The Indian Workforce Today

Kelly Services
2013 Salary Guide
Greater China
The Indian
Workforce today
Divided by alma mater
or united by merit?

of top-paid CEOs in India are
from the branded colleges either
from India or abroad.
% of population growth
of India between the age
group of 18-23 vs. the
world average of 4%.
13%
annual growth in
employment will possibly
create 570 million jobs
over the next five years.
2.5%
of respondents felt that
media penetration is
an important tool for
enhancing brand image.
44%
of respondents believed
job prospects as a key
factor determinant
while choosing an
educational institute.
57%
72%
which stage did the brand reputation of your educational
institute play an important role?
Top 3 factors to be
considered in the
selection of an
educational institute
27
The average
duration of
education
in IndiaYears
Impact of BrandEd across generations
Gen Y
Gen X
Baby Boomers
56%
34%
8%
57%
During
first job
placement
7%
While
exploring new
opportunities
36%
Exploring
new business
opportunities
through networks
32.7%
28.4%
18.9%
Price
Processes
Promotion
How much significance
did your educational
institute play
while securing new
opportunities?
4%
28%
19%
42%
7%
No influence
Low influence
Neutral
Influential
Most influential
BRAND EDUCATION
(BrandED) and its effects
A quick glance at the significance of Brand Education on the career

3
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4
Contents
11 Branding in Education Institutes: Current and Future Perspectives
19 Brand Education and Career: Executives’ Perspectives
9 Higher Education Sector in India
4 Executive Summary
21 Workforce in India: Current Structure
32 Conclusion

5
Executive Summary
Fifty-six percent of respondents born in
the Gen Y period (Figure 1), feel that the
brand value of a person’s educational alma
mater has a significant impact on the career
growth opportunities over the course of
time. This prima facie, sounds rather obvious
as institutions and corporations to a certain
extent tend to contribute to this halo around
students and professionals from prestigious
educational institutes.
But does one’s alma mater play such a
significant role in career development? Are
alumni of prestigious schools in our country
a privileged lot? Do they have it any easier
than their counterparts? Or are there other
factors of merit besides the brand value of
one’s education at play in corporate society?
These are some of the answers we will
address in this paper.
Figure 1: Impact of BrandEd across generations
Gen Y
(born between 1982–2000)
Gen X
Baby Boomers
56% 34% 8%

6
Conventional wisdom will lead you to
believe that a prestigious college education
will pave the way for a successful corporate
career with a high salary and a promising
career. The name of the college will give the
chance to showcase your potential talent
and skills at an accelerated pace.
India has an advantage in that it is home
to the world’s largest youth population.
Around 400 million people are in the age
bracket of 25–35 years. This makes India a
potential future supplier of skilled workforce
to the entire world; however, Indian colleges
are still struggling to find their place
globally. A recent study shows that none
of the Indian colleges are able to secure its
place in the top two hundred universities
in the world. In order to produce a globally
competitive workforce the Indian education
system needs a renaissance of sorts.
On the contrary, Indian technical institutes
have consistently managed to meet
demand globally. Large numbers of Indian
scientists are working in prestigious
research institutions around the world,
doctors from India are some of the most
celebrated around the globe and the
contribution of the Indian workforce to the
global IT industry.
Looking at the demand-supply equation of
the global workforce, the Indian institutes
alone are not able to meet the burgeoning
demand. Even though they have been
in existence for more than 50 years, the
pioneer institutes of management education
in India have 12000 to 15000 alumni as
compared to just a single management
school like the Indian School of Business
which has produced 8000 alumni in the
last ten years. These institutes are majorly
focused on branding to differentiate
themselves using a self-defined set of
attributes. The common strategy of
brands is to first establish their image and
perception and then expand into new
geographies. A recent example is the
expansion of ISB to a new Mohali campus,
Executive Summary
which has increased its intake from 800 to
1100. Thus, an educational institution in the
twenty-first century functions almost like a
corporation by looking at improving brand
perception while also fuelling growth.
Presuming that senior executives in all
corporations in India have at least one
professional degree, we will try and
analyse whether the brand name of their
educational institute is a necessity for a
successful career. Does the brand play an
important role in securing prestigious jobs?
For purposes of this study, we will term the
effect of the brand name of alma maters as
“BrandEd” (Branded Education).

