Are we ready to Re-Skill or Up-skill? – Choose Careers Smartly

Are we ready to Re-Skill or Up-skill?

In the old days it was considered an achievement if someone worked for a Company for 40 years and then retired happily with a Pension. Now, the average time in a single job is 3-5 years, What’s more, 35% of the skills that workers need — regardless of industry — will have changed by 2022. So to be re-skilled or upskilled is the new survival mantra.

What does Re-skilling and upskilling mean?
• RE-Skill is the process of learning new skills so you can do a different job or you can teach people to do a different job
• Up-Skilling is the process of learning new skills in the same job or or teaching workers of new skills

So re-skilling or upskilling are a must, in what is termed as the brink of the fourth Industrial Revolution. According to a news report on workforce re-skilling by the World Economic Forum, one in four adults reported a mismatch between the skills they have and the skills they need for their current job. NASSCOM has indicated that 40% of the Indian workforce has to be re-skilled.

Continuous learning lies at the heart of thriving in Industry . INFOYSYS – One of the top Leaders in the Computer Business in India has over 125 thousand employees spread world- wide. To keep this huge Human Resource relevant, they have developed over 250 Self Learning Programs . Also, simultaneously 1500 Courses and over 3600 micro learning Videos have been created so their staff are being Up-skilled all the time. Similarly, TCS, WIPRO, MAHINDRA also offer Re-skilling Programs for their staff.

We are doing things to-day, we never dreamt of 20 years ago. I can sit on my armed chair at home and order Groceries/ get most Banking jobs done viz. transfer Monies / Open an FD / Book rail / airline tickets / Pay Electricity / Telephone / TV Bills. I can also play the share Market, Watch Movies of my choice, Read or listen to Books, Gossip on face Book and even Pay my Income Tax on line. Can any one predict what will be the scenario 5/10 years down the road?.

Those in the Airline Ticketing Business will have to re-think what skills they would need if they plan to remain in the same Business. Those working in Banks – what Courses they need to take up, to remain relevant because Ledgers are now literally in the Clouds. If you are running a Retail Business are you prepared to consider delivering groceries to your Customer, like Zomato or, Swiggy does with foods.? In other words , would you consider moving your business to a Backroom place , without paying high rents on Main Streets, and get Digital Marketing to announce your products with free home delivery?

We are told that Big time names like Mark& Spencer are downscaling, as they cannot beat the Online people like Amazon/Walmart etc. So if you were working for M&S or such type of companies , would you still be in employment?

So as employees we needs to go back to the drawing board and consider carefully the latent skills we have and get ready to fight redundancy. Was for example, Photography your passion earlier? It was dormant, as you were enjoying your selling career .Is it time to re-think and re-visit your earlier passion. You could take up classes and get ready to change course. Perhaps you were good in Maths – you could you take up training in DATA Analytics so you crunch figures on your Lap top? If you are in Automobiles – very soon cars are going electric – are you ready for the Car revolution?

If Companies, do not offer re-skilling you should venture into the sky classroom. We have in EdX, Upgrad, Cousera, Alison,gwin 99.Udacity, Stanford, Khan Academy ,IGNOU Distance , Learning , NCS,etc helping you re-skill for free. Our Government has realised that though we have a young population, our skill sets do not match Industry requirements. So has taken up to re-skilling very seriously. Vigorous efforts are being made to ensure new Investors who come to set up Industry here will have ready man-power with the newer skills needed. The ITI’s with the PMKVY ( Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana) and SKILL INDIA Programs for other categories of skilled, highly skilled will get us back on track.

Also the proposed Education Policy document has envisaged a much more flexible approach to education, which includes Vocational training at school level with the normal subjects student leant now. In fact Chowgule College Margao have started a Vocational Degree Program where students can obtain a Degree in various Programs viz. Sound Engineering, Software Development, Multimedia and Digital Film making, 3D Media and Virtual Reality-VFX ITES (Business Processes and ERP Operations) Contemporary Dance, Photography, Multi-media & Digital film making ,Drawing &Painting, Audio-Visual Photography, Animation & Creative Design.3 D Animation & Graphic Design. Digital marketing. In fact they permit students to take a break for a year or more at Diploma level and then return for the advanced Diploma( again take a break) and then finally work for a degree in the courses indicated.

