Kolkata, Sep 7 (IANS) There exists a huge mismatch between the talent pool in West Bengal and needs of businesses and economy, state Industry Minister Partha Chatterjee said Wednesday.

"We have a large talent base, but 75 percent of our talent is mismatched in terms of industry requirements. For example, we need more civil engineers, but we have greater number of mechanical engineers," Chatterjee said while addressing a programme of Confederation Indian Industry (CII) here.

He also criticised the education standards in the state.

"The quality of education is not at par with the quality of education of other states. We have a number of engineers who cannot compete with engineers of other states," he said.

"The committee on business houses and chambers will put up a proposal regarding what kind of manpower they require. We have decided that unemployed and employed youths during their research period only should be trained in a way that is needed by the industry," said Chatterjee.

He also proposed that students be provided on-the-job training during their study period to align them with industry needs.