Tamil Nadu: Competency mapping to identify relevant job roles for students
With student employability metrics consistently low, TANSCHE proposes mapping subject-specific skills and providing specialised training for faculty
School Education Department (File)
CHENNAI: To align students’ education with industry requirements thereby enhancing employability, the State Higher Education department has decided to conduct competency mapping, which will identify relevant job roles for students in engineering, arts, and science disciplines.
Tamil Nadu State Council for Higher Education (TNSCHE) has been entrusted to conduct the mapping, which also involves identifying the skills, knowledge, and behaviours needed for successful careers, and align educational programmes with these needs.
“This procedure helps students to be equipped with the competencies employers seek, enhancing their employability and career readiness,” a senior official from the Higher Education Department said. “TNSCHE’s objective is to assess the available facilities in higher education institutions and provide appropriate guidance. Currently, academic labs operate under the assumption that engineering and polytechnic students develop skills through a fixed set of prescribed experiments. But these labs alone are insufficient to impart all necessary competencies.”
With student employability metrics consistently low, TANSCHE proposes mapping subject-specific skills and providing specialised training for faculty. The acquired knowledge and skills will be integrated into student training, ensuring they develop industry-relevant competencies. “Students who have developed the skills needed for their chosen roles will experience job satisfaction. Students with the right competencies will be more efficient and contribute wisely for the companies they work,” he pointed out.
The competency tools include AI-powered platform that can analyse future competency requirements, a competency mapping software tool that provides user-friendly templates for developing frameworks, and a learning management system that integrates with competency management to give personalised training to students. “Finally, we’re getting real time feedback from students to make relevant changes in the competency models,” he added.