4 advantages of distance learning MBA

A distance MBA is becoming a popular choice among students and working professionals. For those of you who are considering taking up a MBA by distance learning, we list some of the advantages:  
Earn and learn
Flexibility is the biggest advantage of distance learning MBA course. This is true especially if you are a working professional. You can earn and learn at the same time which is impossible in a full time MBA course.

Save time and money
You save on time and money on commuting or shifting to another city when it comes to distance MBA. For instance, if you are from Delhi, you can pursue a distance learning course that is available in Pune.

Study at your own pace
Everyone has their own style of learning. Some students pick up things faster than others. So, you can study at a pace that is comfortable for you which is another plus point of distance learning MBA.

Accessibility
You can access the study material online whenever you want to as well as pick up any topic that you find it easier within the course material.

-Arti Vadnerkar

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Choosing a right coaching centre

Choosing a coaching centre is an important decision for all students. Before you spend money on a course, it is important to select a coaching centre that best suits your needs, time and budget. Here are three questions to ask yourself:

How far is the centre from my house?
It's important to make sure that your coaching centre is close to your home. Most coaching centres have multiple branches to ensure that students do not have to travel much to reach.

How qualified is the faculty?
The most important thing for you is to find out whether the faculty of the coaching class is good for you. So get to know about the faculty from the current and previous batches.

Tip: See if you can go for a demo lectures or get feedback from previous batches.

Is the study material easy to understand?
Every coaching institute or tuition class will provide you with basic study material. You need to decide if it is easy to understand. The type of study material will help you to judge the centre’s abilities.

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Placements: Only 10% of B-school graduates get hired

A study has revealed that only 10% of B-school graduates get hired. The Assocham study reveals that only graduates from top B- schools like Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs), get placed. The survey also disclosed that merely 10% of graduates from other b-schools get hired.
 The reasons for not recruiting include lack of quality and skills for recruitment. Industry spokespeople were quoted as saying that students from lesser-known institutes did not possess the required skills for jobs offered.
Apparently 180 B-schools had to shut down due to lack of infrastructure, lack of quality in faculty and did not meet the industry's demands.
B-Schools had to shut down in Delhi, NCR, Mumbai, Bangalore and Kolkata.
For a list of B-schools across India click here

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INTERVIEW: Study tips to crack GMAT

Mihika Yadav scored 690 in her GMAT.  She is now studying PGP at IIM Indore. Mihika shares her study tips with us...

Tell us about yourself? Which course are you pursuing at IIM?
I am an accessory designer and currently pursuing a 2 year full time PGP course from IIM I.
Being trained from NIFT, Creativity is an integral part of my persona. I have always had an inclination towards fashion and dream to build my own Global Fashion retail chain. To fulfil my entrepreneurial dream I have chalked out a career path for myself, which entailed gaining requisite knowledge and experience. I realized to build a brand along with creativity one needs to have business acumen too. And thus, I decided to do an MBA course..

How did you prepare for GMAT?
Having decided to do MBA I started preparing for GMAT. I took a 2 month sabbatical from my job. I started with brushing up basics of quant and verbal through Official Guides.
For verbal I referred to Manhattan Sentence correction and Powerscore Critical reasoning. Quant is fairly easy for Indians and one should focus on solving faster the easier questions rather than cracking hard questions and wasting a lot of time.
As far as IR is concerned one should not fret about it as it is just a warm exercise before you hit the real goal. Though it is widely known but I still want to emphasis on the fact that in any case do not leave the last questions unanswered. There is a huge penalty for it.
Another tip I would like to share is that when you are running short of time and you have to trade off between time and accuracy try the “alternate correct answer” style.
It is self developed style but works wonders. Say you just have 5 minutes and 10 questions to solve. Our tendency is to solve the first 5 questions accurately and then for last 5 just mark randomly. Instead solve alternatevly one accurately and next random guess. This way you don’t end up 5 consecutive wrong questions which again fetch huge penalty.


 *Thanks to India.com

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Pediatrician as a career

Pediatricians can be general or specialized and the importance Pediatrics in medical science has increased, over the years.