Higher education sector in India
The higher education segment in India has
seen a paradigm shift in the past decade,
with the number of universities having
grown by a CAGR of 7.5% and number of
colleges having grown at a CAGR of 11%
(Source:UGC). Today, it has emerged as one
of the largest educational segments in the
world with around 15 million enrollments
across 31,000 institutions in 2011.
( Source:UGC) The inevitable role of the
private sector behind this unprecedented
growth in the higher education segment
will lead to battles for market share
between established players, and exposing
incumbents. To deal with these changes
the role of branding has become extremely
important as educational institutes use
branding as a tool to meet the sustainable
changes in the near future.
Figure 2: Growth in number of colleges and universities in India
Source:UGC
1950–51
1960–61
1970–71
1980–81
1990–91
2000–01
2009–10
2011–12
7
27
45
110
272
82
184
525
556
578
1819
3277
6963
5748
11146
25951
31324

The Indian education sector is
heterogeneous. By this we mean that the
market is dominated by established players
(mostly government institutions) where
the number of applicants is multiple of
30–50 of available seats compared to the
non-branded private institutes who offer
a much lower conversion rate. It is evident
from the graph on the previous page
that prior to the year 2000, the market
was dominated mostly by government
institutions as compared to the explosion
in private educational institutes seen in the
new millenium.
The role of private sector participation has
increased the gross enrollment ratio from
10% to 13.8% in 2010 with a proportionate
increase in professional courses like
engineering, medicine and management.
The government has set the target of 30%
gross enrollment ratio by 2020 (40 million).
Another interesting insight is that the
population of India between the ages of
18-23 will grow by 13% annually, compared
to the world average of 4%. The inevitable
role of private institutions in this growing
requirement has made it important for
institutions to benchmark against global
standards of education dissemination.
The Indian economy is growing with the
rise in domestic consumption, the increased
demand of workforce and the impact of
global outsourcing – the workforce in
India was 520 million back in 2010. The
recent announcement by the government
of an estimated 2.5% annual growth in
employment will possibly create 570
million jobs over the next five years. The
information technology and information
technology enabled services (IT and ITeS) is
one of the largest organized employment
sectors having created more than 10 million
jobs in the last decade alone. The industry
has added more than one million jobs
in the last two consecutive years and is
8
estimated to reach 30 million by 2020. To
meet the upcoming demand for skilled and
knowledgeable workforce, IT companies
are investing significantly in training and
education. A recent example is the initiative
taken by the founder of HCL by setting up
the Shiv Nadar University with the plan of an
annual intake of 8500 students in the next
eight to ten years.
Higher education sector in India

9
It is evident from the research that the
growth of the Indian economy and
graduate education are highly correlated.
In the previous year alone more than
five thousand new colleges have been
opened in India (refer figure: 2). To survive
this fierce competition, branding has
become an important tool for colleges
and employers to stay ahead of the curve
by clearly communicating their academic
offering to students. Today, Gen Y enquires
about a multitude of factors such as
placement records, faculty, and alumni
experience before selecting their higher
education institution.
But were the same branding tactics used in
90s by higher institutes? Was selecting an
institution for higher education a difficult
choice for Gen X? What attributes make an
institution a brand for Gen X?
We went a step further to understand the
various decision triggers in considering an
educational institute across undergraduate,
postgraduate and doctorate courses.
The results can be seen in figure 3. What
is interesting to note is that the decision
triggers are vary significantly across these
levels of education.
Branding in education institutes: Current and future perspectives
Figure 3: Top three factors considered in choosing an educational institute
3.6% 9% 8.7% 50%21% 21.6% 15%21.6% 6%37% 11.4% 16.2% 9%18% 21% 1%10.9% 19%
Undergraduate college Postgraduate college Doctorate college
 Reputation of college
 Quality of academic input
 Recommended by friends/seniors/family members
 Infrastructure
 Job prospects
 Course fees

Figure 4: At which stage did the brand reputation of your educational institute play an important role?
The purpose of education institutes
has also changed with time. The focus
earlier was only to improve the quality of
education and set the basic foundation for
higher education in the country. College
infrastructure, location and other amenities
were not considered before selecting
the institute. In the next section, we will
look at how the process of education
dissemination has changed over time.
57%36%
During first job
placement
Exploring new business
opportunities through networks
7%
While exploring
new opportunities

11
Tell us about your path thus far in the
corporate sector (your educational
background, previous organizations, total
work experience etc.).
S I have completed my masters and
doctorate in pharmaceutical science and I
also possess a management degree from
Mumbai University. I have contributed
in Lupin Ltd, Ranbaxy, Pfizer, and Merck;
currently I am working in Eisai India and
have been employed here or the last
five years.
D After completing graduation, I enrolled
for a CA and, post completion, I started my
career with PWC and currently I am working
as a country manager in NetApp.
How significant was the role of your
educational institute in your professional
growth?
S My core degree is from Punjab University
in pharmacy. I was fairly benefitted due
to my degree during initial search of job,
because Punjab University delivers sound
technical knowledge to its students.
Sanjit Singh Lamba
Managing Director,
President – Global Brands Business
unit and Global Head – Procurement
Strategy at Eisai India
Deepak Naragund
Country Manager,
Finance at NetApp
D
S D My institute name had no role in
my professional growth; I got the job
on the basis of my CA degree and the
specialization I chose during the course.
Professional courses provide functional
training, which in turn is helpful in the
corporate growth.
What according to you is the role of
college brand during appraisal and
opportunities within the organization?
S College brand plays an important role
during initial five years of one’s career; in
exploring new opportunities and sustaining
in the corporate sector because till then the
employers perceive you to be superior due
to your college brand, given you fulfill the
expectations.
D College brand does not play any role
during appraisal and the opportunities
within the organization. The candidate
performance, skills are the deciding factors.
Do you think that the college brand plays
an important role while exploring new
opportunities?
S Yes, it’s not only your degree that
impresses the employer but also the alumni
profile of your college that the employer
tracks to consider you for an employment.
D College brand has very little role in
exploring new opportunities. Candidate’s
performance, industry experience, skills and
professional networking are the attributes
which help in exploring new opportunities.

