Many youngsters have found that short-term job-oriented courses after higher secondary education are passports to a lucrative career
The announcement that - barring two colleges - none of the educational institutions in the state managed to find a place in the list of top 200 institutions in the overall category in the National Institute Ranking Framework (NIRF), 2024, is indeed disturbing!
In the rapidly changing landscape of education, and especially with the introduction of the New Education Policy in the country, these institutions of learning should not be forgetting that the onus of preparing students for their future careers rests squarely on them.
Is this in any way an indicator of slipping educational standards in the state! In such a scenario when the educational institutions show a downward slide in their overall performance, who are the students being left at the mercy of!
The quality and effectiveness of the teaching and learning process within an institution can never be a matter of conjecture. The institution’s ability to produce employable graduates and their success in securing placements or higher education cannot be compromised with. But let us come to a major shortcoming that afflicts Goa and one which has virtually shut the door on the average learners when it is time for them to ponder over future ‘prospects’ after their high school.
All these years, students in the state have had limited options when it comes to job-oriented courses. If one is unsuccessful in gaining entry to any one of the professional streams, the choices when it comes to specializing in some career other than the ‘traditional’ ones have tended to reduce considerably.
It is as if Goa has refused to budge out of the ‘dark ages’ it has cocooned itself in when it comes to envisaging career opportunities for its youth through training and academic courses that prepare professionals for a particular career field or role. Several short-term and long-term courses available for making a career though in existence for the past so many years in states outside Goa have however not spurred the state education authorities into action.
One hears youngsters speaking about ‘Startups’ these days. Even then, as an entrepreneur who has always maintained that self-employment is the best form of employment, one hastens to add that not many need necessarily have the business acumen to succeed in their endeavour.
It hence becomes necessary to have educational institutions designing programmes that could prepare youngsters for the rigours of a job-market that is ever-evolving and is incessantly catering to a changing world.
It is well known that the relation between education and career success are intertwined. For nothing has it been claimed that career education equips students with the knowledge, skills, and the mindset they need to navigate the complex world of work successfully.
I remember a classmate of mine - an average student in school – who moved over to Mumbai (Bombay then) after schooling and enrolled himself in an institute that offered a technical course in elevator installation and maintenance.
Followed by a period of apprenticeship in one of the leading companies that develops, manufactures and markets elevators, escalators, moving walkways and related equipment, he earned a name for himself in the profession. Even after retirement, he continues to be much sought after for repairs and related works of lifts. It has been over four decades now, he is settled in the US.
Showing wonderful sagacity in recognizing opportunities presented by the changing employment scenario brought about by the slew of economic reforms in the country, there have been many who have carved out a career for themselves.
Just as the ‘lift technology’, training centres introducing students to the intricacies of modern innovations were regularly mushrooming all over the country except in Goa.
Apparently, we in Goa are quite oblivious to the shifting tides of the job market and remain unaware of the demands that spur the employment sector. Hence our youth falter even before they are at the threshold of employment.
‘Hands-On training’ is an approach most favoured by employers these days. That is to say that practical knowledge is preferred over the theoretical understanding of a subject. Hence the proliferation of ITIs and diploma engineers in most of the industrial establishments!
Going for those ‘Big Innings’, students usually sink into the depths of despair when they realize they have not made the cut, leaving them little scope but to go for the traditional degree programmes which leaves them as much in quandary as their efforts to gain a firm foothold in the highly competitive job-market.
Alternatives thus become pertinent for providing the necessary impetus for students to pursue a line of study which will enable them to be fruitfully employed.
With startups promising to open up new employment vistas, the stage is set for a revolution in the job-market. This would entail the recruitment of personnel from varied fields having the necessary aptitude, qualification and training to fit the bill.
The lack of opportunities is always bemoaned in Goa. But of course, in keeping with the trend where the Goan youth were once enamoured by lucrative stints on board cruise-liners, some institutes did sprout up imparting training for prospective job seekers. Many youngsters have found that short-term job-oriented courses after higher secondary education are passports to a lucrative career.
Many of the established colleges in the state have commenced offering a wide range of short-term courses ‘to bridge the skill gap to enhance employability and build entrepreneurial capacities’.
Hence the news that the Srinivasa Sinai Dempo college of Commerce and economics is all set to constitute the International Aviation, Travel and Tourism and Hospitality employment Bank (AT-Heb) and launch first of its kind ‘Aviation Career’ smart class on the eve of Independence Day at the college campus in Cujira, Bambolim, is definitely gladdening!
