With their rapidly growing economies, China and India are playing increasingly
large roles in business - not just as huge consumer markets, but as significant
sources of global talent.
According to an EIU 2006 study, China
and India are poised to contribute 65
million and 142 million new workers,
respectively, to the global workforce by
2020. Both countries offer large,
educated, relatively low-cost workforces.
As the worldwide quest for talent
continues, many see China and India as
key elements in global workforce
strategies.
China: Smart, adaptable and learning focused
China's workforce brings a variety of
strengths to the table beyond just sheer
size. The country's excellence in
producing technical and engineering
talent is well known, as is its relatively
low-cost manufacturing workforce and its
90 percent literacy rate.
With the rapid opening of the Chinese
market, the country's workforce has
shown that it has the ability to adapt
quickly to changing business needs. The
Chinese government has also invested
heavily in infrastructure, logistics, and
telecommunication networks to make it
easy for foreign companies to access this
talent.
There are, of course, challenges in
ensuring that China's supply of talent
keeps up with burgeoning demand. For
example, there has been a shortage of
leadership and management talent, and
that issue is being actively addressed
through changes to the educational
system. More schools have opened, and
programs have been expanded to cover
management skills.
The government has also encouraged
private investment in education so that
today there are more than 60 joint
venture MBA programs in China, many
involving top U.S. and European
business schools.
Beyond skills and training, the Chinese
talent pool also provides some less
tangible strengths. For example, the
Chinese people have a track record of
adapting products, processes, and ideas
from other countries to meet their own
needs.
In addition, learning is an important part
of Chinese culture, and multinational
companies have found that people here
are constantly seeking development
opportunities.
These factors are shaping a Chinese
talent pool that will help companies build
the agility and innovation needed to
compete globally.
India: Skilled and experienced
In the last few years, India's workforce
has become known around the world
through the country's offshore call-center
activities - but this is just one aspect of
India's talent pool.
Today, companies looking to India for
talent are finding much broader
opportunities than they did just a few
years ago. India offers a large number of
educated, skilled, English-speaking
workers.
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Increasingly, companies have been
drawing on the Indian workforce for
quality and innovation, as well as for
lower costs. In the offshoring sector, for
example, companies are now relying on
Indian resources for complex processes
such as software development and
business analytics, as well as the basic
transactional work traditionally
associated with call centers.
Along the way, India has developed a
growing pool of managers, and has
established the management practices
that enable a competitive, effective
workforce.
A unique strength of the Indian workforce
is its significant experience in global
business. The offshoring industry has
created a workforce that is familiar with
the nuances of working across cultures.
What's more, numerous skilled Indian
workers have emigrated to other
countries over the years - and now,
many are returning to India to take
advantage of the country's growing
opportunities, bringing their global
knowledge and experience with them.
As India continues to pioneer offshoring
and globalization, the country's workforce
is showing that it can support complex,
sophisticated global businesses.
In the years to come, companies
worldwide will continue to draw on this
experienced workforce as a vital
resource in the ongoing quest for talent.
Talent Paradox 1: Large population,
insufficient talent pool
Though China and India have, over the
years, become the global suppliers of
talent with their own phenomenal growth
being based on an endless labor supply
and wage rates at a fraction of those in
the West, suddenly this pool of the willing
doesn't look quite so vast, and it is
certainly no longer as inexpensive.
Understanding the nature of this war and
how it affects an organization is
important:
The struggle for talent and
sustainability is large, and growing
rapidly.
We are living in a seller's job market
where employees and potential
employees are actively pursued by
other organizations offering extremely
attractive opportunities and packages.
Employees are increasingly looking
for great career opportunities and a
strong sense of accomplishment in
their workplace.
Both China and India are plagued by skill
shortages. Both countries now face a
grueling war for talent - more intense
and more widespread.
According to Hewitt's Best Employers
2007 study, China faces a higher
leadership crunch at 50 percent
compared to India's at 26 percent. India,
however, faces a higher shortage of
specialist and technical skills. Client
management skills shortage is higher in
China, possibly as a result of
communication and language issues
faced in that country.
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