12
What according to you is the relevance of
executive programs offered by branded
colleges to improve individual career
growth?
S It depends upon the objective of the
program. It always widens the career of an
individual. I have gone through the various
executive programs and I have found the
relevance of all the programs in contribution
towards an employee’s career life.
D Once an employee completes a
considerable time period in the corporate
sector, he may need a degree or
qualification that would facilitate his future
growth. Most of the executives feel the
need of this requirement when they reach
middle management and stagnate slightly.
What according to you is more critical in
employee’s growth: corporate training
programs or executive programs of
colleges? Please elaborate.
S Coaching and mentoring have value
addition in due course of time. These
programs are targeted for the middle
management are helpful for initial career
but not very useful from an executive
leadership point of view. And my opinion
about executive programs is that only long
duration courses may be of some value add.
D Both the programs have their own
advantages. An executive program gives
you fresh ideas to address the real world
problems. On the other hand, corporate
training is useful to enhance skills of
employees to perform routine tasks better.
Sanjit Singh Lamba
Managing Director,
President – Global Brands Business
unit and Global Head – Procurement
Strategy at Eisai India
Deepak Naragund
Country Manager,
Finance at NetApp
D
S What according to you is the ratio
of branded and non-branded college
graduates in senior management of
corporate world?
S Branded college pass out make 25% of
senior management and rest is from regular
colleges.
D Currently it would be 60:40 I would
imagine.
Do you think the ratio mentioned by you
in the previous question will change with
time? Which sectors according to you will
witness this change first?
S The contribution from the branded
colleges may come down. Banking and
financial services will witness the change first
while heavy manufacturing and IT will be
impacted the last.
D No, a significant increase will not be seen
until new branded colleges are opened up
or there is a sort of collaboration between
local institutions and foreign universities.

13
To meet the demand of the changing
market scenario, most of the colleges
have a marketing department or they are
planning to set up a marketing department
as a separate unit. Brand management
has become the latest focus for most
educational institutes. Recently XLRI
(a 63-year-old management institute)
rejuvenated its brand to focus on industrial
relations and personnel management.
Today, BrandED strategy of educational
institutes is not confined to promotional
activities only, but to consistently deliver
superior academic quality, to improve
corporate networks to cater to the fast-
changing marketplace and to maintain
brand equity. Just before the placement
session begins, seminars and conferences
are organized by most management
institutes. In all, collaboration with industry
players and marketing is a value addition
process to the traditional services offered
by the higher education institutions. In this
paper we will look to measure the impact of
branding by educational institutes on their
alumni’s careers. A subsequent closer look
at the branded colleges in India shows how
they are managing the 7Ps of marketing.
Product: It includes the degree awarded by
the institute, affiliation with AICTE, UGC etc.
Some institutes also offer dual degree or a
degree from a foreign institute to students
still residing in India to differentiate among
competition. The value of such degrees is
mostly cosmetic with little significance in the
corporate sector in India.
Our research revealed that though tuition
or cost of education plays an important
part in selecting an educational institute,
a significant percentage of respondents
feel that the reputation of the institute is a
critical metric in selection.
Figure 5: What are the most important factors to be considered in the selection of an
educational institute / college for education?
7.2%
28.4%
People
32.7%
Price
Processes
12.8%
Place
18.9%
Promotion

