacancies and skill-shortage vacancies across the economy as a whole. The
nature of these vacancies tends to indicate a high degree of sectoral and
occupational specificity. This suggests that establishments in given sectors
were looking for occupation specific skills. To some extent, the case study
data which revealed that the recruitment of higher level skills in engineering,
banking, and telecommunications were sector specific. Studies confirm the
skill-shortage vacancies tended to relate mainly to technical/practical skills
rather than generic ones. The very nature of technical skills is such that their
transferability across sectors will be more limited than generic ones.
Studies reveals that emerging sectors such as IT/ITES and
telecommunications have a strong demand for skills related to professional
and managerial occupations and that these skills are not easily obtained from
the labour market. Where the case studies shed new light on the nature of
skill deficiencies relating to higher level occupations, relates to the complex
set of skills required, sometimes linked to substantial experience of practicing
them. Skill deficiencies at a professional level in telecommunications and
engineering relate to what have been termed ‘hybrid skills’. These require a
mix of (i) various technical competencies and/or (ii) technical and business
competency. Moreover, the combination of competencies required was
typically sector specific.

70
The geographical data reveals relatively high level of skill deficiencies
continent wise. Though the case studies can reveal little about regional
patterns, it is worth noting that the banking industry and there is an
agglomeration of telecommunication companies. This suggests a regional
dimension to the types of skill sets (or the complexity of skills sets) being
sought by establishments.
The evidence from the survey reveals that there is a considerable
proficiency shortfall. There were millions of employees were less than fully
proficient in their jobs. Using a somewhat narrower definition of the scale of
internal skills gaps, where fewer than nearly all staff were fully proficient,
amounts to some massive skill gaps. By definition, these internal skill gaps
relate directly to the capacity of organisations to meet their business goals.
Where skill gaps were reported, it tended to be in relation to lower level
occupations (eg. sales, personal service, etc.) whereas skill-shortage
vacancies were reported more in relation to intermediate level occupations
(eg. craft and related).
The case study data contrasts with the survey data in that it tended to
be at managerial and professional levels where skill gaps were most likely to
emerge. A number of reasons have been suggested for this, but the most
plausible explanation is that the case studies were concerned in many
instances with skills gaps critical to the organisation meeting its business
goals. In many respects the reports of skill gaps in the case study
establishments were the same as those for recruitment problems. Skill gaps
in the case study establishments, especially in relation to higher level

71
occupations, appear to stem more directly from a failure to capture the skills
required to drive business forward.
2.7 Research Design
In this part, the basic research design used to address the questions is
presented including: (a) Sample, (b) Instrument, (c) Data collection, (d) Variables,
(e) Research design and data analysis, and (f) Limitations.
2.7.1 Sample
HR Managers and administrators responsible for the HR function in
selected firms within the Hyderabad and Secunderabad comprised the sample.
The firms were selected from the directory of HR managers, published by the
HRD network (2009). This directory is perhaps the most comprehensive
database of Managers in HR operations in the twin cities of Hyderabad and
Secunderabad. The sectors include: Financial Services, Manufacturing Sector,
Process Industries, Service Sector, IT / ITES, Research & Development. The
details of industry selected for this study is presented in the following table 2.1.
Table - 2.1: Sampling Frame
S.No Type of Sector Frequency Percentage
1. Financial Services 22 10.48
2. Manufacturing Sector 62 29.52
3. Process Industries 18 8.57
4. Service Sector 66 31.43
5. IT/ITES 10 4.76
6. Research & Development 32 15.24
7. Total 210 100.00

72
The directory of HR managers in the twin cities of Hyderabad and
Secunderabad was used to identify the HR managers of two types of companies
as stated table 2.1. A sample of 100 managers from each sector was listed to
whom the questionnaires were administered. However, Only 22 managers from
financial services, 62 from manufacturing, 18 from process industries, 66 from
service sector, 10 from IT/ITES and 32 from R&D sectors have responded to the
questionnaires. The response rate is about 35 percent and qualified the data for
further analysis.
2.7.2 Method and Tool of Data Collection
Questionnaire method was found more suitable, as the managers were
scattered across the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad. A well
structured questionnaire was developed to include three parts. Part - A deals with
questions pertaining to the characteristics of the companies. Part - B deals with
questions pertaining to the drivers for future skills. Part - C deals with Skills
Assessment Inventory scale pertaining to the type of skills the managers expect
their employees to possess and transfer on to their jobs. Further, questions
pertaining to the current skills of the employees were also included.
The Skills Assessment Inventory (SAI) was tested to estimate the amount
of time for completion and to test the clarity of the writing of the questionnaire,
and recommendations for the improvement of the instrument. The SAI and a
response sheet were sent to 16 managers drawing from one manufacturing and
one service organisation. Accordingly, changes were incorporated in SAI.

