Outdoor ASIA - July 2018

22 August 2018

is a huge demand for specialised workforce across

various job roles.

While the demand for workforce is on the rise, the

sector lacks trained professionals that possess relevant

skill set for jobs within each sub-sector. MESC with the

involvement and support from both the Government and

private players is trying to plug this gap by launching

specialised training institutes and colleges imparting

the desired knowledge and skills to aspiring candidates.

Are you able to impress upon the OOH industry that

skill development will result in business growth?

There is a need to develop coherence between

knowledge imparted in institutions and skill set required

in workplace with special focus on certain courses to

enhance the profitability of the industry. Managerial

skills are required in many job-roles in the advertising

industry. Providing same beforehand would be a win-

win situation for employees as well as employers.

Specific arenas of training need to be stressed upon

for good quality employees. For example: Focus on

specific area of training like production management in

collaboration with leading management institutions will

enable production houses draw synergies in production

ventures and reduce costs.

Have you gone by any international benchmarks for

skill development in the OOH industry, or any other

benchmark standards?

All the courses designed and developed by MESC are

aligned with the National Skills Qualification Framework.

NSQF framework will stimulate and support reforms

in skills development and facilitate establishment

of nationally standardised and acceptable, and

internationally comparable qualifications.

NSQF is a nationally integrated education and

competency based skill framework that provides for

multiple pathways, horizontal as well as vertical and

various courses are also aligned with 21st century skill

demands.

Which are the areas in the OOH business arena where

you are initiating skill development programmes?

The size of the Out-of-home Industry is expected to grow

at a CAGR of 20% to reach Rs 42 billion in 2018. From

the perspective of skill development, we have covered

occupations with focus on acquiring OOH assets, sales

and site valuation, site audit, invoicing & accounting,

and media buying/channeling client spends.

Are you planning to introduce any skill development

programmes for mid-level professionals in the

industry?

MESC is planning to promote and incentivise up-skilling

of workforce to cope up with the changes including

digitisation, growth in multilingual markets, new

technologies and convergence that demand additional

skill sets for the workforce. The implications would be:

l   Up-skilling would serve as add-on for the employees.

l   Provide skill premium for up skilled candidates.

l   Encourage employees to upgrade skills to remain

relevant in the changing industry scenario.

l   Formalise the training relationship with product

companies to certify and credit the employees who

have undergone such training. l

“All the courses designed

and developed by MESC are

aligned with the National Skills

Qualification Framework”

MEDIA MATTERS