14
Price: Whereas prestigious institutes enjoy
the brand loyalty with the minimum fees
structure due to government aid, newly
opened institutes proclaim value for money
by claiming successful placements in their
marketing activities. Institutes also offer
discounted fee to the meritorious students
as a part of their promotional strategy.
Promotion: This activity has significantly
increased revenues of institutes when
used effectively. Prospectus, city offices to
boost up enquiries, campaigning during
the admission season as well as print and
TV advertisements are used to create
awareness. Significant budgets are allocated
by both established and new institutes for
this purpose.
People: Managing people is another
critical aspect, the truth of the matter is
that most of the colleges are facing an
immense shortage of faculty across all
levels. Retention of faculty is the biggest
impediment faced by colleges. Therefore
professionals from the industry are being
employed as visiting faculty in almost all
professional institutions.
Physical evidence: This includes basic
infrastructure including classrooms, libraries,
laboratories, computers and other necessary
equipment. The government institutions
often have inadequate infrastructure. Private
institutions are promoting themselves by
providing all global-standard amenities to
compare with world-class institutions.
Processes: The current demand supply gap
has created opportunities with institutions
focusing on expanding batch size by
improving the delivery process. IT enabled
services have been commonly used to
deliver content.
Place: Institutes are encashing their brand
equity by opening campuses at various
locations. Campuses are being opened
at unexplored destinations as well as the
global corporate hubs. These new locations
serve a two-pronged purpose: (a) to reach
a larger geographic audience, and (b)
strengthen corporate ties in their circle of
influence. This table illustrates some Indian
institutes with multiple campuses in India
and abroad.
Institute Campuses
in India
Locations Campuses
abroad
Locations
SP Jain institute of
Management and
Research
1 Mumbai 3
Dubai,
Singapore,
Sydney
Amity 4
Delhi, Noida,
Gurgaon, Jaipur
3
Singapore,
London, San
Francisco
BITS Pilani 3
Pilani,
Hyderabad, Goa
1 Dubai
Manipal Education
Group
5
Manipal,
Mangalore,
Bangalore, Goa,
Sikkim
4
Malaysia,
Nepal, UAE,
Antigua

15
J I joined MphasiS in 2006 as a delivery
manager and currently am working as an
Associate Vice President. Prior to this I was
a manager in Geometric Limited and a
design engineer in the Force Motor. I have
completed my Bachelors in Engineering
from Maharashta Institute of Technology
in 1995 and MBA from IME (Institute of
Management Education) in 1998.
R I am a business data processing and
economics graduate from Delhi University.
After graduation, I started working
with Ranbaxy. Henceforth, I worked in
pharmaceutical industry for almost 10
years and now am working with Clariant, a
chemical company as Head – IT Services.
Jerome Lobo
Associate Vice President,
MphasiS, an HP company
Raj Khemani
Head, IT at Clariant
R
J How significant was the role of your
growth?
J I did my mechanical engineering from
Maharashtra Institute of Technology
and MBA marketing from IME. Both my
engineering and my MBA college name
helped me in fetching my first job only but
this name was futile in further career growth.
Later on only experience, knowledge and
the skills of an individual pay off.
R The role of my educational institute in my
professional growth was almost negligible.
I had to prove myself from my first job
onwards. I believe that the college does not
help to survive and grow in the corporate
world. It’s only individual’s qualities that lead
to one’s growth.
J Role of the college brand have no
contribution in the appraisal process within
the organization. Experience, knowledge
and skills play an important role in the
career growth.
R I am not sure but I think some big
employers are really particular about
the brand as they keep a track of alumni
placement and the recruitment list. This
reinforce my believe that it helps in
exploring the new opportunities but later
on it is just performance that is required
to grow.
opportunities?
J Yes, it’s not only your degree that
impresses the employer but also the alumni
profile of your college that the employer
tracks to consider you for an employment.
Being a fresher, brand name is helpful in
exploring opportunities but not helpful
in exploring ‘NEW’ opportunities while
working in an organization for a significant
time period because later the candidates
are evaluated on the experience basis.
R No, that time, talking about the brand is
a big waste of time, because it is employee’s
attitude, experience, and willingness to
learn that count for the appraisal and
recognition within the organization.

colleges in improving individual career
growth?
J Executive programs give value addition
to the employees, equip them with special
skills and impart them knowledge, just
to keep them updated and groom their
personalities. Currently there is a great
demand for young employees holding
additional qualifications like executive
programs or equivalent because corporate
want young employees to resume the
responsibility for a longer time so as to cut
the cost incurred on old ‘n’ experienced
employees.
R These programs give a theoretical
picture of corporate world. The content
has very little relevance in the practical
environment. Hence I would say there is
very little value addition.
What according to you is more critical
in employee growth (corporate training
colleges)? Please elaborate.
J Both types of programs are important
for the employee growth, only when they
are not just clerical types but also coupled
with the practical training. Rather one needs
to do personal exploration instead of relying
on these programs only, so as to inculcate
the values.
R Corporate training programs play
more important role in employee growth
than executive training programs. The
experiences shared by employees from
different departments are useful to
understand and improve workflow.
What according to you is the ratio
graduates in senior management
corporate world?
J This is not fixed across all the industries,
but it depends on the kind of industry and
its workforce requirements.
R According to me, the split between the
branded and non-branded college graduate
senior management is 70:30.
Jerome Lobo
Associate Vice President,
MphasiS, an HP company
Raj Khemani
Head, IT at Clariant
R
J Do you think the ratio mentioned by you
J No significant incline or decline is to be
seen.
R No idea.
16

