There could have been no better platform than the The Hindu Educational Plus Career Counselling 2016 programme held here on Friday in providing much needed inputs to students to determine their future after completing Plus Two examinations.
It is definitely a tough period not only for the students, who intend to step into college from school, but also their parents in choosing the right path that would determine the future of students. Many of them tend to get confused. However, The Hindu Educational Plus Career Counselling programme, presented by SASTRA University, turned out to be the stand alone programme for the aspiring students in getting the right perspective on courses that have future in the fast changing job market.
Speakers, who turned up with the analytical ground work on the trend of job market, utilised the forum well to outline the direction of job openings in the next four to five years.
Arun Roy, Registrar and Vice-Chancellor-in-charge, Tamil Nadu National Law School, Tiruchi, who inaugurated the programme, set the tone of the session providing inputs on higher education scenario and job openings. Law could not only be a fascinating career but also highly remunerative.
He said there was a misconception that openings were limited for lawyers except appearing in courts. But law as a career offered huge potential. There were a large number of national and international law consultancy firms. Many of them were offering excellent pay packages. Law professionals could start their own consultancy services to companies, government organisations and institutions. However, it was important for them to choose law schools and institutions that matter the most.
Mr. Roy said the country was producing about 75 lakh graduates including 11 lakh engineering graduates every year. However, job creation was not equal to the emerging graduates. It meant that the graduates would have to fight it out for limited openings.
Ramesh Prabha, Director, Galaxy Institute of Management, Chennai, who elaborated on the mode of selection of candidates to the professional courses, said that students and parents should have clear understanding on selection process so as to get admission in reputed institutions with nominal fee structure.
There was a feeling among parents that engineering alone offered a bright career to their wards. Parents should keep in mind the emergence of lakhs of engineering graduates every year. Hence, there was nothing wrong in choosing courses beyond engineering and medicine. But, they could go for engineering if they got admission good institutions.
V. Badrinath, Dean, Management, Sastra University, Thanjavur, said though the country was producing large number of graduates, there was a dearth of skilled man power. Many companies that wanted to hire skilled manpower could not do so. Most of the emerging graduates could not match the requirements of companies. Students opting for polytechnic colleges too could get jobs immediately after completing courses.
He said though the parents were duty bound to guide their children properly, they should not compel them to choose specific courses. The suitability and adaptability of the children should be the main factor in deciding the career path, he said.
Professor Kyung Tae Kim, Department of Computer Engineering, Kalasalingam University, said that India had the potential to join the list of countries such as Germany, Japan and South Korea considered as engineering hubs of the world. Engineering should be the passion among the students. They should select colleges that send them to foreign countries for one or two semester and it would help them excel in their career.
S.T. Valliappan said that motivation was a key for success. Parents had a great role and should encourage their wards to excel in their selected career path.
SASTRA University, Thanjavur, was the presenting sponsor of the event powered by Kalasalingam University. Dhanalakshmi Srinivasan Group of Institutions, K.Ramakrishnan College of Engineering and Alpha College of Engineering were associate sponsors. Shiksha was the official educational portal of the event organised in association with The Hindu (Tamil).