Students in College/ University doing the conventional Programs must realise that they must be flexible enough . They must get trained with Industry needs in mind, and do some additional studies in Institutes quoted above. For example one could do a correspondence course in Actuarial studies to get a handsome job in the Insurance Industry and develop a statistical /data analysis skills. Or choose a Financial Analyst Program where the job market is lucrative.

If you are a Computer Nerd you could explore learning in Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, Internet of things, Block Chain, Machine Learning etc.

Some could consider Events management -through correspondence and take up linked Courses in Sound Engineering/Music/ Choreography/Photography etc. If you have a fancy for catering you could consider specialising in Foods of certain countries or consider Nutrition and dietician or Food Technology as extra specializations.

If you inclined towards Sports perhaps you could join a Fitness Center (Norbert’ Fitness Center) and learn to become a Fitness Trainer. Umpteen opportunities exist provided you are ready to explore your personal potential and get ready to beat the odds. Once you have trained yourself try and find an opening as a Volunteer/Part-timer in Industry (without Pay). This way you get some exposure , as also indicate to the Potential Employer that you have the initiative to take up challenges.

Remember just graduation or an Engineering degree is not enough. Constantly upgrade your skills, so your CV gets a good response. Good luck.

UPSKILL/RESKILL: NSDC has opened many windows
National Skills Development Corporation and other Govt Ministries has taken huge steps to bring Education on line by linking with most of the top Corporates and Universities. There are a variety of Programs one can learn from – Hard skills in almost every conceivable discipline, Soft skills, Psychometric tests, Public Speaking etc. Many programs are free with certification. There is nothing better to enhance your CV with these Ad ons , if you really want to get a head start in life, improve your promotional opportunities or avoid the axe in these difficult times.

1. IBM / Microsoft / Harvard / Google and many more
67 Free Online Courses by Harvard University
(https://rise-indiaa.blogspot.com/2020/04/67-free-online-courses-by-harvard.html) .
Harvard University is providing free online courses for everyone which were paid courses earlier. These courses are available in following different categories or departments:
1. Art & Design,
2. Business,
3. Computer Science,
4. Data Science,
5. Education & Teaching,
6. Health & Medicine,
7. Humanities,
8. Mathematics,
9. Programming,
10. Science,
11. Social Science.
Apply for free courses : https://online-learning.harvard.edu/
Or you can also apply through an app Edx: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.edx.mobile

2. 126 FREE PREMIUM ONLINE COURSES WITH CERTIFICATE FOR JOBS

• Age and gender no bar / qualification no bar / fresher or experienced anyone can apply
• Category of courses: data and tech/digital marketing/carrier development
• Course length: under 2 hours / 2-10 hours / 11- 20 hours / 20+ hours
• Course difficulty: beginner / intermediate / advance
More than 15 universities are currently providing free online courses.
HOW TO ENROLL: https://learndigital.withgoogle.com/digitalgarage/courses

3. IBM Project Build-A-Thon
IBM Project Build-A-Thon is a unique tech building program launched by IBM University Relations Team & Smart Bridge exclusively for students to provide project-based learning experience in emerging technologies. The program is packed with technical learning, hands-on guided labs, exciting projects, exposure to IBM Cloud & Watson services and access to course ware & skill badges.