The Indian economy was considered to be
an agrarian economy largely with minor
contribution from manufacturing untill the
90s, but post the liberalization policies, the
focus has been on the service sector. The
demand for a knowledge workforce has
increased and in response both educational
institutes’ and corporates have tried to
inculcate this change in their selection
processes.
Brand education and career: Executives’ perspectives
• Location advantage
• Recommend by
peers
• Tuition fees
• Previous record
• Market outlook
• Institution size
• Fee structure
Employee
perspective
• Strong Faculty
• Academics
offering
• Quality of
education
• Promotional
activities
• Research output
• Word-of-mouth
• Quality of fresh
graduates
• Previous experience
• Consistency in output
• MDPs and trainings
Employer
perspective
Before moving forward let us understand
the brand equity framework that prevails
in the higher education sector. This brand
equity framework enables universities to
manage and market the services supported
by the mission and vision.
17
INSTITUTION

We also asked the respondents the factors by which they would classify an educational
institute vis-à-vis its brand image. The figure below illustrates the findings.
Interestingly the media penetration of an
institute is still perceived as an important
tool for enhancing brand image. This,
however, is not necessarily linked to
performance or quality. Another major
factor is the effect vis-à-vis interaction with
alumni and peer networks at the work
place. Thirty-six per cent of respondents felt
that this is a major factor of classification
between a good institute or otherwise.
By focusing on employers’ perspective,
corporates on the basis of previous
experience of working with the alumni of
same college have a higher propensity to
work with the new candidates from the
same institution again.
18
Figure 6: How do you classify between a branded and a non-branded institute?
13.3%
6.7%
36%
44%
Magazine and
newspaper
rankings
Previous work
experiences with
alumni
Interaction with
with students
from the college
Responsiveness of
the college with
respect to changing
demand of the
corporate sector
Universities understand the importance of
this strategy and the fact that it can often
help to differentiate among the existing
competition, to identify profitable new
geographies, and achieve economies of
scale. The government has also understood
the importance of this and with the
objective of promoting foreign participation
in the education sector, the government
launched Educil in 2000. Most universities
wishing to attract overseas students to
their home campuses might be expected
to adopt standardized or adapted brand
strategies.
Employers, however, feel that apart from the
established educational players the segment
is not appealing. India is ranked sixth among
countries in the world where employers
have difficulty in finding a skilled workforce.
Brand education and career: Executives’ perspectives

This heterogeneity can also be seen through
employees’ perspective. Candidates from
branded colleges usually have two to three
offers after successful completion of their
course whereas candidates from non-
branded colleges find it difficult to repay
and meet expenses they have incurred
during the course.
Based on the above, BrandEd workforce
is majorly classified into three segments.
The first segment belongs to the workforce
from the prestigious institutes of respective
fields. The students from these institutes
enjoy high employability in the market. This
segment of workforce has high demand
in India, US and other developed markets.
The demand has also increased from
Australia, Singapore and New Zealand in
the last decade.
Workforce in India: Current structure
Level 1
minimal
education
Level 4
highly skilled
labor
Level 2
vocationally
skilled
Level 3
college graduates
52%
22%
22%
22%
The second segment of workforce is
the one trained by the private institutes
who are more attuned to the demands
of the corporate world albeit at entry- or
mid-level management. These institutes
closely work with corporate executives to
successfully recruit their students using
relationship marketing. This segment of
BrandEd workforce has comparitively less
bargaining power.
The third segment of BrandEd workforce
is trained either through institutions with
less propensity to continuously adapt to
market demands or through the private
institutions established within the past
decade. This segment of workforce trains on
the literacy level improvement rather than
on quality and technology advancement.
The workforce of this segment relies on
their skills and feels tremendous pressure to
climb the corporate ladder.
19

The above three segments comprise only
one million people per annum against the
domestic demand of fifty million. Therefore
the first segment mentioned above has to
deliver robust mechanism to develop more
talented professionals. The second and third
segments of the workforce have to foresee
the broader picture and focus on improving
brand equity and quality. A previous study
conducted by Nasscom and McKinsey
revealed that out of total graduates only
25% are readily employable year on year.
The executives working in middle and
senior management in the Indian corporate
sector are primarily from government
institutions. They agree that at their time
the focus was on nurturing the students with
a broad curriculum instead of just preparing
professionals for the corporate rat race.
As is pretty common overseas, the mode of
referral or even reference as a channel for
getting a job, is at an increase in India as
well. Fifty-one per cent of our respondents
identified a reference as the key factor in
getting their first jobs.
Figure 7: How did you get your first job?
36%
51%
Through
a reference
Campus
placement
5%
Through a job
consultant
8%
Job portal
20

I completed my engineering from Sardar
Patel College of Engineering and a PG
diploma in Software Technology from
National Center for Software Technology.
Currently, I am working with Emco India Ltd.
Previously I have worked with Ion Exchange
India Ltd for eight years.

