The purpose is to create a win-win situation for communities in which they operate and also address the problem of attrition in the business.
Muthoot Fincorp, the flagship company of the Muthoot Pappachan Group, is on a mission to create 10,000 employable youth in India in the next three years.
India still faces a challenge when it comes to the employability of employees. The initiative is aimed at bridging this skill gap in the banking, finance services and insurance industry (BFSI), which is expected to see a surge in manpower requirement.
“The manpower requirement is expected to double from the current 4.5 million to 8.5 million by 2022. This will create a demand for employable youth to contribute to the sector,” says Tojo Jose, CHRO, Muthoot Fincorp.
The financial services company has tried to create a win-win model, which will require manpower as it continues to expand and also create job opportunities for youth within the community, besides driving the government target.
Jose believes that most graduates take up the job of a loan-processing officer in desperation. “Most don’t even understand the requirement of the role and once they discover the mismatch in their expectations they end up leaving the job, which leads to attrition,” adds Jose.
This initiative to train youth is implemented in collaboration with the National Skills Development Corporation (NSDC) and part of the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana programme, under the special category project.
The manpower requirement is expected to double from the current 4.5 million to 8.5 million by 2022. This will create a demand for employable youth to contribute to the sector.
As per the current practice, employees are hired and taken through Gurukul—a six-day classroom training programme—and then put to work in the branch for two-three months, before being inducted into the job. However, through this training, the Company will get more engaged employees, who are job ready from the very first day.
However, this programme will select candidates through a screening process and job melas after which they will be counselled about the job role. This will help them make informed decisions about joining the sector.
The Group has rolled out the initiative with almost 412 students presently undergoing training at various centres. The first batch of 30 students has completed training in Bangalore.
The job roles are for loan processing officer, and candidates between 22–25 years can apply if they fulfil the criteria.
The Company has tied up with seven training partners and in-house master trainers to train the candidates.
Under its expansion goal, Muthoot Fincorp plans to open about 200 more branches this year and expand to Haryana, West Bengal, Orissa, Delhi, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Punjab, Telangana, and Uttar Pradesh. The next phase of expansion will focus on East and North markets, which will have 51 per cent of the total spread.
From the community-banking perspective, the Company wants to make a difference in the communities in which it operates by making their youth job ready.
One of the major incentives of the programme is that the Company will absorb 80 per cent of the trained students for regular positions after successful completion of training and assessment of the candidates.
The aspirants will be provided a conditional offer letter before they undergo the training, which will give them the assurance of a job. The skilling model is designed for a 290-hour curriculum, which will be operated on a ‘captive-employment’ model, with training being imparted as per BFSI-approved training content and curriculum. Under the captive employment model, the prospects will get employed with the Group after successful completion of the course.
The candidates will be trained on soft skills as well as hard skills. For instance, the Company offers training on gold loans, which is their flagship product with 14 variants. The candidate will be trained on how these products differ, how to pitch the product and which category of clients they have to reach out to, and much more.
The ‘hire, train and deploy model’ will ensure that the candidates join the training with their eyes open and do not feel the need to ‘cling’ onto a job. Each year around 3000 employees will find way to enter the system.
These employees will be mostly in customer-facing roles. Hence, there is a need to understand the customer requirement and offer products accordingly.
The efforts will help the Company pay back to the society or to the bottom of the pyramid, which is underserviced by other institutions. The training on soft-skill aspects will guide the candidates on how to approach customers, engage with them and most importantly, develop that comfort and trust. Moreover, the larger goal is to bring the communities out of poverty through this employment model and live up to its core values of integrity, collaboration and excellence.