As part of the Project Build-a-thon, students will be exposed to company like project development environment with various integration & communication tools via SmartInternz Platform.
https://smartinternz.com/ibm-build-a-thon
https://www.ptech.org/open-p-tech/

IBM TEACHES FOR FREE ON BLACK CHAIN, ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE ETC

4. NASSCOM Future Skills and Microsoft launch AI Classroom Series to skill

https://futureskillsnasscom.edcast.com/log_in?auto_sso=true

This site will tell you of how many young Indians have made it BIG.
https://www.prep.youth4work.com/

DOWNLOAD THIS APP ON YOUR SMART PHONE AND TEST YOUR SKILLS FOR THE FORTHCOMING EXAMS
Practice Tests for all Competitive Exams – Government Jobs, IBPS, SBI, CAT, MAT, SNAP, IIT-JEE, AIEEE, GATE, UPSC, CA, NSDC, etc.
https://www.prep.youth4work.com/practice-_test_s
https://www.prep.youth4work.com/Government-Jobs
https://www.youth4work.com/PsychometricTest/Instruction/1
https://www.youth4work.com/onlinetalenttest

Check how smart you are in theses areas: English language / Aptitude / GK plus in the following areas :
IT, Computer Basics, Design, Computer Systems Engineering (Diploma), Finance, General Awareness, Hospitality, HR, Internet, ITI, Legal Linguistics, Management, Medical Operations, Personal Effectiveness, Research Analysis, Sales & Marketing, Science, Software & Programming & Sport

Free Online Psychometric Test
Try our 15-minute Online Psychometric Test to assess your talents and get in touch with the standard format of a Psychometric Test. Youth4Work’s Free Psychometric Test helps in bench marking your interests through its measurement of your objective knowledge and skill in a specified field of interest. Assessment through Psychometric Test plays a pivotal role when it comes to career counseling.
https://www.ibm.com/events/think/watch/replays/

Listen to the latest on Block Chain, AI, Internet of things etc.
www.youth4work.com/onlinetalenttest

https://yourstory.com/herstory

https://www.sscnasscom.com/ssc-article/career-information/

5. GOOGLE / MICROSOFT / INTEL
Once the learners have discovered where their interests and aptitude lie, by exploring about each of the technologies, they can use the marketplace of training providers on Future Skills to go through a formal course with certification in their area of choice. The marketplace have providers such as EdX, Simpli Learn, MITx, platform providers such as AWS, Microsoft, Red hat and virtual labs.

Google collaborates with e-learning platforms such as Udacity and Coursera to offer free programmes in Google analytics, android development, full stack web development, mobile web specialisations and cloud certifications. More free online courses being added by Google will include a machine learning crash course and an Android Basics one, both for non-engineering beginners and professionals. https://learndigital.withgoogle.com/digitalskills , https://learndigital.withgoogle.com/digitalgarage/courses

Microsoft set up three e-learning platforms of its own – the Microsoft Virtual Academy (MVA), the Microsoft Imagine Academy (MIA) and Microsoft Professional Programme (MPP), offering free modules for absolute beginners and also mid-level professionals, and paid-for certification courses for IT students, teachers and engineers.
https://alison.com/courses/software-tools

Intel launched the AI Developer Education Program, a self-paced learning course for developers and students looking to understand the fundamentals of machine learning and deep learning.
https://www.coursera.org/learn/parallelism-ia

The association estimates that there are about 140,000 job openings in these forward tech areas.

6. Pradhan Mantri Pravasi Kaushal Vikas Yojana
( The scheme trains youth to easily land a job outside the country. )
https://sarkariyojana.com/pravasi-kaushal-vikas-yojana-pkvy-skills-line-international-standards/

• Pre-departure orientation training consists of: International Country specific orientation skill (prepared by Ministry of External Affairs)
Language skill, Digital Literacy modules.

Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)
• India – UAE Skill Harmonization Program – MSDE signed a G2G level MoU with National Qualifications Authority (NQA), Govt. of UAE to enhance cooperation and recognition of qualifications. Under the MoU, NSDC is working with Ministry of Human Resource and Emiratization (MoHRE) and Abu Dhabi Quality & Conformity Council (ADQCC) for benchmarking qualifications, assessment & certification.

• Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Skill Harmonization Program – NSDC signed an MoU signed with TakaMol Holding, A semi Government Agency under Ministry of Labor & Social Development, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for Skill Verification Program in India. Under the MoU, a network of Assessment Centres (Trade Test Centres)/Skill Verification Centres across India will be established to deliver assessments in the identified benchmarked qualifications to potential migrant workers

• Establishment of Driving Training Institutes in collaboration with Emirates Driving Institute, UAE. This engagement will facilitate candidates to acquire a UAE driving license, in line with the requirements of regulatory agencies of different countries of Gulf.

