What After 10th ?

In Indian Education system, Class X is considered as first milestone of a career. Most  of students and parent get confused to choose the right course. Selecting the right course after class X is not an easy task. For a successful career, careful planning and following it up with a workable plan is needed.  Career exploration, knowledge about ones own self, decision making ability, future goals are some among the essential elements needed for a successful career planning. 

To obtain a strong foundation for further studies like graduation and post graduation, a good option after 10th is studying +2 or PUC. The selection of the streams in +2 depends upon the student's aptitude, grade and marks. But the most important factor is one's keen interest in the subject and the purpose for selecting the course. The streams available in the PUC level are

1. Science Stream with Mathematics / Biology / Computer / Bio-Math
2. Commerce Stream
3. Arts or Humanities Stream

If you are selecting science stream, you have an option to come back to commerce or arts field after PUC. There are lot of options available for students of science stream. They can either take up conventional courses such as engineering, medical, management etc. or go for many other upcoming options in the present scenario. If you are selecting commerce stream in PUC, you can have the option of taking courses in arts field at a later stage but cannot go for science field

Some other career options after 10th are -

Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) and Industrial Training Centres (ITCs)

Constituted under Ministry of Labour, Union Government of India, Government-run ITIs and privately-run ITCs are training organisations which provide training in technical field. ITI courses are designed to impart basic skills needed for a specified trade like electrician, machinist, fitter, plumber, turner, welder etc. and depending upon trade, the duration of course may vary from one year to three years. After passing the course a person may opt to undergo practical training in his trade in an industry. A National Trade Certificate (NTC) in provided by NCVT (National Council for Vocational training ) in the concerned trade and to obtained this certificate one has to qualify the All India Trade Test (AITT). These people can find job openings in government sectors like Indian Railways, telecom departments etc. after qualifying a written examination. 

Indian Army : After matriculation, one can join in Indian Army to the posts of soldiers in technical trade through written exams like Indian Army Soldier Clerks Examination, Indian Army Soldier General Duty (NER) Examinations, Indian Army Soldier Technical (MER) Examination, Indian Army Soldier Nursing Assistants (MER) Examination etc

Indian Navy : Job opportunities are available in Indian Navy as Dock Yard Apprentices, Sailors, Artificer Apprentices etc on the basis of written examination.

Police Force : On the basis of physical test and written test, one can join as constable (tradesmen) in Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF).

Staff Selection Commission (SSC) conducts clerks grade examination for those who passed matriculation. For those who interested in teaching field can undergo training in diploma course for nursery and primary teachers conducted by the departments of primary education in various States. Students can join for 3 year engineering diploma courses in polytechnics. Several job oriented short term courses are available in IT sector and other fields like web designing, animation, fashion designing etc. Apart these, there are so many options, specially self employment opportunities are available for the school leavers depending upon their expertise.

Top 5 Promising Job & Business Skills in India For Next 5 Years

In the Leadership of Honorable Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi, India has emerged as one of fastest developing economy of world. Investors across world are making billions of investment in Make in India and other similar initiatives of Government.

Time has come when each of us must recognize the potential of employment or business around us. In this regard we have prepared an exhaustive list of 5 promising job and business skills in India keeping the next 5 year time frame.

We have divided the skills into 4 groups:

1. Soft Skills
2. English Skills
3. IT Skills
4. Domain Skills

Soft skills is the most crucial skills among all skills. English skills is important for getting jobs or grabbing the business opportunities from different territory as english being the common international language and IT skills is definitely the must have as of today. 

Top 5 Promising Job & Business Skills in India For Next 5 Years

1. Hospitality Skills

Growing business of hospitality industry is in acute shortage of skill manpower. Even good paymasters like five star hotels are suffering for lack of skilled people. In Hospitality there is huge demand of some of the below mentioned profiles:

• Chef
• Cook
• House Keeper
• Captain
• Baker
• Customer Service
• Waiter/Waitress
• Front Office/Reception
• Supply Chain Manager
• Supervisor
• Hostess
• Event Manager
• Reservation Agent
• Travel & Tours Agent
• Security Officer/In charge

Further in Hospitality Industry the Chain or Franchisee system is increasing in leaps and bounds. There are giants like KFC, Pizza Hut, Domino's and many others who have excellent track record of profit oriented business. In India we have seen generations engaged in these business of food & hospitality. We recall in many cities of India there are certain dishes famous of certain sweet shop or restaurant and it is always crowed. This is actually their success of skills. 

