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Communication Development Workshops For Weaker Sections

By siddharth22, Section News
Posted on Wed Oct 31, 2007 at 01:46:29 AM EST

Though the private sector companies in the country might not be open to the idea of reservation for the weaker sections in the job arena, they are doing their bit to bring the underprivileged into mainstream by helping them compete with their peers for jobs in this sector.

The Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) along with prominent IT major, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), has launched a part time communication development programme for technical education students belonging to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (SC/ST).

This will enable them to be on an equal footing with general category students when they appear for group discussions and interviews for jobs.

The first batch of students has already had their orientation on October 15 and will start their classes from November 2. The classes would be held on Fridays and Saturdays on the TCS campus in the city.

"Around 22 students have enrolled in the first batch and if the response is encouraging, then we may scale up the strength and run parallel courses," said the executive officer of the CII sub-committee on affirmative action, Dahlia Dey.

The first batch of students who would complete this three-month course would also be recruited as trainers to conduct similar programmes in the districts. The course would offer a comprehensive overview of business communication with different modules such as reading, writing, vocabulary, and etiquettes.

"Such an initiative is better than reservation as merit cannot be compromised in a globalised economy. Reservation in public sector undertakings has not helped anyway. After ensuring equal merit and improving employability, positive discrimination can be used to uplift the weaker section," said the chairman of the CII sub-committee on affirmative action, Mukul Somany.

Around 5,000 technical graduates and 17,000 engineering graduates pass out from colleges each year in the state. Of them, 28 per cent or nearly 6,000 students belong to the SC/STs.

According to educationists and industry insiders, although these students are as talented as others, they often fall behind when it comes to soft skills and the ability to put their ideas across the table.

This communication development programme would help students passing out from polytechnics, ITI, and engineering colleges obtain the necessary confidence and communication skills.

According to the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) head, eastern region, TCS, Sudeep Bura, the challenge lies in assessing the different levels of aptitudes of the students and catering to them accordingly.

Meanwhile, the CII is also corresponding with various public and private technical education institutions in the state to compile a databank of SC/ST students who have passed out in the last three years.

Source:http://www.expressindia.com

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