• Japan – A G2G level project where the Governments of India and Japan have entered into a Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) for sending candidates from India with prior work experience to Japan as interns is being implemented by NSDC. The project entails on-the-job training with Japanese employers for 3-5 years.

• Others – NSDC has signed MoU’s with Japan, Sweden, Russia, Finland, Germany, Canada, Maldives, Morocco and Jordon to explore various areas of Skill Development, Vocational Education and Mobility of Skilled Manpower to these regions.

7. e-SKILL INDIA : FREE AND PAID ONLINE COURSES
1. Click on this website QP-NOS / Course Search – https://nsdcindia.org/nos-listing/24
Based on your choice you can pick programs that suit you e.g. Aerospace and Aviation, Agriculture, Apparel & Home Furnishing, Automotive, Beauty & Wellness etc

• EMPLOYABILITY AND DIGITAL LITERACY (ENGLISH) Basic digital literacy to complement one’s job-specific skills.
• EMPLOYYABILITY SKILLS view of the Employability skills, You will learn skills like goal settings, learning, planning & organizing. problem solving etc.
• BASIC ELECTRICAL TRAINING basics in Electrical Training, Describing electricity, conductor, insulator, voltage, current, resistance, P.D., and inter-relation between Voltage, Current, and Resistance etc, Explaining the difference between AC & DC, Describing the purpose of Earthing and Types of Earthing.

8. https://eskillindia.org/
These Courses are in Hindi/English /Tamil etc.Some are Free some are paid course but quite cheap.
Under each Type there are various Programs. E.G. Automotive – there are programs for Two Wheeler / four wheeler etc etc

Examples of Courses available for ONLINE TRAINING:
Agriculture, Apparels, Made Up and Furnishing, automotive, beauty & Wellness, Banking, Finance and Insurance, Construction, Electronics and Hardware, Furniture & Fittings, Gems & Jewellery, Green Jobs, Healthcare, Instrumentation, Automation Surveillance & Communications, IT-ITES, Life Sciences, Management & Entrepreneur, Media & Entertainment, Plumbing, Retail, Rubber, Telecom, Textiles & Handloom, Tourism & Hospitality, People & Disability, Management Security
https://eskillindia.org/Home/ourknowledgepartners/#33506820191127010439

(KNOWLEDGE PARTNERS OF E-SKILL INDIA)

9. https://digitaldefynd.com/best-free-certification-course-training-online/

Harappa Learn Soft skills https://harappa.education/dashboard/learner
1. EMBRACING CHANGE Develop a growth mindset and deal with setbacks positively,
2. THINKING CRITICALLY Develop a bias-free and questioning outlook
3. REASONING LOGICALLY Forge the ability to reason and evaluate arguments
4. DECODING OTHERS, Identify a person’s sensibilities, strengths and work styles
5. UNLEASHING CREATIVITY, Develop the ability to derive creative solutions to problems
6. LEARNING EXPERTLY. Adopt a relentless learning mindset
7. DEFINING PROBLEMS, Construct and articulate effective problem statements
8. STRUCTURING PROBLEMS. Learn to split large problems into manageable parts
9. EXECUTING SOLUTIONS, Implementing projects by establishing scope, delegating tasks, and managing crises 10. CREATING SOLUTIONS, Design efficient solutions for people, process and products
11. MAKING DECISIONS, Develop a keen judgement for decision-making
12. READING DEEPLY, Sharpen ability to draw insights from information and people
13. BUILDING PRESENCE, Chisel a confident and memorable personality.

10. WADWANI FOUNDATION
See catalogue https://www.wfglobal.org/

11. WHITEHAT Jr for kids (see Video) 6-14 age group learn coding
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJLNGo8aUpc
https://www.youtubekids.com/

12. SWAYAM
https://swayam.gov.in/about

https://onlinecourses.nptel.ac.in/noc21_cs27/preview