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Education Plus
From the battle zone to the market
RAGHAVA M.
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IIMB offers short-term courses for retiring defence personnel
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Enthusiastic: Maj. Gen. S.G. Chatterji with a batch of retired Army officers who are attending a management course at IIM, Bangalore.
Squadron Leader Shradha Sinha left the Indian Air Force in November after completing 11 years of service under the Short Service Commission. Having married a fellow IAF officer, she came to Bangalore and joined a city-based company’s human resources department.
When she got intimation about acceptance of her application for the six-month certificate course in management at the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore (IIMB), she decided to quit her job. “It is a good opportunity. Getting training from an elite organisation even for a short duration is a tremendous experience. It adds value to the experience I have gained during my service in defence and helps me pursue a career in the corporate world,” she says.
There is a different objective with which Group Captain S.S. Mahdewan , who is working in the IAF’s Training Command here, has joined the course. Gp.Capt. Mahdewan, who superannuates next year after serving more than three decades, wants to use the knowledge to groom youngsters. “The knowledge gained here will help me put good use to my varied experience in defence.” He has plans to start a management training institute.
Ms. Sinha and Gp. Capt. Mahdewan are among the 40 Armed Forces Officers who have been selected by the Ministry of Defence’s Directorate General, Resettlement, to undergo the six-month course. The objective is to provide a second career to defence personnel. On an average, about 60,000 personnel, including those aged between 35 years and 45 years, retire from the defence services every year.
This training is offered to both ex-servicemen and those on the verge of retirement.
Why the training
The course helps in giving an orientation into the way the corporate world works, says Captain Mathew, who recently retired from the Indian Navy. “We have to learn the language that you understand.” He is yet to decide on what career he wishes to pursue. “I can decide only after I go through the course,” he says.
The defence officers will be given an overview of core management subjects such as Finance, Accounting, Operational Structure, Micro Financing and Macro Financing. “We give a holistic view of management and an orientation about the way the corporate world works,” says M.S. Narasimhan, Chairman of IIMB’s Executive Education wing, which is conducting the course. “This training is sufficient for these motivated personnel to make a mark in the management field.”
Col. Rahul Katyar, who has served the Indian Army for more than 30 years, cites an instance of the ways of speaking the corporate language.
“In my bio-data, I can refer to myself as the CEO (Chief Executive Officer) of an army unit rather than Colonel,” he says and adds, “We have naturally learnt the methodology of management of the highest order. Defence personnel are used to fighting enemy under extreme conditions and achieve the goal. Earlier, we were preparing for war, where the risk of life was involved. Now, we have to prepare for growing in the market, which is not as risky as our earlier task.”
Second batch
The IIMB is training the second batch of defence personnel. Mr. Narasimhan said most of the 70 personnel who completed the course last year were recruited as investment advisors. “Generally, companies prefer defence personnel for administration and facility management,” he says.
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