Who is a pediatrician?
Pediatricians take care of children, diagnose and treat infections, injuries, and many types of organic disease and dysfunction, child checkups and giving them their shots.
There are also pediatricians who practice primary care, taking care of the general needs of children. There are others who specialize, for example, only treating kids with cancer, heart problems, kidney problems, etc.

Who can be a pediatrician?
You need to have Doctor of Medicine (MD) in Pediatrics after completing Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS). There is a separate entrance exam in order to complete this course.

Would a career as a pediatrician suit you?
Pediatricians must really like working with children and their families. Excellent communication skills, the ability to work in a team, listening skills, patience, time management, having compassion and a good sense of humour are some of the most important skills.

What are the job prospects?
As a pediatrician, you can do a private practice; work at hospitals, health care organizations, faculty member at medical college or center, private clinics and so on.

How much can you earn?
Pediatricians can earn high salary from the private sector organizations as compared to the public sector organizations.
Salary ranges will increase with the experience in the concerned field. Fresher can earn up to Rs 30k per month depending upon the sector.

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Job vacancy: Atkins Global is hiring freshers

Atkins Global is hiring freshers for the post of a trainee. Interested candidates can check the details here.

Job role: Graduate Engineer Trainee

Qualification: BE/BTECH/ME/MTECH in Civil Engineering

Experience: 0 to 2 years

Industry: Watershed Management

Skills: Knowledge of Geographical information systems. Proficient in using MS Office, strong communication skills in English, usage of InfoWorks/WinDES/StormCAD

Job type: Full time regular

Location: Gurgaon

Interested candidates can click here for further details.
Information source: expertjobs.org
For more jobs click here
Image courtesy: photos.com
For any career related query, speak to counsellor Prerna Prasad

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What they do not teach you at IIMs ?

We are not going to focus on what you will learn at the IIMs. The course is one of the best. The qualification you will receive will be valued by employers across the world. Instead, let’s talk about what you will not learn.

1. You need support to succeed

 Although b-schools include group assignments and projects, you will not be appraised on your results but also on your team’s performance. You will need to work with people from different departments with different personalities to achieve your goal.

2. You will not be a CEO after graduating

 You are not going to graduate from the IIMs and become a CEO unless you establish your own company or are fortunate enough to have a family business.

 3. You need to work with different types of people

 An MBA is more than the mathematics and VA that you studied for CAT. Too many students make the mistake of focusing only on cracking CAT and not enough on the qualification.

Skills such as listening, empathy, leadership, the ability to work with different types of people are now considered just as valuable.

4. You don’t know everything

A PGDM from the IIMs does not mean that you know everything. Learning is a continuous process which does not stop. Successful people have two skills that set them apart from the rest – the ability to listen and learn.

5. If money is your motivation, then look elsewhere

If your only reason to go to the IIMs was to get a plum job, you will not succeed. Waking up to go to work every morning for the next 40 years of your life requires more motivation than the salary you will draw.

 
You may want to see courses in distance MBA programsExplore MBA colleges in India

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Visual Effects (VFX) as a career

What is VFX?
VFX is a process by which imagery is created and/or manipulated outside the context of a live action shoot to create a realistic picture. VFX is essentially a combination of cinematography and maths, creativity and technical skills.

What kind of background is required?
VFX developers use maths and science to bring a filmmaker's creative vision to life. Thus, the ability to combine technical knowledge with a creative instinct will be beneficial. Some of the key disciplines that are used in this field are trigonometry, applied mechanics, physics and basic algebra. Graduates from science stream with math as a strong background will be an added advantage. 

What is the difference between animation and VFX?
Animation is used for prolonged time spans while VFX is quick yet impactful bit of animation. In Indian film industry, VFX has extensively been used in films like Chak De India, Don, Krish, Dhoom II, and Om Shanti Om and so on. Often Television commercials too use VFX.

Why do VFX?
Most of us want to “see” something before we want to “read” something.  Visual effects can be used to enhance the consumer experience by educating the viewer about product or services and building a company brand.

