Academic skillset and employability

The final premise of a holistic academic pursuit is to sustainably bridge the gap between the realms of the alma mater and the ‘real time’ work environment of the end user of sorts, namely the industry. It follows that the syllabus, training modules and general ethos of the course would be benchmarks for the evaluation of the efficacy of the ‘product’ of the University, namely the student.

This treatise is an endeavor to assess the areas of learning training and to enunciate the irrequirement in the execution-based profile of food science professional. It is interesting to note at the very beginning, that the food Industry is arguably in the throes of a Renaissance, what with the new wave realization of wellness and health, (coined together as Wellth).

The fulcrum of this mammoth industry rests on the workforce of well trained, theoretically sound professionals in various areas of expertise. The need of the hour is that the skill set of the job getter should be as diverse as research and development, entrepreneurship, business acumen, law, packaging, journalism and documentation and all areas of food science and quality control. The nodal question to be contemplated, however, is does a synchrony exist in the academic skillset and the employability quotient of food industry professionals?

If an overview be taken of various academic pursuits available at uni versities all over our country, then it is encouraging to note that the syllabi are all pervading and have been formulated with requirements of the food industry. Food science and quality control as a subject is being offered at the Undergraduate level and at the Post-Graduate level, the discipline ramifies into various areas of specialisations like food technology, food preservation and processing, dietetics, nutrition and even areas of expertise catering to a niche requirement like sports nutrition, food flavours and the novel area of nutraceutical sciences.

Not only are Indian foods and condiments in great demand globally, but the versatility of Indian cuisine and the 360 degree usage of Indian flavours is being accepted worldwide and therefore, ready for exploitation. Hence, this advantage has to be understood scientifically and studied quantitatively.

Importantly, the demands of the food industry are spearheaded and varied. There is a need for managerial cadre work force, technology oriented experts, researchers as also a task force to man the ‘farm to fork’ and ‘plot to platter’ parade of the food product.

The role of a food science professional has to be envisaged as one which takes him from the laboratory to the machine designing department to the scale-up of the process and downstream processing finally to the transport to showcasing, storage and dispensing. A very keen knowledge of food safety would also ensure that such a professional would serve as a very emphatic policy maker and bureaucrat in the food safety and allied domains.

Interestingly, these are all modules which are covered quite adequately in the aforesaid syllabi. Right from food chemistry, food sanitation and hygiene, sensory evaluation and organoleptic analysis, post-harvest technology, food packaging, food laws and even the rudiments of management skills are all part of the theoretical and practical aspects of these courses.

Additionally, the students are also given the choice of acquiring satellite skills which are very pertinent on the Industry job floor namely good laboratory practices (GLP), good manufacturing practices (GMP),TQM (total quality management) and even patents and intellectual property management all in the context of the food industry.

Interestingly, several degrees and advanced diplomas of repute also include mandatory and protracted industrial attachment training for students. This exercise has multipronged benefits. Apart from the first hand exposure to industrial norms, the student imbibes methodologies directly practiced in real time environment. Moreover, the project report writing hones the presentation skills which are imperative in any professional’s skillset.

Having enunciated the hallmarks of most of the academic courses in the Indian scenario of tertiary education, it is interesting to specify if the Industry actually considers it as sufficiently trained and skilled workforce.

Venturing a conservative opinion about this aspect, most industry doyens are  unanimously of the opinion that the overall skillset is definitive and encouraging but some areas of training and expertise need to be improved Interestingly, several degrees and advanced diplomas of repute also include a mandatory and protracted industrial attachment training for students.

This exercise has multipronged benefits. Apart from the first hand exposure to industrial norms, the student imbibes methodologies directly practiced in real time environment. Moreover, the project report writing hones the presentation skills which are imperative in any professional’s skillset.

Having enunciated the hallmarks of most of the academic courses in the Indian scenario of tertiary education, it is interesting to specify if the Industry actually considers it as sufficiently trained and skilled workforce. Venturing a conservative opinion about this aspect, most industry doyens are unanimously of the opinion that the overall skillset is definitive and encouraging but some areas of training and expertise need to be improved complex and sociologically important aspects like inequality and food systems. University of California, Berkeley, has fielded courses with an equal emphasis on environment, ecosystem, physiology and biochemistry. Interestingly Oxford Brookes associates its academic pursuits with psychosomatic planes, motivational behavior and food for the soul concept.

Singapore Polytechnic and Nanyang University, Singapore, emphasise on the rudiments of basic science and its correlation to food process engineering.

Similarly, University of Queensland, Australia, addresses the pertinent issues of novel product development namely labelling, regulatory affairs, claims and the science of nutraceuticals in their local context under the premise of Bush Foods of Australia.

It is my belief as an Indian academician and industry consultant that our academic skillset is competent and well-toned. However, the mammoth industry that we cater to and the diverse requirements that it has, the need of the hour is to recognize its dynamism.

If a constant dialogue is established between the two halves of the whole, namely the job givers and the academic stake holders, then it would serve to make the ‘best’ even ‘better’. The paramount realization of course is that there is no other industry or enterprise which is recession free or more sustainable than the food industry.