Imparting education and making a person employable cannot be two
different issues. Academic institutes have to provide the option of either
vocation/profession focused learnings or pure subject/sciences programmes
which further lead to research. The education imparted today even in
vocational/professional courses is extremely theoretical. There is barely any
exposure to the real professional world. A professional qualification has to
have atleast 1 year of compulsory industry practice as a part of degree/
diploma programme.
The academic institutions have to make a
considered prediction of the skills required
in the next 5-10 years and plan for
internships, apprenticeships, professional
trainings much before the final placement,
for the fresher to be productive on-the-job.
Today, the student is being taught
yesterday’s curriculum while the industry is
preparing for tomorrow’s requirements. The
gap makes the fresher disoriented while the
industry gets disenchanted by paper
qualifications.
The student – industry engagement has to be more relevant, practical, longer
duration and realistic. On the job learning will help the student make up
his/her mind if that is indeed her career of choice. And accordingly take
required course corrections. Today’s youth wants the career options to remain
open even after completing one professional course be it BE/BTech, LLB, Mass
Comm etc. That is why I believe an early exposure to the real-world job scenario
will help them make their mind to either continue to pursue a career in that
field or opt for another programme for course correction.
n:gage | August 2017