What are the job prospects and salary?
Visual effects often involve working for clients with specific needs especially with the filmmakers that can direct, edit and do visual effects on their own projects. Visual effects professionals can expect good salary after gaining artistic and technical skills.
A talented visual effects individual is highly demanded and their work is considered as important to make successful TV commercials, feature films and hence the industry is likely to pay off those who add value in it. Thus, visual effects industry is considered to grow rapidly in India specifically the Bollywood industry.

To know good VFX institutes, click here
Image courtesy: Photos.com

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Fewer jobs for IT graduates

IT graduates have been feeling the implications of the slowdown down of the economy. 
In 2011, IT major Infosys hired about 19,000 candidates while MindTree recruited as many as 2,400.
This year Infosys announced that the company would not recruit more than 6000 candidates much to the dismay of the students.
MindTree is also planning to hire just 1000 candidates
Joining dates of several fresher’s have also been postponed.  
About 82 percent of the 1,000-odd information technology (IT) graduates from Goa's technical education institutions have to migrate for jobs to Pune, Mumbai, Hyderabad or Chennai or fly overseas for jobs.
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), among the top 10 IT firms in the world, has recruited a record 144 students from the Aligarh Muslim University campus.
Have queries regarding engineering placements, talk to IIT-B graduate Bhavik Shah
Image courtesy: photos.com

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Job vacancy: Larsen and Toubro is hiring Post Graduate Engineering Trainees

Larsen and Toubro is hiring Post Graduate Engineering Trainees. Candidates can check the details here..

Job role: Post Graduate Engineering 
Trainee

Experience: Freshers

Year of passing: 2012

Stream:  MTECH Graduates in Civil Engineering

Industry: Construction

Posting locations: Multiple

Larsen & Toubro Limited, or L&T, is an Indian multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. The company has business interests in technology, engineering, construction and manufacturing goods. It operates in three segments: Engineering & Construction Segment, Electrical & Electronics segment, Machinery & Industrial Products, and others.
L&T is India's largest engineering and construction company, with a dominant presence in India's infrastructure, power, hydrocarbon, machinery and railway related projects. In recent years, L&T has expanded its global presence and international projects contributed 9% of its overall order book for the 2010–11 period.
Information source: expertjobs.org

For more jobs click here

Information courtesy: photos.com
 
For any career related query, speak to counsellor Prerna Prasad

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Top Ten Free Online Writing Courses

Even though you still may be in middle school or high school, this doesn’t mean you can’t learn more
advanced writing techniques. Thanks to technology, several online and conventional universities offer
free writing courses through the internet. It’s simple to use and offers you the opportunity to advance
your writing skills for free and on your own time. Listed below are ten colleges that offer free online
writing course.

1. The University of Utah: Courses offered in creative writing. Free registration is required.

2. Utah State University: Courses offered include current writing technologies, research writing
and intro to prose. No registration is required.

3. UCLA: This course is taught by best-selling author, screenwriter and UCLA writing teacher, Steve
Barnes. The course can be accessed from his website at www.LifeWrite.com. No registration is
required.

4. Massachusetts Institute Technology (MIT): Courses offered in short stories, essays and poems.
No registration is required.

5. University of Massachusetts Boston: Courses offered include critical reading and writing. No
registration is required.

6. Purdue University: Their Online Writing Lab (OWL) provides extensive writing and proofreading
information. There is also information on different styles of writing. No registration is required.

7. News University: This website offers free information about writing for journalism, including
copy editing and covering news. Free registration is required.

8. Open University: Courses offered in essays and fiction. No registration is required.

9. Wikiversity: Courses offered in narrative dialogue, web writing and technical writing. No
registration is required.

10. E-Zine University: Courses offered in basic writing and web writing. No registration is required.

Available courses vary in length and degree of advancement. All are self-conducted and don’t require
homework or other assignments.

Carrie Oakley is editor and writer for Online Universities.
She likes to write articles about many topics of interest, including education and career planning.

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Lessons from the past for future managers

Meaning ‘looking back to move forward' in Sanskrit, ‘Praachamanyu', the theme of Crescita '11, the flagship event of Bharathidasan Institute of Management (BIM), said it all. Future managers gained rich business and management perspectives from the vast experiences of top-notch executives of front-ranking companies and organisations they interacted with for two days in Chennai, recently.

