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| India-Pakistan |
| Indian HRD Ministry plans finishing school for engineers |
| 2007-02-06 |
| NEW DELHI: Once finishing schools, mostly in Switzerland, were meant for rich girls on the threshold of marriage. Call it democratisation of the concept, HRD ministry is planning finishing schools for engineers. The ministry's move is borne out of various Nasscom reports, which have said that though there was no dearth of engineering graduates in India, most of them were unemployable. The ministry said that "while enhancing the quality of technical education should remain the goal in the long term" as an "immediate response", a programme of finishing schools would be started. In the first phase of the programme, seven National Institutes of Technology will impart finishing school courses in selected areas of information technology. Areas and names of NITs are yet to be finalised but the ministry plans to put the scheme in motion as early as possible. A Nasscom report had said that 12% of engineering services outsourcing (ESO) comes to India. It is estimated that by 2020, as much as 25-30% of a $150 to $225 billion market for offshored ESO would come to India. But Nasscom had said that though India has 28% of the total talent pool suitable for ESO and ITO/BPO work available in low-cost countries, not all are equipped with the skill sets required to succeed in this market. |
| Posted by:john |
| #2 Verbal and written communication skills for dealing with management and other non-engineers, social skills -- it really does matter that they know which fork to use (the one to the outside; putting the right one there is the butler's job!), when it's necessary to wear that blasted suit and tie, why it's a bad idea to complement your female boss's bosom, recognizing that technically cool is not the same as important... Engineers are to be smart people, and catch on quickly when the benefits of that which they previously scorned as shallow are pointed out, bless 'em! ;-) The same problem has recently been recognized in Britain with regard to all their technical graduates, not just engineers. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2007-02-06 18:25 |
| #1 "Even allowing for a healthy growth rate of 4% a year in the number of graduates, the projected number of engineers with the right specialised skills will not be nearly enough to meet the potential demand," Nasscom had said. It had also said India's weak engineering and physical infrastructure was likely to hamper growth. Nasscom had recommended that apart from improving it's infrastructure, India must expand its opportunities for engineering education. "It must market itself in a systematic way, to let corporate decision-makers around the world know that Indian engineers can do much more than code," Nasscom had said, warning that otherwise ESO would be a missed opportunity for India. The HRD ministry has also realised that there is a dearth of good managers in the manufacturing sector. The ministry has brought together National Manufacturing Competitive Council, Confederation of Indian Industry, IIT-Kanpur and IIT-Chennai, IIM-Kolkata and the Japanese government to start a programme to train future leaders for the manufacturing sector. |
| Posted by: john 2007-02-06 16:54 |