converting handicaps into opportunties
It is rather surprising that even with such a huge population, survey after survey of the educated -- that is, graduates in arts, science, commerce, engineering and in any other related field, including say, bio-informatics, are found to be 'unemployable'.
What is meant as 'unemployable' is the total lack of ability to adapt to Corporate requirements, quickly understand the corporate way of life, do all the hard work required, socialize with people from different countries and exhibit behaviors seeming to suggest a very high level of disconnect between what is available in a person, and what is required by the industry.
This article is meant to address this issue at both the individual and the organization or society levels.
Let us first discuss the issue of handicap at the individual level.
It is quite true that young men or women who graduate from colleges situated in tier two or two three towns, are somewhat or sometimes, totally inadequate when it comes to city life, or adjusting to corporate cultures.
Coming as they do, from the farming community, these people are very much aware of farming practices, are very much aware of the local cultural norms and are quite happy with the way things are, back home. Most of these students are day-scholars in colleges ---mostly arts and science colleges -- and these colleges are simply heavens for teachers who hail from the small town or from one of the villages, within a radius of over ten kilometers of the college.
This makes it even more complex: what can a commerce teacher, for example, teach a student about Demat accounts and dealing in shares and debentures, when the teacher herself or himself, is totally cut off from the mainstream life ---the action that happens in cities some two hundred kilometers away from the small town, in which the college is situated?
The only solution is for the teacher to be updated himself, and to ensure that he or she is always self-motivated. This is easier said than done. Yes, they are self-satisfied, but self-motivation is a different ball game altogether.
The teacher will do well to pick up the English business magazines that bring home the corporate knowledge. The college managements will also have to be pro-active in buying all the magazines and journals needed to aid the skill-development of the teachers. Unless and until this happens, the standard of education of the students cannot be improved. Can we bring Chennai, to say, Cheyyar, which is over one hundred and twenty kilometers away from the metropolis, or Ambur, which is another one hundred and fifty odd kilometers from the same metropolis? Obviously not.
However, the teacher has to learn the teaching methodologies of say,commerce, in say, the world-famous Loyola College, where the standard of teaching is so high, and the subjects taught are more in tune with corporate requirements?
At the Corporate level, companies will do well to partner with a superb University like the University of Madras, and take the initiative of re-orienting the teachers in Cheyyar or Ambur. For this purpose, they need the help of Loyola College, which can be obtained.
Similarly, the best-in-class institutions may be approached to overcome the handicap of the teachers in the tier two or tier three towns ( or sometimes, the tier four towns).
At the individual level, it is wise to ask, "what are the opportunities available to me, in spite of my handicap?". Once the clarity about this issue is obtained, it becomes very easy for the person to act.
Some eight years ago, a boy with a MBA degree from the town of Khsmmam in Andhra Pradesh, was referred to me by a friend of mine. The boy did not know a single word of English, but was clear that he would work on the weakness, and stick on to Chennai. This is exactly what happened, and the boy was not only able to find a BPO job in Chennai, where almost every transaction was done in Telugu. He became friends with some people who knew very good English, attended some special classes, and became street smart as well. He quickly learned how to converse to some extent in English.
He enrolled for some job-oriented IT courses, and was able to find a job for a contract period of one year. However, the boy was so hard working that the owner took personal interest, sponsored him for other IT courses, and gave him a regular job.
Though it was a small company, it was doing some work for some firms in Germany. The boy was sent to Germany, and he never looked back. This true life story should inspire anyone. What mattered in his case, was his clear vision, the ability to understand a clear constraint, and work on the real weakness. If he had not accepted the BPO job, he would not have gone anywhere.
What is most important is that we always apply our common sense to find out what will best suit us. The Tamil Nadar community is a case in point. Except for some very high flying members of the community like Shiv Nadar of HCL, the community is always very keen to open grocery shops and each and every member of the community would have at least one grocery shop.
They learn all the tricks of the trade, and do everything possible to not only attract new customers, but also build a very huge loyal customer base. The likes of Reliance Fresh or Big Bazaar are no match to their skills, which are based on common sense and will be very earthy and lively in nature.
The community is very clear that their lack of English medium education is a constraint, but this can be converted into a strength through hard work, in business. They quickly get over their weakness by spotting business opportunities. They always buy land when it is very cheap, in the main roads of suburbs, wait till they develop, and then construct a row of shops with loans from the banks. Since they have regular income, they pay off their loans in no time, and expand their business.
However, times are changing. Their handicap of the English language is also changing. The somewhat affluent have migrated to the cities, where the children are put through the best of English medium education.
As mentioned above, the individual just needs to explore any available opportunity, in spite of his or her handicap. Once this is clear, it is up to the individual to act on the available opportunities.
Corporate initiatives can also help, but the efforts are very few and far between. The role of the Non-governmental organizations is a case in point. In many cases, they have done wonders. They also need to be involved in the process of overcoming particular handicaps of particular groups of people.
The will to overcome handicaps is important, at the individual or at the society level.
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