The event started off with Anup K Pujari, Director General of Foreign Trade, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, delivering an insightful speech about the Human Development Index and the kind of support any first time trader would get in today's environment. While S. Krishnan, Chairman, Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board, spoke about the present scenario of Labour Market, Y. Rama Rao, Managing Director and CEO, Spark Capital, stressed the need for giving up on short-term benefits and having long-term focus in mind, while elucidating on the topic General Management. Raghuvir Srinivasan, Deputy Editor, Business line, while tracing the evolution of media, emphasised that all through the objective of media has been to “Report to the world about the world.” He explained why web media was fast becoming the new face of media.

The first day's highlight was the Corporate Quiz conducted by Barry O'Brien, one of the country's leading quiz masters. Of the 34 teams representing various corporate houses, six were shortlisted for the finals comprising eight rounds. Team ‘Broke and Brokers' emerged the winner and was awarded Rs. 25,000, while the Infosys team took the second spot winning a cash prize of Rs. 15,000. On the second day, there was an economic panel discussion on the recent economic crisis, inflationary problems and inclusive growth.

Eminent speakers constituted Venkatesh Athreya from MS Swaminathan Research foundation; M. Ramachandran, Head Department of Economics, Pondicherry University; and Manas Ranjan Das, AGM (Economist), State Bank of India Staff College, Hyderabad. Ramakrishnan K, President - Marketing, Cafe Coffee Day, felt that it was essential to look back in order to challenge old conventions. It was a must for selling any product in today's market, he said, stressing the need to question the conventional wisdom and take one's learning from the answers it gives. He explained how CCD challenged the conventions by selling coffee in a market where tea outperforms coffee in terms of consumer preference. CCD used to expand beyond the conventional markets through customer engagement based on the principle “Talk with consumers and not at the customers,” he said.

A. Balasubramanian, Senior Director – Project Finance, IDFC, elaborated on the investment strategy of India, the issues in India and the cushioning that India enjoys in times of global financial meltdowns. He attributed persistence of chaos all round the world to the violent stock market reaction, the weak consumer demands and the U.S. double dip recession.

The HR panel discussion on the second day had the participation of K. SaiPrasanna, CFO of Mafoi Randstad; Gerard Selvam Augustine, Associate Director - Human Resouces, Computer Science Corporation; R Kumar, an Independent Consultant; and M. Nagarani, Visiting Faculty, BIM. The theme was ‘What ails HR?' The discussion captured the HR perspectives from various industries.

 -R.Krishnamurthy

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Aiming to be a teacher

I am a retired postal employee. I have completed M.A., M.Phil and Post-Graduate Diploma in Teaching English from EFL University. I would like to know if I am eligible to teach in degree colleges. Help me in understanding career options that are open to me. I would also like to dabble with translation and creative writing through distance mode.

via e-mail

The factors of the NET (UGC examination) and Ph.D. will have a play on your effort to work in aided degree colleges, apart from the factor of age as per the eligibility criterion. However, the private unaided colleges will surely provide you an opportunity to teach.

Besides teaching in degree colleges, you should also make efforts join language training institutes or the corporate world, which focuses on the BPO environment. There is a demand for language trainers who have played an important role in the world of outsourcing. You will be a good fit in any Training and Development (T and D) unit in the corporate world.

You can pursue the Diploma in Creative Writing in English (DCWE) from the School of Humanities of IGNOU (www.ignou.ac.in). The duration is one year (maximum duration: four years). For more details, contact the Director, School of Humanities, Tagore Bhawan, Block F, IGNOU, Maidan Garhi, New Delhi-110068. Ph: 011-29536441. E-mail: soh@ignou.ac.in

The School of Translation Studies and Training (SoTST) of IGNOU offers MA in Translation Studies (MATS) (two-year programme) which will help you to savour the nuances of translation. For more details contact STST, IGNOU, G Block, Zakir Hussain Bhawan, Room No. 11, Maidan Garhi-110068. E-mail: sotst@ignou.ac.in

I am a UG student pursuing BE Mechanical. My desire is to pursue MBA (HRM) from a U.K. university. Please guide me.

