Placement And Employability Woes
There is a fundamental transformation going on as far as business and management education is concerned in the wake of the pandemic. Presently, management professionals are playing crucial roles as world economies are moving on the path of economic recovery. As the role of managers has evolved, the skills of fresh graduates have changed. Management institutes now carry the responsibility to rapidly adapt to meet the demands of the industry and the expectations of their students.
As far as the growth of the Indian economy, education and business are concerned, S. Sreenivasa Murthy, Director, IPE states, "If India has to progress, management institutions and industry have a great role to play. And what type of graduates we are providing to the industry matters here. We at B-schools constantly look for important aspects."
According to the India Skill Report 2022, management programmes are the most sought-after, however, a little more than half, that is, 55.09 per cent of MBA graduates are employable. Industry and academia are joining hands to provide more practical experience and industry knowledge to students.
Changing Skills Demand
Strong soft skills make candidates stand out better during recruitment. Management students are expected to bring strong leadership and communication skills. Building these same skills have become a challenge online, which in turn has become a more valuable asset for students.
Commenting on the new mode of study or shift to the digital world, M. P. Jaiswal, IIM Sambalpur says, "Interaction and other things become very constrained in this digital mode. Hence, we will have to disrupt our learning pedagogy. Teaching has to shift to learning. When we talk about learning, 80 to 90 per cent is the job of the students as they are the stakeholders".
Students are also under great pressure to stand out among their peers. Monica Khanna, Director, K J Somaiya Institute of Management, Mumbai comments, "In today's hyper-competitive environment, students need to be multi-skilled. As a B-school, we should provide them with the facilities so that they can choose their desired subjects. We have to think of them as unique entities instead of big masses."
Ideally, students should be provided with a range of subjects on par with their interests to better enable them in planning careers. Apart from that, the only other major change in the education ecosystem is the shift towards the digital world which led to more opportunities and easy learning for students.
Internships and Induction Programmes
Internships have always been considered as a crucial cog in the wheel of MBA education. While theoretical classes lay the groundwork, the application of knowledge is what makes a management student’s education complete.
While information is available at the click of a button, experiential learning is what counts in today’s skill economy for an MBA student. Talking about the role of internships, Janat Shah, Director, IIM Udaipur says, "The application is very important. When we do a case study, the whole idea is to see if we can create that kind of environment. But you know, all that is still a limited environment. What your internship does is give you an opportunity to be in a real-life environment and work on a specific problem".
While acing the MBA assignments may release a short burst of endorphins, nothing beats the experience of successfully meeting a deadline. Add to this, internships give an MBA student a chance to learn under supervision. And the best part is that it is during these projects that a trainee can actually figure out which domain works the best for them.
Concurring a similar sentiment, Nasir Shaikh, CEO, Lexicon Group of Institutes states that internships are an opportunity to understand the field and future career path one can pursue. "You may have initially wanted to be a marketer, but suddenly realise what you prefer. This gives you the opportunity to kind of explore", he adds.
Internships, also, provide MBA students with a peek into office dynamics and politics. Whether it is knowing the soft skills or learning the dos and don’ts of the workplace, internships lay a solid platform. Students have a chance to network, build social capital among other opportunities.
And that’s where the expectations of Gen Z come in. Today’s youth is considered impatient when it comes to making career choices. The career plans are meticulously laid and growth trajectories may get defined too soon. That’s where the human element comes into the picture which companies need to have a pulse on.
A classroom environment gives a student an opportunity to sharpen his intellectual understanding of managerial concepts, the secret to getting the dream job lies in action learning coupled with harnessing your emotional intelligence and internships make it possible. The role that internships play in a student's life paves the way for his holistic professional development and can often lead to a golden future if done right.