growth?
My college name was helpful in fetching
my first job. The consistency in the quality
of students has won the confidence of
recruiters.
opportunities? What is the reason behind
such a perception of the employer?
Yes, while going for the first job, brand
name plays an important role. It is due to
Prasad Parab
CIO (VP – IT),
Emco India Ltd
this reason that brand name is not formed
in a single day, it takes many years to earn
this title and to preserve it. These colleges
pick the best students, who have already
survived through a fierce competition and
then they are polished and groomed. Hence
it is not a challenge for these students
to perform well in corporates and thus
employers consider them for a job
relatively easily.
Branding does not have any direct link
with the corporate recruitment. It is just
the quality of the students/alumni of
the colleges that are obtained out of
these colleges. It is perceived that they
outperform in their jobs therefore they are
hired but at the end of day what is being
appreciated is performance and the same is
applicable for initial recruitment as well as
appraisal, if performance is good there are
plenty of opportunities and options with the
employee. No brand name really helps in
fetching success.
21
Could you please list down a few reasons
for favoritism of students from branded
college?
As I said brand is formed over the years.
So the best thing to get from these
colleges is the quality of faculty, supportive
infrastructure, competitive learning
environment and alumni placement record
that are appealing to the new employers.
But sometimes this suffers from a bias
because many good students are ignored
even if they are a good performer but are
not from premier institutions. But there are
so many applicants for a job every year so
someone has to be highly selective and it
is done at employer’s end and their brand
filters are set in recruitment and selection
process.

What according to you is the relevance
of executive programs offered by
branded colleges in improving individual
career growth?
Executive programmes are really helpful
in individual growth though this is not true
in Indian corporates but in MNCs these
programmes have a factor in future
growth usually.
Which programme is better: long-duration
Executive MBA programme or short term
MDP/EDP programme?
Both the programs have their own benefits
and offerings. Executive MBA in itself is a
degree that gives specialized knowledge to
employee in a particular field, say marketing
finance etc. and add-on one more
qualification in employees’ qualification
chart whereas MDP/EDP programmes are
not degrees as such, they are the top-ups
offered to the employee for his corporate
growth. These programmes as such are
not recognized at organisational level
rather they are known for skills recognition.
Employees are put to these programmes to
hone up their skills or to meet personality
deficiency.
in employee growth: corporate training
I think executive programs are more critical
than the corporate training. Executive
programs offer employees fresh ideas and
the interaction with the people of varied
background – academics and corporates.
corporate world?
I believe that the current ratio will be 60:40.
I am not expecting major changes. The
requirement of the workforce as compared
to skills of qualified candidates is really low.
Although, this also varies from industry
to industry.
Prasad Parab
CIO (VP – IT),
Emco India Ltd
Workforce in India : Current structure
22

The educational system was for most part
a non-profit business at the time of Gen X.
Quality of academic input (37%) was the
first choice for an undergraduate course.
Sixty-seven per cent of survey respondents
identified the quality of academic input
as a key determinant for their choice of
education institutes, followed by 57%
of respondents who also believe job
prospects are a key determinant in choosing
an educational institute. Excluding few
renowned brands like NIIT, Amity some
other private institutes that have opened in
last decade are maximizing revenue through
increasing tuition fees and compromising
on the quality of education offered. This
practice could be dangerous in the long
run, as 58% of respondents believe that the
institutes communicate differently at the
time of admission and so the picture is not
consistent over time.
23
4% 5.3% 26%
4% 9% 42%
9% 2% 14.7%
8% 9% 32.3%
4% 68% 20.7%
6% 6.7% 12%
11% 16.8% 60%
9% 14% 50.7%
2% 10.7% 11%
12% 11.8% 12%
8.3% 3.2% 13.3%
3% 18% 12%
76% 11% 38.3%
52% 32.9% 8%
27.4% 72% 11%
52.7% 27% 4%
14% 5% 4%
26% 39.6% 26%
44.3% 6% 1%
27.3% 32% 1%
Figure 8: Please rate the factors critical for growth in the corporate sector at the various stages of career life cycle?
College
brand
Education
Domain
expertise
Interpersonal
skills and
capability
Junior level Mid level Senior level
 No influence  Significant  Neutral  Low influence  Most influential

In India, the average duration of education
is 27 years. College education comprises
six to seven years for the post graduates
and then 30–35 years of a career passing
through junior, middle and senior levels
of management. Respondents believe
that the role of college brand (76%) and
education (52%) are significant at the
junior level, while at mid level domain
expertise has more weight (72%) for
career growth.
Figure 10: How much significance did your educational institutes play during appraisals/new opportunities?
Figure 9: Do you feel that the brand reputation of your educational institutes had an impact on your career graph?
24
 No influence
 Low influence
 Neutral
 Significant
 Most influential
Undergraduate college Postgraduate college Doctorate college
2%
4% 28% 19% 42% 7%
3% 2%3% 7% 16%18% 19% 15%54.7% 45% 49%22.3% 26% 18%
No influence Low influence Neutral Influential Most influential