via e-mail, Bangalore

You should connect to the British Library which is a huge repository of information on various universities and take a conscious decision to join a university of your choice. You can contact the University authorities at Prestige Takt, 23, Kasturba Road Cross, Bangalore-60001. Ph: 22489220. E-mail: bl.bangalore@in.britishcouncil.org

I want to know if there are any programmes in Instructional Design. I am working with a technical writers' firm. My organisation has asked me to pursue a programme in Instruction Design; however, I cannot do so on a regular basis. I do not mind attending classes on weekends and holidays, if it is permitted.

via e-mail

The Symbiosis Centre for Distance Learning (SCDL) (www.scdl.net) offers the one-year (two-semester) (has a validity of two years) Post-Graduate Diploma in Instructional Design (PGDID) through the Distance Learning methodology. Those with the following qualifications are eligible: Graduation in any discipline Polytechnic Diploma (three-year) with five-year supervisory experience

The programme covers Principles and Practices of Management, Instructional Design, Effective Communication, Advanced Instructional Design, Educational Psychology, Course Design and a project in Instructional Design.

For more details you should contact the Counsellor, SCDL, Symbiosis Bhavan, 1065 B, Gokhale Cross Road, Model Colony, Pune-411016. Ph: 020-66211000.

I am interested in joining IITTM, Bhopal, for pursuing a tourism course. I am in second year B.Com. I have not studied any papers in tourism and hotel administration. Please provide me details about the course.

via e-mail, Bangalore

Indian Institute of Tourism and Travel Management, Gwalior (IITTM) (www.iittm.org), an autonomous organisation of the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, is one of the premier institutes in the country offering education, training, research and consultancy in sustainable management of tourism, travel and allied sectors such as Hospitality, Logistics and Cargo.

IITTM offers two-year Post-Graduate Diploma in Management (PGDM) approved by AICTE and equivalent to MBA. Currently the following programmes are available:

Post-Graduate Diploma in Management (Tourism and Travel)

Post-Graduate Diploma in Management (Tourism and Leisure)

Post-Graduate Diploma in Management (Services)

Post-Graduate Diploma in Management (International Tourism Business)

Post-Graduate Diploma in Management (Tourism and Logistics)

Post-Graduate Diploma in Management (Tourism and Cargo)

Those seeking admission to the PGDM must have a Bachelor's degree (10+2+3 pattern) in any discipline of a University or equivalent. Reservation will be as per the Government of India norms. Candidates appearing for the final year degree programme can also apply; however, they will have to confirm clearance of papers and the course by October 31 of the relevant year. Admission shall be through the IITTM admission test. Seventy per cent of marks attained will be for performance in the test and 30 per cent will be split between Group Discussion (GD) and Personal Interview (PI). The headquarters of IITTM is Gwalior and it has centres in Bhubaneshwar, Goa, New Delhi and Nellore. Learners should confirm about the availability of the course and ensure they apply as appropriate.

IITTM also conducts short-term training programmes for those interested in Tourism, Travel and Hospitality. For campus long-term and short-term programmes you should contact the Director, IITTM, Govindpuri, Gwalior-4740011. Ph: 0751-2345821. E-mail: iittm@sancharnet.in

I have heard about a Diploma of Railway Engineering that is conducted by the Indian Railways. Please provide information about it through your columns. Also provide the qualifications that are required for eligibility.

via e-mail

The Diploma in Railway Engineering (DRE) is conducted by the Institution of Permanent Way Engineers (IPWE) (India) (www.ipweindia.com) which operates under the Ministry of Railways, Government of India. The programme is offered in the Distance Learning mode and is of one-year duration. The course is offered over two semesters.

The eligibility criterion is two-pronged:

Non-Railway applicants: They should be a three-year Diploma holder in any discipline of engineering recognised by the Central or State Governments or a science, engineering graduate or graduate with mathematics and science as one of the subjects in +2.

Railway employees: They include personnel from various railway public sector undertakings. They must possess the above qualification and also if they have passed the High School/Senior Secondary Examination or possess equivalent qualification with Mathematics/Science and having a minimum of three-years experience in the Railways.

