Employability skills test launched for graduates

India's largest employability skills test, which will test employability of fresh graduates and share scores with prospective employers, has been launched across 29 states and seven Union Territories.

The test, by employability assessment company Wheebox, was launched to mark "World Skills Day" in collaboration with the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), UNDP, Association of Indian Universities (AIU), Pearson Education and HR technology outsourcing firm PeopleStrong.

Called the "Wheebox Employability Test (WEST)", it will be open to students who are final year graduates, post-graduates or diploma holders from engineering, polytechnic, Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs), and state-run colleges or management schools, the company said in a statement.

The test is available in both Hindi and English.

The 70-minute test will measure an individual's numerical and problem-solving skills along with English language, basics of information technology (IT), and behavioural traits. It aims to give the students a snapshot of their capabilities.

It will also provide an initial transcript and detailed scorecard for each module to the candidate, highlighting strengths as well as improvement areas.

The scores will be then shared with 110 organisations across 10 sectors to help employers to shortlist candidates using the scores, the statement noted.

"In 2016, over 30,000 new employment opportunities were provided to young graduates from campuses as an outcome of the initiative. This partnership brings a new dimension and understanding to the way India and the world looks at hiring skilled talent," said Nirmal Singh, Founder and CEO of Wheebox.

"The report provides an insight into the future jobs and skills required by employers also the hiring trends of the market while understanding the needs of the job seeker and organisations," Singh added.

The findings will be part of India Skills Report 2018 which will be published during the Global Skills Summit in November.

--IANS

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