Effective HR Strategies Needed to Skill & Retain Talent: Bhawna Garg

By Tricitynews Reporter

Chandigarh 12^th October:- To deliberate upon the challenges faced by the industry in the field of human resource development, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) organized ‘CII Strategic HR Conclave: Leverage HR to take business to the next level’ at CII NR Headquarters here today. The chief guest Ms Bhawna Garg, Secretary, Technical Education & Industrial Training, Government of Punjab, released ‘CII – Aon Hewitt Background Paper: Leverage HR to Take Business to the Next Level’ on the occasion.

In her special address, Bhawna Garg, Secretary-Employment Generation & Training and Technical Education & Industrial Training, Punjab, addresses CII Strategic HR Conclave, said employment generation was the biggest challenge before the state.  

She shared further that we would welcome key policy pointers to emerge from today’s conference organised by CII. The challenges that need to be addressed the most are retaining talent and nurturing the right kind of skilled workforce required in the job market. While unemployment figures are high but the youth in the Northern part of India either want to be absorbed in the government sector or migrate abroad. Unregulated and erratic working hours and lack of ensured minimum wages in the private sector dissuades the youth from seeking employment in the sector. This makes retaining talent and skilling the youth as per the needs of the job market a challenge for both the government and the private sector. I assure you to that the government will provide the industry the kind of manpower required.

Bhawna Garg said that she hope that CII and all stakeholders deliberating on strategic HR issues here today come up with concrete HR-specific proposals for the state government. People are our strength and people who lead and form organisations are very important. We need to channelize their energy with effective HR policies.

Gurmeet Singh Bhatia, Chairman, Punjab State Council & Managing Director, Ajooni Biotech Limited, said that human resource development has graduated from mere personnel departments to Strategic HR departments. The growth of any organization depends on how effectively it can capitalize on their human resources. The role of the human resource department needs to be redefined in order to serve the company better. In CII, we are moving towards adopting a multi-pronged approach, which addresses key issues of quality and competitiveness in small and medium enterprises; development through clusters; technology initiatives while keeping special focus on HRD- covering both people and skills development and enhancing the quality of corporate governance.

Dr Prem Kumar, Vice Chancellor, GNA University, said that we need to boost business ecosystems in our country to effectively stimulate economic growth and employment over the longer term. Entrepreneur led organizations act as a significant catalyst for job creation and innovation for the country. Amongst multiple drivers of growth for organizations, ‘People-led Transformation’ is the fundamental driver for continued growth and sustainability of businesses. Entrepreneur-led organizations & family-owned SME organizations, which are established and continue to contribute to the growth of the country, need to capitalise upon the vast opportunity which presents itself in the form of ‘Make in India.

Sarvjit Samra, Vice Chairman, CII Punjab State Council & Managing Director, Capital Small Finance Bank Limited, said that in a scenario where organizations are striving to meet the competitive challenges, the pressure that the growth has placed on acquiring, developing and retaining talent is well known. HR strategies to overcome the challenge of skilling the right kind of manpower is of paramount importance especially for the MSME sector.