As organizations are adopting new innovative technologies, there is a growing need for skilled talent to fill new roles emerging in the marketplace. To solve the present talent challenges for corporates, MeritTrac Services, Premier Testing and Assessment Company, recently launched ‘AceTrac’ unique employability enhancement program. Unlike other tests that only measure the state of employability just before hiring, AceTrac as the next gen solution positively impacts the stagnant employability quotient of the graduates.

College placement programs often have a limited focus when it comes to tutoring candidates on skills that make them job-ready. The result is that  large numbers of unemployable graduates flocking the job market. Thus, even as HR departments struggle to plug the talent deficit in their organizations, unemployment rates are on the rise. This program examines employability challenges for the Indian education system and the industry. 

Nagendran Sundararajan, Executive Vice President of MeritTrac Services said, “Corporates and their recruiters have been looking for a solution that can help them recruit job-ready candidates. The educational institutions and the student community have been looking for solutions that will help them improve their employability quotient during their college study. AceTrac has evolved out of this market need and MeritTrac’s 17 years of experience in employability assessments. Employability should not be measured through an arbitrary score, and it varies from one job to the other."

He further adds , "In this context, we believe that most students can become employable for varying of jobs and skillsets. What is important is to understand the strengths, areas of improvement and interests of individual students and help them in becoming employable. The AceTrac platform has been made intuitive to help corporates identify the employable talent they look for. We believe AceTrac will immensely help student community to transform themselves as job and career ready.”

What is AceTrac?

AceTrac is a three-stage program comprising of diagnostic, review and final employability assessments. The diagnostic assessment will assess students in the first or the second year of graduate education and generate personalized feedback on strengths and areas of improvement. The prevailing level of student’s employability is benchmarked against the industry standards. The feedback from the assessment will be used as an input for designing training interventions. In six to twelve months after the diagnostic assessment, the students undergo a review assessment. Their improvement is analyzed and training needs are fine-tuned. The final employability test is undertaken few months before the graduation or the placement season. The continuous assessment, feedback and training will guarantee improvement and readiness for the workplace. The program complements the academic system and assesses candidates on key employability parameters – Cognitive Abilities, Communication Skills, Interest and Personality. 

How it benefits corporates and institutions?

Besides empowering students, the benefits of such a strategy will have a positive ripple effect on corporates as well as colleges. On the one hand, organizations benefit from instant access to job-ready talent, thereby simplifying hiring processes. On the other hand, collaborating with enterprises will enable colleges to introduce new courses that develop relevant talent potentially leading to increasing in placement. 

Authenticated corporate and hiring managers are given free access to the platform from where they can identify employable student groups, communities, and colleges. The intuitive search facility will allow corporates to search for employable student communities from specific cities, colleges and for specific skills.

Cost benefits: Industry-driven training during college reduces the cost and time spent on additional training of new hires. Organizations can also reduce the cost incurred from scouring talent pools. Eventually leading to smarter hiring decisions reduce attrition rates and the associated costs.

It underscores the need for a collaborative approach between industry and academia to bridge the talent-job gap, thereby assuring relevant placement for students and targeted hiring processes for organizations. Gopal Devanahalli, CEO of MeritTrac Services said, “Numerous education reform initiatives in India have resulted in a surge in the Gross Enrolment Ratio. This coupled with a high number of educated youth and a substantial shift in the job landscape has made the employability and the right kind of employability critical. As a responsible stakeholder, MeritTrac believes that it has an active role to play in making the future of India employable. With its years of experience, MeritTrac has a clear understanding of what the corporates want and the state of

 Gopal Devanahalli, CEO of MeritTrac Services said, “Numerous education reform initiatives in India have resulted in a surge in the Gross Enrolment Ratio. This coupled with a high number of educated youth and a substantial shift in the job landscape has made the employability and the right kind of employability critical. As a responsible stakeholder, MeritTrac believes that it has an active role to play in making the future of India employable. With its years of experience, MeritTrac has a clear understanding of what the corporates want and the state of talent pool in academic institutions. We believe that AceTrac will complement India’s skill building initiatives by systematically enhancing job-readiness of candidates thereby making them gainfully employable.”

Hence, Acetrac will help in linking the industry with academia and students would benefit by being industry relevant. Such an approach would ensure a skilled talent pool for corporates, simplify hiring and assist in acquiring the right talent at the right cost.