IT companies are the major recruiters
among engineering graduates. Companies
are recruiting from branded and non-
branded colleges and spending large
training budgets to hone them. Banking
and financial services are among the major
A recent reform in the alumni policy could
be a big leap. Now most college’s executive
courses have revised alumni status that
has enabled all students enrolled even in
medium-duration programs to receive the
status of alumni. The research revealed
that 77.3% of the respondents feel that
even short-term courses from reputed
Figure 11: Apart from the industries you have worked in, what industries do you believe
you could contribute to effectively?
recruiters from branded MBA institutes
(34%). The majority of respondents (60.3%)
also believe that the BFSI is the sector
where they can contribute effectively,
followed by the FMCG (15.6%) and the
Telecom sector (14.1%) respectively.
Figure 12: Do you feel that the executive programs offered by branded institutes can be
helpful in improving your employability?
institutes could be helpful professionally
and the alumni status from the college
will expand their network reach and will
be beneficial for them for exploring new
career opportunities. Among the survey
respondents 96% believe that a salary
hike of 10%–30% is expected after the
completion of the program.
“Executive programmes help in improving the employee’s
performance, as it aligns the employees’ requirements with the
organization’s need.”
— Tarun Chandra (President, Sales and Business Development at Omnigrid Micropower Company)
25
15.6% 5% 5% 60.3% 14.1%
FMCG IT/ITeS Pharmaceutical BFSI Telecom
77.3%
YES22.7%
NO

Brand management is different at different
levels of service offering provided by the
universities. The research found that strong
support by branding is experienced in
postgraduate level courses. Among the
surveyed respondents (49%) felt that the
college brand plays the most significant
role in career growth. They believe that
the name of educational institute plays an
important role during first job placement
(57%) and also when exploring new business
opportunities through alumni networks
(36%). It is generally felt that the college
brand will help you to start your initial career
but it is your skills and the knowledge that
you gather that will help you to grow in the
corporate sector.
Alumni of branded colleges have proven
themselves. Almost 72% of top-paid
CEOs in India are from the branded
colleges either from India or abroad. This
statement is also validated by the survey
result where 62% of respondents agree
that the alumni of branded institutes have
proven themselves in the corporate world
throughout their career.
26
Figure 13: How much of an increase (%) do you expect in your salary after the
completion of the program?
50% 46% 3% 1%
10%−20% 20%−30% 30%−50% More than 50%

background, previous organizations,
total work experience etc.).
I am working as the chief financial officer
(South India) in PepsiCo. I joined PepsiCo
in 2003 as a project manager, since then I
have worked in the various departments
handling different roles and responsibilities.
Prior to this, I worked as a finance manager
in Intel and Cadbury. I have completed my
chartered accountancy course from ICAI
in 1997.
growth?
According to me, a chartered accountant
degree is a stronger brand than the
institution name (ICAI). I got the advantage
of my CA degree.
Darpan Vashishtha
CFO – South India at PepsiCo
Finance Manager – Intel
The role of college brand is instrumental
at the junior level but as you move up the
ladder, your experience and the practical
knowledge you have gained count more.
After eight to ten years, this experience
plays an important role during appraisals.
The impact of brand name is almost
negligible in appraisal.
Do you think that the college brand
plays an important role while exploring
new opportunities?
Yes, premier colleges render a good start
in the corporate world. This increases the
chance to grow and reach a mid-senior
position relatively early in your career.
However, if one has to change the company
or the sector, then no brand is decisive,
so all in all, it helps in exploring new
opportunities at an early stage only.
What according to you is the relevance
of executive programs offered by
branded colleges in improving individual
career growth?
Executive programs offered are alluring
for an individual growth that is short term.
However, the employees possessing the
executive MBA degree either by himself or
by the employer are cherished in corporate.
Both are very important, for the employee’s
progress as well as for value addition.
However, I don’t see much relevance of
short-term executive programs. These
do not lead to a substantial growth of an
employee. On the other hand, full-time
courses are much more useful. Similarly,
corporate training programs in the actual
sense assist the employee in developing
his skills and it is also constructive to
the organization.
27

graduates in senior management in the
corporate world?
As of now, somewhere around 60%–70%
employees are from the branded colleges in
senior management.
Darpan Vashishtha
CFO – South India at PepsiCo
Finance Manager – Intel
28
In India, the sectors can be classified into
slow-moving and fast-moving in terms of
employee growth, e.g. FMCG sector’s
employee growth is comparatively slower,
the periodic cycle of promotions and growth
is long here termed as a slow-moving
industry. On the contrary, IT exhibits the
trend exactly opposite to FMCG, i.e faster
employee growth. So in the near future we
can see a significant change in the branded
versus non-branded ratio in the IT sector.

