Announcing Pharma Idol

HR Club, an association of 40,000 HR professionals, has launched Pharma Idol, reportedly India’s first and only national pharma quiz contest

A long standing grouse of HR professionals in the pharmaceutical industry has been the lack of an industry ready workforce. Most pharmacy graduates or pharma business management students recruited need to be put through rigorous hands on induction before they can be assigned any responsibility. After all, these are ‘freshers’, just out of campus. This requires each pharma company to invest in induction programmes for each batch of ‘freshers’ hired, tying up senior personnel’s time as well as adding to the the organisation’s training budget. Can an industry ready workforce be created?

The HR Club, an association of 40,000 HR professionals announce the launch of Pharma Idol, reportedly India’s first and only national pharma quiz contest. According to the organisers, the quiz will pit two member teams from pharma universities, colleges and management colleges, who will be judged by HR and business managers from India’s leading pharma companies.

Students would receive cash prizes, trophies and certificates. Moreover, the resumes of the top 60 rankers of the quiz would be circulated to the placement partners. Registrations for Pharma Idol kicked off from August 01, 2016 and will end on September 30, 2016.

“Professionals from pharma industry can understand the knowledge and readiness of talent available from these institutions by way of quiz,” says Vijay Dalvi, Associate Vice President – HR, FDC.

But what skill sets do pharma companies look for while hiring people? “The students should be aware of challenges the industry is facing due to fixed dosage combinations (FDCs), DPCO, regulation and compliance issues. The Pharma Idol platform will help them gain knowledge in several areas,” says Dalvi.

“Academia has been doing a fairly good job on the knowledge front, but the gap is mostly observed in areas of technical skills development including enhancing soft skills abilities of the students. Without an enabling attitude, the employability would be a short lived experience and hence a lot of focus on ‘Creating Enabling Attitude’ is extended through experiential activities of HR Club. We have observed certain common pitfalls in students’ behaviours when they come on-board. Hence addressing these will surely help these students in their growth and learning in corporate journey. HR Club is bridging the gap between college to corporate through Pharma Idol,” opines Faiyaz Patil, GM-HR, Anglo French Drugs & Industries.

Quiz programmes like Pharma Idol could also attract attention to pharma companies perceived to be more in tune with the talent at the entry levels. “Pharma Idol is a really innovative idea which The HR Club has launched to get employers and the best talent from India’s top pharma colleges together. Such innovative thinking will go a long way in helping India’s pharma companies get the right talent from the campuses. This will also help the students sharpen their soft skills which is the real key in succeeding in a corporate environment,” says Ranjit Shinde, Senior Manager – HR, Bharat Serums and Vaccines.

The placement partners for Pharma Idol are Bharat Serums and Vaccines and FDC, while the internship partner is Sesderma India. Express Pharma is the Media Partner for Pharma Idol.

For more information, contact Krithikha Srinivasan @9892597905 or mail @ krithikha@thehrclub. net

EP News Bureau – Mumbai