A multi-dimensional approach to education and career

 A multi-dimensional approach to education and career

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By :- Shahid Sir

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A number of colleges in India, especially in Delhi, have the reputation of attracting employers for their undergraduate (B.Com, B.A., B. Sc.)  pass outs with traditional subjects. Sometimes these undergraduates are offered jobs with handsome salaries, which professional degree holders only aspire for. This not only elevates the brand value of the colleges but also makes us think what these colleges teach in traditional courses making the career of their students so successful.

There is no doubt that these colleges work hard to broaden the mental horizon, expand the subject knowledge of their students, who are often dedicated and committed and laborious. Apart from pursuing their courses they enhance their life skills and do certain add-on courses. That is why they are able to grab good jobs with handsome salaries to start with. Many aware and intelligent students doing undergraduate courses through open and distance or private mode are also able to get good placement soon after the completion of their undergraduate courses by adopting the same route. However, students doing undergraduate courses under regular mode get the opportunity to do add-on courses on their college campuses because add-on courses or training are provided on their campus generally by privately-managed bodies. On the other hand, students pursuing their undergraduate course through distance or private mode are either in job or engage themselves in some type of career courses to enhance their professional development and employability.

Life skills have a number of domains like wellness management (personal health and hygiene techniques), language efficiency, communication skills, professional and daily life etiquette and manners, punctuality, hobbies,, engagement in social work, presentation techniques and IT-skills, stress management, leadership, decision-making, problem-solving ability etc. Life skills, emphasise the general development of learners.

So far as add-on courses are concerned, these depend upon one’s own career choice as to which career course one should enroll for. It can be said that add-on courses lay emphasis on some particular or specific area of professional development and employability.

How life-skills can be developed

There is no definitive list of life skills, which are a combination and accumulation of some essential ingredients of one’s personality acquired through experience of real life situations, social norms, relevance and participation in extra-curricular activities. Life skills are required for managing one’s own personality for better quality of life and aimed at the development of one’s potential, accomplishment of one’s ambitions and making one more productive. Domains of life skills like decision-making skill, inter-personal skills, self-awareness and group management can be developed through a number of activities e.g.:

(1) Participation in games and sports with a sense of sportsmanship (2) Engaging oneself in social work and activities  (3) Participation in seminars, symposia and conferences as an active participant; even a good listening habit is helpful (4) Taking part in debate, discussion and competition (5) Engaging oneself in personality development programmes (6) Learning presentation skills and participating in such programmes especially in which audio, audio-visual techniques and devices are involved like power point presentation (PPT) (7) Enhancing language (8) Learning some new language at least up to its daily life usage (9) Developing some new interest and hobbies like (not all but some) gardening, kitchen skills, house keeping, wood work, electrical appliances repairing, PPT development, creative writing, stitching, dress making, yoga, exercises, first aid, farming, animal husbandry, laundry work, literacy programme etc. (10) Participation in community awareness, development programme and work (11) Time management (12) Basic mathematics and computation skills

Can life skills be taught in classroom setting:-

No, not in a traditional or conventional classroom setting. Life skills are acquired, mostly indirectly, through active participation in extracurricular activities, or skill-based learning, or relating subjects of studies with real life situations. If an institution or teacher is successful in doing this then students of that institution or teacher will be able to grow as confident, multi-talented, aware, responsive, adaptive and balanced individuals having a positive frame of mind.  

Add-on courses

Add-on courses don’t mean a vocational or job-oriented course of undergraduate level. Add-on courses mean a short-term course a student can do to increase employability. An add-on course may be of six months to one-year duration. As per rules no undergraduate students can do any other course of more than one year from a government recognised institution or university. Thus undergraduate students of liberal or conventional stream have the option either to complete a maximum of three add-on courses of one year to nine-month duration each in three years, or a maximum of six add-on courses of six months duration in three years, or there may be a mix of courses of different duration. As to how many add-on courses one should do is not a complex question. It depends on what job or career one is interested in and how much training is required for it. Only a single add-on course may be enough for many students. The basic thing is that an add-on course of your choice must fit your career preference, interest and prospect and you are getting state-of-the-art training. There is no bar if you do an autonomous vocational or add-on Course of any duration from a private institution while pursuing your undergraduate course.

