The New Green Pastures

The movie ‘Three Idiots’ released a decade ago seems to have made a dramatic change in the way parents and children see their career. The craze to opt for engineering, medicine, banking and a few other traditional courses are waning away.

Many educationists, sociologist and psychologists have termed this phenomenon as ‘practical realisation’ by society. Reasons are many for not opting the traditional courses. One could be a shortage of jobs in these sectors.

In the last few years, all of us have witnessed, frustrated highly qualified and technically proficient youth applying for jobs like sanitary workers and office attendants. The economic slowdown is also keeping the youth from pursuing courses that have fewer chances of securing either a private or government job.

As a result, the children are picking up courses, which offer assured career opportunities. They are also opting courses that offer chances of succeeding if they opt for an entrepreneurial pursuit. Courses like film making, hotel management & catering technology, photography, spa management, wellness, make-up and hair academy, automation, biotechnology, modelling, social worker, researchers, paralegal, sports coach, physiotherapist, psychologist, ethical hacker are being pursued. A few courses that have recently caught on with the youth include hospital front office executive and billing executive, emergency medical technician and home health aide courses.

Even those students wishing to pursue traditional courses are keen to join institutions that offer the latest specialization. Like those wishing to pursue a course of software engineer seek specialization in artificial intelligence. Similarly, students of food technology are looking for marketing as part of their course curriculum.

Ron Elsdon founder of an organization in the career and workforce development fields and author of a book: How to Build a Nontraditional Career Path: Embracing Economic Disruption (Praeger, 2014); in an article says, “ A nontraditional career path offers an opportunity to integrate the emotional, intellectual, spiritual and practical parts of who we are. It can be a journey with delightful surprises, with kindred fellow travellers, that brings personal fulfilment and community benefit.”

The career today is no longer linked to money earned, but the happiness quotient involved in it. It is also connected to the passion of an individual.

Someone interested in handicrafts can pursue a course in traditional handicrafts and start a business. There is a huge opportunity in the leather industry with a course in leather technology.

The trend of picking up a non-traditional course for building a career was best explained by Aditi Sethi, an ex-student of Bal Bharati Public School GRH Marg. “I want to be an audiologist. Because I feel happy helping those who have problems with hearing. It was a conscious decision and I had told my parents that there is too much competition in other areas of medicine and my passion is to work on audiology.”

The government is also aware of this trend and has proposed special thrust on courses that are attractive to students. The Draft National Education Policy 2019 states: Vocational education is extremely vital for our country to run efficiently and properly, and thus it is beneficial to increasingly incorporate elements of vocational education into the school curriculum to expose children to its utility and its value as art. Indeed, some exposure to practical vocational-style training is always fun for young students, and for many students, it may offer a glimpse of future professions while for others it would at the very least help teach and reinforce the dignity of all labour.

N K Singh Director Information Security, Globaltech and Infosec and father of a child appearing for her 12th Board exam says, “Children of today follow their passion. Ethical hacking was taboo a few years ago. But today courses are being offered and children are interested in making a career out of it.”

The opportunities are vast and the new generation knows where their passion and career will merge. As parents, we can guide them towards it.

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Love and passion for food and an attitude to serve can lead you to a thriving hospitality career at BCA.

Bangalore Culinary Academy located at Hebbal, Bangalore offers advanced International culinary and hospitality education in India at the most affordable and lowest prices in all of Asia for the specific qualifications offered. The courses are all short term and provide a great opportunity for all categories of students starting from the fresh out of school youngsters to those looking at redefine goals and restarting a second career.

The academy offers International Diplomas in Culinary Art, Patisserie Art and in Hotel Management. There are options of pursuing two diplomas simultaneously saving time and money for students.

Academy, as the name suggests is an institute of higher learning and that is what BCA focuses on. Ensuring that students are professionally industry ready and well equipped to handle industry requirements by the time they pass out with their International Diplomas in hand. The academy focuses on employability of the students and international and domestic internships and placement options are available for students.

Started with eleven students, BCA has already trained over 300 students in a span of three years. The small batch size allows for individual attention to the students and helps groom them with intensive hands on training. The customized courses of BCA cover everything from basic to advanced levels of food production, pastry and hospitality, getting the learner ready to work in star establishments or as entrepreneurs.

BCA has developed a comprehensive curriculum in association with international accreditation bodies. This helps learners to garner the most advanced knowledge in hospitality, supported by international diplomas valid worldwide. Its well-equipped and completely modern training kitchens and labs allow students to practice using industry standard equipment and facilities that they will use in any reputed hotel or establishment.

The international diploma at BCA gives you the unmatched advantage. The academy has collaborated with leading certification bodies from the UK, to offer the academic certifications.

The Hotel Management Diploma offered by BCA is equivalent to a three year degree program and allows students to directly pursue your Master’s programs at universities abroad. In addition to that the Hotel Management students can progress to complete their last semester at IMI Switzerland and earn themselves a Bachelor of Arts with Honours in International Hotel and Tourism Management degree from IMI, Switzerland and MMU (Manchester Metropolitan University, UK) simultaneously. IMI, Switzerland also offers students from BCA guaranteed scholarships and extremely well paid internships.