Prospective learners can obtain the application form from IPWE, G-11, Rail Bhawan, Raisina Road, New Delhi-110118 (Ph: 011-23387915. E-mail: ipwe@sify.com) by sending a Demand Draft for Rs. 100 favouring IPWE (India), payable at New Delhi. They should also send a self-addressed stamped (Rs. 15) envelope of size 25 cm x 15 cm.

Shaheed_k@yahoo.com

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The art of acquiring English language skills

The mantra for effective learning of the English language is to adapt the content module wherein cognitive academic language proficiency is combined with basic informative communication skills.

College students who can reproduce excerpts from Shakespeare but cringe at the idea of carrying a simple conversation in English? Graduates from various disciplines sporting seventy plus scores in English but struggling to frame simple questions?

All is not what it seems when it comes to language, as marks are poor indicators of competency in language. We may have moved from mere textbook reading to assignments, seminars and viva-voce in teaching the English language in our colleges and universities but how many students can use the language in real-life situations?

CONTROLLED CHAOS

A recent workshop on best practices in English language teaching organised by the U.S Consulate General in Tiruchi for college teachers brought to light that English language teaching in our classrooms focuses more on ‘learning' the language rather than ‘acquiring' language skills. For the latter to materialise, the language must be used as much as it is heard as senior English language fellow Mary Kay Seales put it. “A noisy classroom is a good classroom as you cannot be quiet in a language class – you have to practice what you learn. I call it controlled chaos- it might be chaotic- but there's a lot of learning happening.” When lecturers from various colleges were asked to articulate their goals of language teaching, it was clear they wanted their students to be proficient in academic and conversational English alike. Ms. Seales was quick to agree. “I come across many students with high TOEFL scores who find it difficult to have a proper conversation with me or understand what I'm saying.” She attributes this to heavy emphasis on a single area like grammar. The mantra is to combine Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency (CALP) with Basic Informative Communication Skills (BICS). But how? Content module is the proposed solution— a student-centred teaching method where teachers are facilitators and students active learners.

CONTENT MODULES

Content modules are what Seales likes to describe as ‘task backwards approach' where teachers pick a theme and work backwards to teach skills. Here the contemporary topic or issue is the primary focus and skills are inevitably acquired while exploring the topic through diverse activities.

“Content modules are fun for both students and teachers. It is like killing two birds with one stone- students acquire language competency and concurrently become more aware of the world.” Choosing environment as the sample module, she explained how the module becomes a vehicle for skill acquisition. From asking students to conduct polls and interviews to playing a game of ‘recycling bingo' and collecting famous quotes, listening, writing, reading and speaking skills are developed along with critical thinking, research and team building skills. “It is great fun and good language at once. There is natural acquisition rather than learning.” Teachers can move on to include appreciation of literature by introducing poems on nature and ignite student's creativity by asking them to pen their own poems. Interest in current issues can be generated by looking up news stories and social responsibility can be instilled by getting them to notice their immediate neighbourhood and come up with ways to clean it.

Content modules require resourcefulness on part of the teacher to design modules, tweaking them based on student feedback. Initial attempts may fail but the concept works in the longer run as every student feels involved. “Everybody gets their voice heard and feels their work is valued.” Modules can be designed around music, books and plays. A simple task of translating a favourite vernacular song into English and narrating the story behind it can develop a host of skills and make it interesting for students. While some Indian teachers may consider content modules as impractical in classrooms where language competency is sacrificed at the altar of examinations, Seales reassures that examination perspectives can be creatively incorporated into modules that can be worked around the syllabus.

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IBM's training programme for the socially-challenged

The CII had formulated a code of conduct according to which its members would not practise any type of discrimination in employment, irrespective of the caste, creed or religion and a substantial number of its members had subscribed to it.

IBM launched a training programme last week in co-ordination with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Southern Region, to enhance employability of socially and economically disadvantaged students.

Chandrasekhar Sripada, Vice-President and Head, Human Resources, IBM (India and South Asia), said his company, a century-old global organisation, had a “deep commitment” to support causes in the interest of the community in a pro-active manner, ahead of time and without waiting for any law. .It had always been trying to integrate business objectives with national agenda. “Using our core strength technology, we are trying to make world smarter.”

