What does it take to prevail in the current disruption of the employment situation in India? Today, we are faced with a huge problem of rising unemployment. Colleges in India prepare around 37 million students to graduate each year in various disciplines. I believe that an entrepreneurial environment can provide the much-needed boost to MSMEs (micro, small and medium enterprises) — the second largest employment-generating sector after agriculture.

Such an environment can also be generated by more youngsters becoming entrepreneurs.

Experienced entrepreneurs should get involved, more so now, to help students acquire attributes to be successful entrepreneurs —that is, skills that will help them to identify a real problem, create a superior solution and deliver it sustainably.

How equipped are the 37 million students graduating in India this year? In addition to the established impact created by colleges, educational institutes, and universities, businesses around education as well succeeded in filling the gap between the demand and supply of skills in the industrial era.

That has been the case so far. Not any more. It will take a while for economies the world over to show signs of sustenance to start absorbing these youngsters. So what should young graduates do until then?

The human race has solved many problems. And created more. A utilitarian view of the world has created larger problems for the world than what it was intended to solve. The human race has evolved each time it has hit a crisis like the current pandemic. We have every reason to believe that this crisis too shall pass. That we will prevail.

Some of the pressing problems will require urgent attention and, therefore, open up job opportunities. We need to reach out and reassure the youngsters in our circle of influence that, in this new paradigm, there will be new jobs. New businesses will rise to address responsible consumption and will show us the way to sustainable production.

I believe that college curriculum across disciplines should include essentials of entrepreneurship. About value creation that comes from solving large problems that are worth solving.

What are the essential attributes of a good entrepreneur that can be imparted as part of education? I believe reflective conversations with college students around five dimensions and more could be a good starting point: And, they are: identification of real problems as opportunities; having a vision; getting comfortable with uncertainty; the importance of networking; and financial management.

The effectiveness of education through a strong foundation in entrepreneurship is the need of the hour in the current crisis. Let’s make amends to shape a better tomorrow.

Tadepalli is an entrepreneur and business leader, and Radhika is an entrepreneur, instructional designer, and writer

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