The Hindu Business Line : ‘There’s life beyond IT, ITeS and BPOs’

Ms Usha Dasari, Director-Marketing & Corporate Communication, SGT India, addressing management students at SRM University in Kattankulatthur, Kanchipuram district.

Our Bureau

Chennai, Nov. 11 It’s time to think beyond IT, IT-enabled services and BPOs as India is facing tremendous manpower shortage in knowledge streams such as finance, marketing, healthcare, research, public relations, management and engineering, cautioned Ms Usha Dasari, Director-Marketing & Corporate Communication, SGT India Pvt Ltd.

She was addressing students of management at SRM University in Kattankulatthur, Kanchipuram district, as part of the Business Line Club lecture series.

“In the eighties, the US went through a similar IT boom, but when the bubble burst, they had to completely retrain themselves in other work. What happens to the job market here if confronted with that situation? It’s important to know that there is so much opportunity in non-IT-ITeS-BPO fields, with good pay packets, so don’t limit yourself,” she said.

To illustrate how critical the situation really is, Ms Dasari said SGT had to recruit chemical and process engineers from West Asia for an Indian oil company as they could not find the people here, and that SGT itself has been on the lookout for a marketing professional in India for the last one year!

Apart from skilled personnel, India has the advantage of having an average age of 32-34 years, making it the youngest country on the planet, she said. “The world is looking out for bright young Indians right now for their India offices. So your mindset, communication skills, and way of doing business must be global. It’s vital to think global, act global,” Ms Dasari said.

She urged students to seek out small companies as they provide good experience, while big companies hire for particular skill sets and “place you in a bucket”. To a question on attrition, she said it’s a scary industry problem that companies have to keep tab of every day.

So what are the global companies looking for in young Indians? Confidence, open mindedness, motivation, creativity, eagerness to learn, skills in analytics, communication and presentation, flexibility and experience among others, Ms Dasari said.

“Keep sharpening your analytical skills (read through CAT papers even if you are not applying for the IIMs) and think out of the box. But communication skills is by far the most important,” she said.

Present at the event were Dr. Jayashree Ramesh, Dean, School of Management, SRM University, professor T.P. Nagesh, Mr M.G.M Sharief, Sales Executive, The Hindu, and students of Milton (Massachusetts)-based Curry College’s MBA Program (designed for working professionals), who were on a visit to SGT’s India offices.

More Stories on : Human Resources | Events | Tamil Nadu

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Stories in this Section
24x7 Learning offers job-ready skills for engg grads online

A tale of two ‘low’ inflation episodes

Turn capital inflows into knowledge investment

‘FTA tariff cuts for industrial products can be avoided’

Growth story

3-year scorecard: Tax-saving schemes post 48% return

TN chambers hail industrial policy

‘There’s life beyond IT, ITeS and BPOs’

Major suppliers shy away from exporting tea to Iraq

Fresh hurdle to rice exports from Kakinada

Furniture imports surge on growing demand

Tourism Web site in Malayalam