List of some of the add-on courses

Diploma or certificate in: TV anchoring and reporting, Childhood care education, Nutrition & health education, Business process outsourcing (finance & accounting), Nursing administration, critical care nursing, medical lab technology (pathology/ radiology), dairy technology, meat technology, fisheries, production of value added products from cereals, pulses and oilseeds, tourism and ticketing, home-based health care, maternal & child health nursing, rural development, sericulture, organic farming, poultry farming, beekeeping, guidance & counselling, communication  & IT skills, teaching of primary school mathematics, laboratory techniques, teaching of English as second language, accounting, marketing, retail management, secretarial practice, entrepreneurship, business communication, organizing child care services, export-import, logistics, graphic designing , website development, sports  management, library management, school management, sports management, housekeeping, electrician, automobile , optometry, public health & hygiene, electronic appliances ; electrical appliances, operation theatre management, culinary art, dress designing & making, embroidery (hand & Machine), DTP, security & safety management, interior decoration, CAD-CAM, civil construction management, international languages e.g. French, German, Chinese, Portuguese, Arabic, translation   ( Indian language to English or any other languages and vice versa), hospitality, computer hardware & maintenance etc.

From where to do add-on course

It is not necessary that a single institution offers all the above-mentioned courses. If you are studying in an institution that provides opportunity to do add-on courses on their own campus either as autonomous courses or in collaboration with private bodies then you have an edge.  A college of Delhi University offering add-on courses allows students of other colleges of Delhi University to do an add-on course of their choice. IGNOU gives liberty to opt for a vocation/ job-oriented paper as part of the BA, B.Com or B.Sc. course.

However, if add-on courses are not available in your institution then you can join a vocational / job-oriented / professional course of any of the following institutions. After the completion of the courses you will be eligible for government jobs in that particular field also:

(1) IGNOU, particularly Community Colleges of IGNOU (2) KSOU particularly Community Colleges of KSOU (3) National Institute Of Open Schooling (4) Nalanda Open University (5) Affiliated training partners of National Skills Development Corporation under Skill India (6) District Udhyog Kendra (7) NIESBUD (8) Bihar Open School And Examination Board (9) National Council Of Promotion Of Urdu Language (10) Affiliated Training partners of Bihar Skill Development Mission (11) CDAC certified-courses from Vedanta Foundation (erstwhile Sterlite Foundation) (12) MSME Development Institute  (13) National Small Industries Corporation Limited (NSIC) (14) Apparel Training And Design Centre (ATDC) (15) National Vocational Training Institute For Women affiliated with NCVT (16) Regional Vocational Training Institute For Women affiliated with NCVT (17) Recognised Study and Training Centres of Aligarh Muslim University (18) Recognised Study and Training Centres of Jamia Millia Islamia (19) FDDI (20) Indian Institute Of Banking And Finance (erstwhile IIB) (21) Computer Society of India (22) Advanced Training Institute (ATIs) (23) College Of Social Work , Mumbai (24) DDE, Annamalai University (25)YMCA (26) Council OF Education and Development Programme, Mumbai  etc.

Keep in mind that the list of institutes given here is not conclusive, but indicative in nature. There are a number of institutions that offer many short-term courses recognised by government. You must also keep in mind that many private institutions, apart from offering autonomous courses, offer some government-recognised courses. You have to be vigilant about your taking admission to the course recognised by respective statutory councils or boards if you want to be eligible for government jobs also. Interested candidates should explore the institutes and courses through various media like the Employment News, website of concerned institutions and career guidance and counselling page published by newspapers and journals.