73
2.7.3 Variables
There are three variables that were addressed in this study: drivers of
future skill needs, skill acquisition, current skills, expected skills and skill gaps. All
scales were ordinal and Likert-type scales with a units of measurement that
ranged between 1 and 5.
2.8 Research Design and Data Analysis: In the previous section the
dimensions of the skill gap have been analysed and variables for this study of the
skill gap have been identified. A suitable Research design to collect and analyse
data on these variables is presented in the following paragraphs.
2.8.1 Research Design
The research design selected for this study was descriptive and analytical.
Fundamentally, descriptive studies are concerned with the "what is" of the topic
of interest (Borg & Gall, 1989). These types of studies will guide and allow the
researcher not only to describe but also to link the variables. Indeed, the design
of descriptive studies allows for the establishment of a range of variation among
existing variables, or for the measurement of trends over time, or for the charting
of progress of the phenomenon of interest (Bradburn & Gilford, 1990). According
to Szymanski (class notes, 1995), descriptive studies basically describe the
phenomenon of interest through such descriptors as means and standard
deviations on relevant variables. Borg and Gall (198 9, p. 5) denote that much of
educational research involves the description of "natural or man-made
phenomenon—their form, structure, activity, change over time, relation to other
phenomenon, and so on." Further, descriptive studies in education provide for
the monitoring or documentation of characteristics of educational systems (and

74
relational systems), practices or outcomes (Bradburn & Gilford, 1990). In this
study, the descriptive research conducted was context specific, i.e., particular
occupation(s) in a selected industry, and provided a framework to collect
information in other contexts, i.e., other industries, in which skills and the
characteristics of the skills gap can be examined. The use of a descriptive design
corresponded to the nature of the research questions raised earlier in this thesis.
The aim of this study, addressed by the descriptive design, was (a) to
examine skill gaps in particular occupations within selected firms of interest
across the Hyderabad and Secunderabad industry by describing the
relationships and structure of existing broadly-defined skills (SCANS, 1991), and
(b) to explore the relationship of skill to work performance by recent hires as
perceived by front-line supervisors.
2.8.2 Data Analysis
First, the skill gaps were determined through the difference between
current skill mean scores and the expected mean scores as perceived by the
managers and based on the design of this study, which seeks to examine skill
gaps through types of skill taken from the SCANS framework; and, further, to
examine the relationships among the sub-dimensions as variables.
The internal consistency reliability of the subscales was determined by
Cronbach's Coefficient Alpha (Cronbach, 1951). Pedhazur & Schmelkin (1991)
indicate that Cronbach's coefficient alpha is an estimate of reliability for internal
consistency. Additionally, the correlation coefficient will be applied as a summary

75
statistic to describe the association between the importance and proficiency
means. The following table shows the reliability coefficients of the subscales of
Skills Assessment Inventory (SAI).
Table - 2.2: Scale details and Reliability Statistics
SN. Scales
Item-
Scale r
Scales
Item-
Scale
r
I Perceived Skills Expected Skills
1. Language Skills .754**
Language Skills .431**
2. Quantitative Skills .830**
Quantitative Skills .643**
3. Problem Solving Skills .838**
Problem Solving Skills .554**
4. Communication Skills .766**
Communication Skills .686**
5.
Ability to Follow
Instructions
.734** Ability to Follow
Instructions
.616**
6.
Information Technology
Skills
.720** Information Technology
Skills
.609**
7. Ability To Learn .744**
Ability To Learn .579**
8. Showing Initiative .865**
Showing Initiative .812**
9.
Leadership/Motivational
Skills
.787** Leadership/Motivational
Skills
.962**
10. Management Skills .718**
Management Skills .938**
11. Team Working Skills .840**
Team Working Skills .949**
12.
Understanding Customer
Needs
.880** Understanding Customer
Needs
.948**
13. Adaptability/ Flexibility .872**
Adaptability/ Flexibility .964**
Split-half Reliability
Coefficient
.833
Split-half Reliability
Coefficient
.796
It quite clear from the table 2.2 that there are 13 items meant for
measuring the perceived skills and another 13 for the expected skills. In order
to test the discriminatory power of each of the item meant for measuring
perceived and expected skills, item-scale correlations were computed. As
these are presented in the table, all the items belonging to perceived skills
and expected skills are positive and significantly correlated with the overall
scales correspondingly. This indicates that all the items corresponding to their
scales namely perceived and expected skills are having adequate power of
discrimination. Further, split half reliability coefficients were computed for the

