The first session of the conclave started at 11:45 AM. The theme for the first session was “Skill Building”. The first speaker of the session was Mr. Anish Philip, Associate Vice President HR at Mindtree Technologies. Mr. Philip talked about the paradigm shift occurring in the field of skill development. This has been accelerated with the launch of Skill India Initiative. In this shift the challenge for corporate citizens and institutions is whether to wait for the Government’s aids and guideline or to independently adapt to new ways of learning. Mr. Philip explicated the new trends in learning that replace the conventional methods. Self-paced and virtual learning, transformational learning, and skill certification are some such emerging trends. Subsequently, Mr. Philip enlightened us with the newly formed Kalinga Training Centre at Bhubaneswar, where focus was placed on creating four types of agilities in young professionals. They include:

Mental agility i.e. diversity of thoughts and ideas People agility i.e. assessing personality traits of others and modifying self Change agility i.e. adapting to change in the VUCA environment Results agility i.e. completion of work and responsiveness

Importance is also given to holistic development, building readiness, as well as physical and mental fitness. Later Mr. Philip cited an example of how Mindtree adopted a Taluk, with its 157 schools. Mindtree was responsible for taking up education and training costs for ultimately creating technically sound professionals. Concluding, Mr. Philip advised HR professionals, to be an active part of the changing trends, rather than waiting for government policies.

The second speaker of the session was Mr. Abhay Kapoor, HR Leader at Escorts Ltd. He explained how the three important initiatives ‘Make in India’, ‘Skill India’, and ‘Digital India’ can be successful only with talented and trained individuals. In the interactive session, Mr. Kapoor highlighted the skills required at each level in an organization. He talked about an immense need for leadership skills at the 3 rd level. He highlighted the importance of skills such as resourcefulness, ability to give out appropriate feedback, digital confidence, as well as having a collaborative and global mindset, required at the top-organizational level. At the 2nd level i.e. the operational level, Mr. Kapoor focused on presence of problem solving, analytical, and interpersonal skills. At the 1st level, where professionals were employed in greatest amounts, technical knowhow and practical skills were given utmost importance. Mr. Kapoor highlighted a new trend of ‘talent building’ where multinational companies set up their own institutes and training centers to eventually hire these skilled professionals. He explained how ‘talent building’ was a healthier option in contrast to ‘talent buying’ i.e. poaching of previously trained individuals from other firms. Also, responsibility of firms would not stop at attracting and hiring new talent; but continue building and rebuilding talent and create value. Another trend he highlighted was building an interface between institutions and companies with a focus on rebuilding curriculum according to needs of the latter. Mr. Kapoor concluded saying that knowledge and skills go hand-in-hand and must be given equal importance at institutional level.