Indian and continental both cuisines are getting good response as the purchasing power of middle class income group has increased in recent years. Urban families love to spent on outing at least once in week or month as per their budget. Overall we can say that to start a business with well planned strategies related to hospitality industry like Restaurant, Food Chain, Services of Hotel Management will prove a profitable business.

2. Retail Management Skills

Spending time in Malls, Super Markets and Shopping Centers is the new fashion. Youths find it better spot to spend quality time. In every big city of India there are big malls of Future Group, Easy Day, Big Bazar, Shoppers Stop and many more to name. These large malls require hundreds of manpower in shifts. In next 5 years this Retail Industry will have tremendous expansion. Again, skilled manpower is crisis of the hour and employers are unable to find them even on good payscale. Below are some job profiles which are in demand:

• Retail Sales Associate
• Salesperson/Sales Executive
• Marketing Officer/Manager
• Floor Incharge
• Team Leader
• Store Supervisor
• Cashier/Accountant
• Customer Associate
• Security Guards
• Security Officer/Supervisors
• Delivery Boy

Service Quality and Marketing Mix skills are important in Retail sector job. The soft skills and sound knowledge of product or domain makes one the champion these jobs. Once the person is experienced working with one brand then his market value increases and in next job the hike is sure. These retail jobs are flexible is hours and also offer the options of Full Time and Part Time Jobs. 

Entrepreneurship skills in retail sector is one the most preferred profession. Department store and retail outlets attract good number of footfalls due to design and quality of service. Brand is recognised and deliver greater revenue. In conclusion we could say that business in retail industry is set to maximize the profit and touch the new height of economy.

3. ICT- Information Communication and Technology

In modern society ICT is ever present. With over 3000 crore people having access to the internet and with approximately 8 out of 10 internet users owing a smartphone, information and data are increasing by leaps and bounds. This rapid growth, especially in developing countries has led ICT to become a keystone of everyday life.

ICT is an umbrella term that includes any communication device or application, encompassing: radio, television, cellular phones, computer, laptop, tablets and network hardware and software, satellite systems and so on. It also includes various services and applications associated with them such as videoconferencing, Online learning, virtual learning and distance learning.

Below are some hot job profiles under ICT which assure a job in the industry:

• Data Entry Operator
• Computer Operator
• Office Assistant
• Web Developers
• Database Administrator
• Network Administrator
• Customer Support Officer
• Help Desk Engineer
• IT Support Manager
• Programmer
• Software Engineer
• Telecommunication Specialist
• Social Media Expert
• Technical Support Supervisor
• Java Developer
• Hardware & Networking Officer
• Mobile Engineer

Apart from the job profiles listed above there are endless profiles as per local job market. It is very easy to get hands on experience in these profile and earn handsome salary. These all are white caller jobs and people enjoy doing these jobs.

In ICT there has been growth since IT Revolution in India in Year 2000. After passing 16 years to this revolution, today the business market is full of competition. Mobile manufacturing companies are launching one or more handsets daily. E Commerce has served as the biggest platform of sales for them. Business opportunities in ICT is simply the biggest. Those who wish to start their business with honest efforts in ICT, will definitely reap good revenue in coming 4-5 years.

4. Banking and Financial Services

In India there are 19 nationalised banks, 22 private sector banks and 58  Regional Rural Banks. Apart from banks there are non-banking financial services organization like Bajaj Capital, Shri Ram Finance, Indiabulls etc. This sector is also having a huge potential of growth. Overall it is money which drives all the business.Skilled manpower is not available due to which many of the organisations are unable to expand their wings. There are certain job profiles which will be in demand for next 5 years.

• Loan Officer
• Financial Analyst
• Sales Officer
• Customer Care Executive
• Collection Agent/Manager
• Insurance Agent/Advisor
• Credit Cards-Sales Officer
• Mutual Funds Advisor
• Customer Service Office
• Investment Planner
• Relationship Manager
• Sales Trainer
• Team leader-Business Development
• Tele-Marketing Executive
•  Phone Banking Officer

These jobs are already available in banking and financial services industry and demand of competitive skilled people is on large scale. 

In this sector there are dealers who operate on a small level of area as contact center or branch or collection center. KIOSK are also operation in gram panchayat level but nor organised well. This sector shall realise the growth now. There are new banks coming up and they shall make the environment full of business opportunity. This is also one of highest promising business opportunity.