Having an education from a branded
college is always an added advantage.
Employers prefer to offer 10%–20% more in
terms of remuneration compared to a
non-branded college pass out.
Figure 14: Approximately how much salary hike is offered for the same position to the
branded college pass-outs comparable to the non-branded college pass-outs?
54% 21.3% 22.7% 2%
10%−20% 20%−30% 30%−50% More than 50%
29

After completing MBA in 1975 from Panjabi
University, I joined Heavy Engineering
Corporation as a management trainee.
How important was the role of your
growth?
My institute name did not play any
significant role in getting me a start in
corporate. I had to work on my own and
explore the opportunities. Because it is
often perceived that students from non-
premier institutes are not up to mark and
require qualitative training in corporate, but
employers want to cut on the cost, so they
do not accept students readily.
Vikram Mehmi
President, Chairman’s Office at Suzlon Energy Ltd.
President and CEO, Birla Sun Life Insurance co Ltd.
How difficult was it for you to attain this
position if your college did not influence
your recruitment?
I started my career with Heavy Engineering
Corporation Ltd as a management trainee.
Thereafter I worked with NTPC, ONGC,
and VSNL etc. In all the organizations
I worked with, I had demonstrated my
capabilities either through entrance exams,
or interviews or the combination of both.
How easy was it for you to get job in an
industry other than your core industry
(telecom); did your college brand name
pose any challenge here?
No, when you are working in a functional
department only your knowledge is being
evaluated and not the previous industry
or the college name. So for me it was all
effortless to get into another industry.
30
No brand name plays an evident role
during the appraisal. It is significant at
the recruitment stage, later on domain
knowledge and corporate experience is
more important to grow.

opportunities?
Yes, definitely. At the early stage of job
search brand plays a crucial role. The reason
underlying is that these institutions make
quality students and they are undoubtedly
perceived to be superior by employers
and so is the reason behind campus
recruitments. But while exploring new
opportunities after a certain time period in
an industry, brand name does not work.

colleges in improving individual career
growth?
It is absolutely useless if it is pursued to add
an extra qualification in the resume, but if
the purpose is to learn, it makes sense.
Both are equally important, but it is always
advantageous to impart little corporate
training in colleges and the branded
colleges work towards it that is why these
students are all-time favorite of employers.
corporate world?
The ratio of non-branded college graduates
is almost negligible at the senior positions.
Workforce in India : Current structure
31
According to me not much difference would
be seen.
Vikram Mehmi
President, Chairman’s Office at Suzlon Energy Ltd.
President and CEO, Birla Sun Life Insurance co Ltd.

The research undertaken for this study
clearly throws up some interesting insights.
Though common perception would lead
us to believe that quality of education
(BrandEd) plays a direct role in the growth
of one’s career, it is not a simple symbiotic
relationship. As Tarun Chandra, President
Sales and Business Development at
Omnigrid Micropower Co. says, “It helps in
exploring the opportunities only when you
are a fresh graduate and look for the first
job, but plays no role in subsequent career
cycles.” Many C-level executives share
this view. But what is interesting to note
is that 80% of the executives who have a
similar viewpoint are themselves alumni of
premier institutes in India. What this means
is that the executives who are not from the
premier educational institutes have a higher
tendency of believing that the prestige of
an alma mater has a direct impact on career
growth. This is an interesting sociological
trait that validates the aspirational value
that premier institutes imbibe among the
general populace.
Conclusion
32
Figure 15: Current job position
20%
CEO
20%
Regional
Head
8%
CMO
7%
Vice-President
5%
CFO
4%
CTO
16%
Director
20%
Department
Head

Conclusion
33
Figure 15 above shows the spread of
respondents covered in this study. Almost
60% of CXOs felt that the corporate
sector follows, for most part, a transparent
meritocracy. But what is interesting to note
is that 75% of these CXOs are from tier-one
educational institutes.
Navdeep Thandi, AVP–HR, HDFC
Standard Life Insurance sums it up well,
“The brand tag can give you only an entry
pass to the corporate world but can not
help you to fetch a good report card in
an organization.” This goes to show that
though academia and corporate excellence
will always be closely linked, it is not a
cause-effect equation. A good education
can pave the way to a succesful entry
at one’s choice of a career, but it’s not a
means of sustainability alone. As economies
grow and contract, competition at all
levels of employment is increasing. True
meritocracies are the organisations that will
do well in this global economy, and hence it
is imperative for executives to continuously
add value to their expertise and skill sets.
As seen in the graph below, even during
appraisals across levels, 56% of respondents
felt that the educational institute of the
employee plays a nominal role during
the appraisal process. Rather, purely
performance related metrics are the only
factor in assessing increments and increased
responsibilities.
Hence both organistaions and educational
institutions will have to continue to adapt
to changing global work standards and
institutes will have to take the lead in
developing future leaders and imparting
Figure 16: What is the weight of educational institute during appraisal of your team?
the knowledge and skills that are required
to execute a task, but most importantly
imbibe in its future alumus, the confidence,
perseverance and self belief that is most
critical for success in the corporate hierarchy.
56% 24% 14.7% 5.3%
10%−20% 20%−30% 30%−50% More than 50%

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