37 Training & Development Journal Training & Development Journal Vol. 4, Issue 1, January - June 2013, pp- 37-46 IndianJournals.com DOI: 10.5958/j.2231-069X.4.1.006 ABSTRACT Developing industry-ready human resources (HRs) is a big challenge for India in the prevailing socio-technical system. At the cross-roads of competitive business practices, Indian industries demand huge job openings; whereas, the young Indian professionals have less or no jobs. This is the outcome of a mismatch between the demand and supply of HRs of the HR development (HRD) centres with respect to the industry. A sustainable business model for developing HRs to leverage employable people to the market is described in this paper. The purpose of the paper is to propagate design thinking amongst the practicing managers, professionals, academicians, researchers, students and the society at large. The careful design of HRD process eliminates all types of mismatches, suitably capturing the voice of the industries, for a better ‘fit for use’ or quality. The paper is based on the concepts of ‘product design and development’. Further, it is generalised through a case study, based on the secondary data obtained from different company websites, in the test bed of the Golden Triangle of Odisha under the tourism industry. The results, collaboratively derived from the practices and literature, look very promising. The recommendations being agreeable to both the supply and demand sides, yield confidence for the harmless implementation of the model in any industry. Keywords: Socio-technical system, Competitiveness, Industry-ready people, HRD Developing Industry-Ready Human Resources in India: A Socio-Technical Dimension of Competitiveness Biranchi Prasad Panda*, Prabir Chandra Padhy**, Swapna Bharati Panda*** *Assistant Professor (Operations Management), School of Management, KIIT University, Bhubaneswar, Orissa, India; E-mail: biranchi@ksom.ac.in **Assistant Professor (Human Resource Management), B-School, DRIEMS, Tangi, Cuttack, Orissa, India; E-mail: prabirchandrapadhy@yahoo.co.in ***Faculty Member (Tourism & Hospitality), Unique Institute of Hotel Management & Catering Technology, Bhubaneswar, Orissa, India; E-mail: s.bharatipanda@yahoo.co.in INTRODUCTION Indian economy, even after the six decades of its independence, faces unemployment as a major issue. This is probably due to highly competitive business environment that succumbs to huge job openings to meet the variety of requirements arising out of new adoptions and updations in the business practices. But, at the same time, young professionals of the economy have less or no jobs in hand. The reason can be attributed to a great mismatch of quality and quantity between the demand and supply of human resources (HRs). A sustainable model of product design and development carefully designs the products and does not suffer from the manufacturing and marketing hustles at the later stages of its lifecycle. This concept can be feasibly adopted in the present day complex HR development (HRD) practices to leverage the market. A carefully designed HRD process can eliminate the mismatches by capturing the voice of the industries and developing a better ‘fit for use’. Advancements in technologies and professional course curricula alone do not suffice for a competitive advantage, unless they are consistently and collaboratively exercised. Continuous improvement on this collaborative front of socio-technical dimensions can lead India towards global competitiveness. India had a share of less than 1% in world trade up to early 21st century for its inwardness, indicating a scope ahead. India’s trade performance grew faster with emerging Asian countries, leading up to 22.4% in exports and 20.1% in imports in 2004-05. It all happened due to the expanded relationships with the remaining parts of Asia. The foundation of India’s competitive advantage, both in the Asian and global context, lies in the abundance of natural resources, having the second largest technical manpower, having highest IT knowledge base, highest