As his organisation believed in “teaching fishing instead of distributing fish,” it had been trying to impart skills to the socially challenged in a bid to build a sustainable future for them. “IBM strongly believes that its strength of technology could be leveraged to provide enduring, long-lasting solutions,” he said.

Its training programme would guide students regarding career options available both in the government and the non-government sectors. Besides, as 80 per cent of the students were poor in soft-skills, a 180-hour training module had also been launched.

Soft skills proved to be the key differentiator in recruitments, he pointed out. At present, it had tied up with a handful of colleges in Chennai and planned to extend the training through a corp of volunteers at its disposal. “We want to do much more and would extend the programme to rural institutions as well,” Mr. Sripada said.

T.T. Ashok, chairman, CII, Southern Region, said one of the thrust areas of CII was to bring socially challenged communities such as the scheduled castes and tribes into the mainstream.

All the benefits of development that India had been boasting of had missed out quite a chunk of this population. In a bid to ensure inclusive growth, the CII had been pitching for extending them training so as to improve their employability.

Already it had extended skill training to 13,851 youth against its target of 15,000 in southern region utilising the services of its members in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Karnataka and Puducherry.

The CII had formulated a code of conduct according to which its members would not practise any type of discrimination in employment, irrespective of the caste, creed or religion and a substantial number of its members had subscribed to it.

Besides, 15 per cent of the employees of the companies, who were members of the CII southern region, belonged to SC/ST communities. In addition, the CII had started extending scholarships also, he said.

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Towards a new age of green jobs

Tamil Nadu believes that greening many sectors of the economy will create a large number of jobs. What does the view look like?

A green job is employment in any industry contributing to preserving or restoring environmental quality in that sector and allowing for sustainable development. Specifically, but not exclusively, this includes jobs that help protect ecosystems and biodiversity; reduce energy, materials, and water consumption through high efficiency strategies; de-carbonize the economy; and minimise (or altogether avoid) generation of all forms of waste and pollution. 

With a firm belief that that green jobs are the future for sustainable development, Santha Sheela Nair, vice-chairman, Tamil Nadu State Planning Commission, is on a mission to promote the new and emerging concept. In fact, the entire process of preparation of the 12th Five Year Plan will be viewed through a “green lens,” she asserts. 

A green job can be a white or blue collared job in any sector: agriculture, manufacturing, research and development, administrative and service activities such as IT, finance, teaching and so on. Furthermore, a green job creates work that provides adequate wages, safe working conditions, job security and worker rights, she says.

“The idea is that a new age of green jobs will allow India to make the much-needed swift transition into a low carbon economy, while also pulling millions out of poverty through job creation,” she said. Increasing environmental awareness is changing and increasing legislation supporting the environment, which will mean increased environmental litigation, lawyers and policy writers.

Growth of global carbon markets will mean an increase in carbon finance consultants, analysts, financiers, an increase in carbon accountants, business risk analysts and more.

A rise in green buildings and energy efficiency is increasing the demand for architects, engineers, technicians, plumbers, construction workers.

And a shift towards renewable energy is resulting in increased employment per kilowatt per hour of energy produced when compared to fossil fuel energy, not only in large commercial plants but also in rural villages allowing for decentralised renewable energy systems. This means more engineering jobs, more construction jobs and more management jobs, Ms. Nair said emphasising that these are just a few sectors and jobs out of the hundreds of jobs that will be transformed and created in the future.

According to experts, the fast growing green energy sector could create a million jobs in the next few years and more universities are coming up with postgraduate courses in environmental science to cater to the needs of the companies in this emerging sector. 

Green jobs in energy supply could be in research, construction and monitoring of power plant industrial efficiency including cogeneration, plant efficiency and carbon sequestration; renewables and fuel cell research, design, manufacture, installation and monitoring; energy engineers focussed on increased power plant efficiency. In transport, green jobs would involve research and design on more fuel efficient vehicles and on public transport systems, manufacture of alternatively fuelled vehicles and many more. 

“Even in financial services, green jobs are there. In the developed countries, the business schools offer MBA in Green Economy. It is time that Indian business schools begin offering the same,” says Ms. Nair.  

-B.Aravind Kumar

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