76
overall scales of perceived skills and expected skills. As the values presented
in the table indicate that both the scales are highly internally homogenous and
consistent. Thus, they are declared highly reliable.
2.9 Statistical Tests
In order to test the hypothesis formulated in this study, descriptive and
inferential statistics are used in this study. As regards descriptive statistics,
means and standard deviation are computed for presenting the descriptive
characteristics of the samples. The following formulae are used for such
calculations.
Mean: Mean of all the responses to each variable was calculated describing the
central location of the data. The formula to calculate the mean is as follows:
Standard Deviation: The standard deviation was used to establish a scale for
determining the significance of differences between scores.

77
Further Chi-Square tests were computed in order to test the
association of attributes. In other words, the association between type of
sector and the study variables were computed using chi- square.
Chi-square: Chi-square test statistic was used to measure the degree of
association among nominally scaled variables. The statistic was computed using
the following formula.
Lastly paired T- test was computed for testing the means difference of
perceived and expected skills for analyzing the skill gaps using the following
formulae.

78
The top of the formula is the sum of the differences (i.e. the sum of d). The
bottom of the formula reads as:
The square root of the following: n times the sum of the differences squared
minus the sum of the squared differences, all over n-1.
· The sum of the squared differences: ∑d2
means take each difference in
turn, square it, and add up all those squared numbers.
· The sum of the differences squared: (∑d)2
means add up all the
differences and square the result.
Brackets around something in a formula mean (do this first), so (∑d)2
means
add up all the differences first, then square the result.
2.10 Limitations
The investigator is aware that studying skill gaps restricted to one type of
occupation, at the firm-level and in one industry will be done at the expense of
population coverage (Spenner, 1988). In other words, generalizability of this
study confines to the type of industry in Hyderabad in the State of Andhra
Pradesh. Another limitation based on the design is the number of companies
found to be common manufacturing and services.
2.11 Summary
While the skills gap is certainly not a new phenomenon, it has been an
enigma to the research community about what it is and exactly where it is in the
extant workplace. The history has provided a picture of the development of the

79
skills gap, at least with an underlying premise that there was, indeed, a skills gap.
Beginning at the turn of the 20th
century, education was viewed as an important
factor in the growth of the economy. At mid-century, education, technology and
the economy were evidenced as a connection tied by a historical thread.
Somewhat later the education, technology, and the economy connection became
evident during advancing of technologies’ aftermath: a massive period of
Governmental financing for educational improvements. For instance, Apprentice
Act and education was one major response and later played a very important role
in the history of the skills gap.
In the Indian context the position is no different particularly with
globalization, Liberalisation etc. Prime Minister’s National Council for skill
development in India has been constituted in the year 2009. The purpose of this
council is to prepare the Nation for the next 10 to 15 years the requisite talent pool
and also make it available for all the operations of development processes in the
country.
Based on the synthesis of the research reviews, suitable research method
was selected and further work carried out to address the questions emanating
from the discussions. In the process, First, the skill gaps were determined through
the difference between current skill mean scores and the expected mean scores
as perceived by the managers.
Further, based on the design of this study, which seeks to examine skill
gaps through types of skills taken from the SCANS framework, attempt is made to
examine the relationships among the sub-dimensions as variables.

80
In the earlier paraghraphs, an attempt has been made to present the
research design. The later part of the chapter presented importance of the
methods and procedures of research by highlighting the study area, research
design, sampling method followed, data collection procedure, the measures
used, data analysis procedure. Statistical procedures and limitations are
presented.
The objectives have been formulated and presented in order to enumerate
the directions to the study. The detailed descriptions about the measuring
devices utilized in this study were also presented.
The research design details were presented in order to show the scientific
rigor of the study. Thus, sampling techniques, areas of study, type of sectors, the
processing of data and statistical procedures have been further elabourated in
this chapter.

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