Multi skills a must for biotech entry

Dr Anil Paul Kariath, president, training and consulting, Biozeen	Nobby Nazareth, CEO, Leader Prospects India Pvt Ltd

If young aspirants plan to make it big in the biotech industry, then they have to build soft skills along with technical capabilities and express themselves as a team player in recruitment interviews.

Participating in a conference on "HRD: Shaping India's talent pool through specialization," prominent industry leaders and HR experts felt that it was difficult to find the right candidates if they are not able to tap their hidden potential.

It remains a challenge to identify the right candidates. Technical quality and people skills are the key criteria for hiring and training was the next biggest challenge.

Nobby Nazareth, CEO, Leader Prospects India Pvt Ltd said, "Most of the time, the candidates are not able to manage simple interviews, which is an opportunity lost for the student and the company as well. To bridge this gap, the industry and academia should work in close collaboration, build and focus beyond syllabi."

Gautham Nadig, director, Metahelix Lifesciences, said that science education needs to be looked afresh as good infrastructure alone will not guarantee great scientists. It is critical to focus on a course content and faculty. "It is difficult to get PhDs and specialized skilled persons. However, what motivates these scientists to join small firms is that their ability to solve difficult scientific problems or due to ownership of enterprise, networking, money and responsibility," he said.

Dr Anil Paul Kariath, president, training and consulting, Biozeen, called for a closer interaction between industry and academia to assess the right type of manpower. "Only then can we solve the problem of quality manpower with quantity manpower. The incorrect assessment of the situation has led to academia drifting from need, students not able to choose career path and hampering growth in the long run," he opined.

Dr Jagadish Mittur, director, Monsanto Research Center, chaired the conference.

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