5. Solar & Wind Energy

This sector is still underestimated by government and people both. In last 4-5 years government has subsidised the purchase of these products but still a lot need to be done.There are good job prospects and business opportunity in Solar and Wind Energy related works. As india is surrounded by sea shore in three directions, this is why there is opportunity to start job or business and earn. If explored well, the earning could be anything..!

The policies of government and economy both are in upward direction making a destination of investment for world. This require a bit of confidence to start. When it is initiated with determination, Success follow your steps.

A University Degree vs. Vocational Training: Which one to choose?

In recent decades higher education has almost become the fashion as well as status symbol in society.

As per 2011-12 survey reports on Higher Education reports of Department Higher Education, Ministry of Human Reports Development, Government of India there few important things to note:

1. Total enrolment in higher education has been estimated to be 28.56 million with 15.87 million boys and 12.69 million girls. Girls constitute 44.4% of the total enrolment.   
2. There are 83 Technical, 33 Agriculture, 24 Medical, 17 law and 10 Veterinary Universities
3. College density, i.e. the number of colleges per lakh eligible population (population in the age‐group 18‐23 years) varies from 6 in Bihar to 64 in Puducherry as compared to All India average of 25
4. Maximum numbers of Students are enrolled in B.A. programme followed by B.Com and B.Sc. programmes. Only 20 Programmes out of approximately 150 cover 83% of the total students enrolled in higher education
5. At Undergraduate, level the highest number (34%) of students is enrolled in Arts followed by Engineering & Technology (19%), Commerce (14.5%) and Science (12%).
6. Pupil Teacher Ratio (PTR) in Universities and Colleges is 25.6

When we read the points carefully and try to analyse the details, we find that there is huge gap in education system, We have 34% of undergraduates in Arts stream which is out of date today. BA pass is having no value in today's job interview. Now interviewer gives the advantage to candidate having professional degrees like BBA, BCA, BTech, BSc, B Pharma, BLib etc. along with some technical knowledge and experience in the domain.

Vocational Training

Here comes the confusion to a BA Pass Candidate. Should he invest on his skills though vocational courses or continue with his BA Pass Certificate and struggle further? Those who identify and recognize earlier the future of their career via vocational courses get swift move on the heights of their career. While a normal graduate keep struggling for government jobs or little paying private jobs. 

The current scenario is like a boom to the vocational courses. These courses offer better jobs with good paymasters of the industry. For example an electrician who has passed out the knowledge based technical vocational course of electrician and possess a industry recognised certificate (Like from NSDC) will be given preference than a traditional electrician. 

As per the choice of career, it is better to decide from University Degree and Vocational Training after matriculation. With guidance and counselling of an expert this could be done easily. This will be immense helpful to youth in making right decision for their career and future of life as well.

Top 5 Business Opportunities in Skill Development

There are various opportunities for business in skill development but every opportunity is not perfect for everyone. We have listed top 5 business opportunities in skill development which can fetch you better revenue.

1. Establish a Multi-Purpose Training Center- Instead of setting up many small and nonstandard training center it is better to set up a large center where 5-7 trade and sectors training could be organized under various schemes on same time. Ideally, when one scheme is slowed down, you can focus on another. The entire infrastructure and resource will be utilized to its full optimum.
2. Supply Equipment Related to Skill Development-There is equipment related to training like Tablets, Biometric devices, Projectors, Desktop Computers, Networking devices, Printer and scanners, Domain Lab Equipment for retail/beauty/electrical etc which can be supplied to Training Agencies as per their requirement.
3. Supply Regular Consumption Goods Like Uniform & Stationary-Advertisement Materials, Stationary, Course Book and workbooks, Identity Cards, Uniforms can be a big opportunity for business.
4. Offer Placement Services-Almost every project of skill development is linked with Placement where Trained Candidates have to get wage appointment. There is a huge scope of business in this field as in Placement you shall be paid by the Training Agency for whom you shall do the service and on the same time you shall get payment from an employer who shall appoint these trained candidates. You can earn in lakhs per month without any investment. Just a few phone calls and very little physical presence.
5. Post Placement and Tracking Support- It involves 12 months of tracking of a placed candidates. There are various documents required like offer letter for each appointment, monthly salary slips, bank statement as proof of salary etc. These involve a huge cost to training and placement agencies. Those who have a well-established network in project area could earn better from this opportunity. 

Apart from above, there are other opportunities like providing mobilization assistance, Screening and Selection assistance, Publicity Campaigns, Providing Tour and Travel solutions, Maintaining website and MIS and so on but it depends on the demand and supply of industry.