Training and development in India’s Public Sector

Indian Public Sector has been passing through massive changes due to advancement in science and technology and competition from private sector. India has nearly one-sixth of the world’s population. This is possible only through proper training and development. The former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi rightly understood its importance and had established a separate Ministry for Human Resource Development in 1985. He stressed on the development of human resources and because of his initiatives, training has taken an important place in the national economy. Later on, most of the PSEs realized the need and importance of training their employees for better and improved results. The human resource development approach is essential in order to have the optimum utilization of manpower for the benefit of both, the employees and the organization.

Role of Public Sector Enterprises in Indian Economy

Public Sector Enterprises (PSEs) have played an important role in Indian economy since the enactment of Industrial Policy Resolution, 1956. These enterprises played a very crucial part in developing the industrial base of an agrarian economy with poor infrastructural facilities. State’s intervention was deemed necessary in view of low level of employment opportunities and lack of trained manpower (Pant, 2000). Indian PSEs are facing high level of competition in product market as well as labor market. Indian PSEs need to improve overall organizational effectiveness and productivity to ensure competitive edge to compete in liberalized and open market scenario. These changes necessitate the need of training and development of personnel in these PSEs. Today public sector enterprises in India are passing through a phase of metamorphosis. On one side they are facing tough product market competition with the advent of MNCs after the implementation of New Economic Policies in 1991, and on the other side there are threats of closures due to inefficient operations with the second phase of economic reforms focussing on public sector restructuring. In this scenario, PSEs are under pressure to improve organizational effectiveness by finding ways to become cost-conscious and resource-efficient (Joshi, 2000). Most of these enterprises are still using labor intensive technology and large-scale as well as long-term cost reductions can be achieved by improving the productivity of employees through effective training and development.

Challenges faced by the PSEs

High pay packages offered by the MNCs are attracting high quality fresh talent as well as high performers away from the PSEs. This poses challenge for PSEs to improve, develop and retain the available resource in order to have a competitive edge. These conditions further strengthen the need of training and development in PSEs to facilitate and ensure the acquisition of competencies required by the employees to perform their task more effectively in order to accomplish overall organizational effectiveness. Also for appropriate and effective training, there is a need to understand the perception of employees towards training. According to Rao (1994), in recent years training has become more of a perk and less of a competency-building instrument. Some people have attempted to increase the effectiveness of training by utilizing sophisticated training techniques without considering their actual need. Others have focused on training environment only.

“Effectiveness of training program decreases if there is a wide gap between documented training policies and procedures and implementation of learning from training.” (Training as a factor for increasing organizational effectiveness)

Need of the hour

Training program needs to be developed on the basis of organizational analysis, operational analysis, and individual analysis. Organizational analysis can be done on the basis of overall objectives of the organization, which includes Vision andMissionstatement and the available resources with the organization. Vision andMissionstatement of an organization defines where the organization wants to move from its present position, goals to be achieved in future and how those goals can be achieved. Available resources are the boundaries within which those goals need to be achieved. Operational analysis includes job analysis, which provides expectations from the employees to meet organizational objectives. This will give minimum acceptable requirements from the employees to do job effectively. Individual analysis provides information of present potential and existing capabilities, skills, knowledge and attitude of the employees. Organizational analysis can be done by HRD personnel with the help of top management and individual analysis can be done by individual employees with the help of HRD personnel and line managers (Dessler, 2000).