What comes to your mind when you think of the Indian Higher Education System?
Well, I am a Commerce Graduate and all I remember about my higher education days are the proxy periods, the blacklist meetings, my friends, all the days like the Rose Day, Friendship day etc. and of course the College Fest. I barely remember what I learnt in there. And this in spite of being in one of the best Commerce Colleges in Mumbai. It’s alarming, isn’t it?
I graduated in the year 2002, almost 18 years ago. During the five years of my college life, I have no recollection of what went into my knowledge bank. When I look back, I realise that I have no memory of it because I never used any of those concepts or knowledge I was taught other than a bit of account and numbers.
Adult Learning Principles state that Adults learn mostly by Choice & Application
There is no other way of learning theory unless it can be used in your life. The only students who probably really used and applied their knowledge from College, are the ones from Medical Colleges, or anyone who have applied for a Specialised Subject and paid a big fat sum. So that leaves us with more than half the student population who cannot afford Specialised Courses and Universities. That, in my opinion, is highly alarming and must be looked at as a serious flaw with the Education System.
I am a Corporate Trainer by Accident (long story on how) for the last 15 years. During the journey of my career path I got Certified in various psychometric and behavioural tools along with various etiquette programs. I have my own company called Get Skilled Training Solutions and I also own a pageant coaching company called Get Crowned. All in all, I train employees and individuals on soft skills, impart Etiquette & Behavioural Coaching for the employees of many Fortune 500 companies. Some of the employees are MBA’s and Graduates in different Streams and some others with specialised courses in finance, IT, Advertising, HR etc. The companies have understood the need and are prioritising basic etiquette training to the employees. The focus is on the important aspects like email writing, presentation skills, emotional Intelligence, communication skills, English Language Training, impactful conversations, dining etiquette.
In our day to day professional/ personal/ social Life, these are the skills that we use and are visible alongside our specialisations. It is sad to realise that these are not taught to us in our formative years of education. I can imagine the employment opportunities and possibilities going up drastically for so many people only if they appeared for the Interviews as trained resources.
“I truly wish and Believe that our Education System realises the importance of Soft Skills and not just end up focusing on the hard skills.”
This change has the potential to improve the resource quality of each one of us and make us well equipped with skills so that we become eligible and strong candidates for job placements & entrepreneurial ventures globally.
