According to the MeritTrac report, only 23% of all MBAs from Tier 2 and Tier 3 institutes are employable. For the study, MBA students were evaluated on two parameters: ‘abilities’ skills as demonstrated by quantitative, verbal and mental abilities, and ‘communications’ skills. Says the report, “If companies consider only good abilities as a pre-requisite for the candidates, then the employable talent pool stands at 56%. However if companies consider both abilities as well as good communication in the selection criteria, then the employable talent pool stands at 23%.”
MeritTrac’s analysis factored in 790 candidates’ scores; the candidates were culled from six major hubs: Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Mumbai/Pune.
Kolkata displays the most consistent abilities and communication attributes while Mumbai displays flashes of brilliance on scientific abilities: “Kolkata and Mumbai steal the limelight away from all cities… they are by far the best cities to recruit management talent from,” the report points out.
On the verbal ability test, while the average pass through was 56%, Kolkata scored at 83%. Bangalore candidates were the next best at 70%. On the test of quantitative abilities, the average pass through rate was 94%; Mumbai and Pune made up for their poor performances on verbal ability and scored a whopping 99%. Kolkata scored 97%. Kolkata also scored the highest on the mental application test – with an average of 85%.
Communication skills were tested on four parameters: articulation, grammar, assertiveness and confidence. The Hyderabad set proved to be the most articulate. On grammar, Kolkata scored the highest with a 77% passthrough. On assertiveness, Mumbai and Pune candidates topped. On confidence, Mumbaikars came first and Kolkatans second.
On the parameters for skill assessments of MBA graduates, the report says “Employability is a measure of the industry-readiness of the candidate as it is a combination of specific hard and soft skills that make one candidate better geared to handle business situations than another.”
What lessons does the study have to offer to the corporate recruiter? MeritTrac advises: “A homogeneous, targets-based approach to recruitment could throw up unpleasant surprises in future. Benchmarking the admission process against recruitment processes in academics could prove to be valuable in improving the quality of talent and in increasing the throughput.”
MeritTrac is a leading skills assessment company that evaluates abilities, skills and knowledge for both corporates and individuals. It is the assessment partner to the governments of Karnataka, Kerela, Orissa and West Bengal for talent pool enhancement programs.
