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The right decision
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An appointment with former president Abdul Kalam inspired Amber Ahuja to write a book on career choices
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SUCKED INTO THE WHIRLPOOL Amber Ahuja: ‘I went through the whole thing and became part of the system’
Amber Ahuja met former President Abdul Kalam in 2004 for a ten-minute appointment which lasted for 45. Ahuja asked Kalam about the dynamics of the ambitious “Vision 2020” and how it will be achieved by 2020.
“What do you do?” asked Kalam of Ahuja. The management graduate replied he is a consultant with the University of New South Wales. The former teacher remarked, “You work with a university and you don’t teach?”
He continued, “Vision 2020 can only be made possible if Indians identify and contribute to its mass development.” Ahuja asked him how he can be part of this goal and contribute. Ahuja always had his eye on India and kept himself abreast and updated with the trends of economy and unemployment.
He realised that unemployment was growing at an alarming pace because education in India has been modelled on a “mass level – not to meet the requirements of individuals”. He says, “The formal Indian education system in place does nothing to tap the skills of each individual, whereby young students are not aware of his or her potential.” Ahuja believes that education should be changed to suit individuals who then go on to make an “informed career decision”.
So that’s when he started working on Be Inspired – Make an Informed Career Decision, a project which took him three years to research and compile. The book records the life stories and achievements of personalities from diverse fields — from fashion designers J.J. Valaya and Ritu Beri and mountaineer Bachendri Pal to musician Shankar Mahadevan. “I analysed their responses and then gathered the essences and key things that goes into making people successful.”
From the market side, Ahuja found that there was “an integration between the old and new sectors”. “Industries require new skills from time to time.” He found that these same industries crash after a certain point of time. “The BPO industry may not be there for all and for a sustained duration. Now, there is a rush of people on a contractual basis.”
Ahuja formulated three basic premises – that from the policy’s point of view, education will have to be redesigned, that individual production has a cascading effect and that making an informed career decision comes under the influence of “O factors” like parents, teachers and peers.
“You need to filter out the O factors,” says Ahuja. “Nobody cares about the individual – they are being ignored.” He asserts, “We must address this issue.” He finds that when it comes to getting a degree and a job, concern lies in “how much money can be made”. “It’s less about the degree, and more about human-survival skills.” He finds that nobody thinks about long-term satisfaction and happiness.
The 252-page paperback, published by Rupa and Co., is priced at Rs. 295.
AYESHA MATTHAN
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