The future of jobs is the biggest challenge we are facing. To overcome it, student-centric learning should be adopted, which includes teaching entrepreneurship. Lectures/professors should be mentors and they should also keep learning,” said Shobha Mishra Ghosh, Assistant Secretary General, FICCI, New Delhi.
She spoke to students of MBA, BBA, BCA, Science & Humanities, and Science & Technology at the fourth edition of Dr. Paarivendhar Lecture Series held at SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Kattankulathur. She addressed students on the topic, ‘Future Jobs in India and the Role of Universities’.
Welcoming the gathering Dean, School of Management, Dr. V. Ponniah said, “In future it will be difficult to judge jobs and hence this lecture will throw light on what to expect and how to cope up with the change. Supply and demand are affected by various factors. So it is the knowledge and expertise of the student that needs to be changed and updated.”
In his presidential address, Founder-Chancellor of SRMIST, Dr. T. R. Paarivendhar said, “The scope for the job in the future is going to change. Such lectures are useful than classroom teaching. To improve your knowledge it is important to listen to such talks. Students should show more interest as it gives ideas and exposure about yourself, how to speak with people and know what is happening around you. It could also help in your campus interview.”
“We are trying to develop and nurture you with lots of information so that you can face this world in several methods and ways. To do this, the response of students is also important. Students can form clubs and associations to attend such lectures. This is equal to reading several books. If you stop learning, you stop living.”
Focusing on the purpose of education, Shobha Mishra Ghosh said, “Apart from knowledge, employable skills, research, and innovation, it is important to evolve, be an aware and empathetic human being.” She added that our education system should contribute towards making students a good human being. This implies to thinkers & philosophers, entrepreneurs & professionals, scientists & researches.
Everyone is talking about innovation. We should also see if this innovation is solving issues and problems that we are facing. If we think students are going to be passive learner then how can we think about collaboration? She questioned.
Talking about key global changes in the present scenarios, she highlighted the impact of climate change, exponential technologies, growing protectionism, urbanization, demographic on the future jobs in India.
We are now in the fourth industrial revolution and the change from the third to the fourth took place in a very short time. The transition to the fifth stage will be in less than three years she emphasized.
“The effective working age of the population is reducing. The use of robots and cobots is gaining more popularity thereby replacing people. Now in developed countries, people will spend more time on leisure activity. This is something that we need to pay attention to as a developing country. Soon customers are going to play a vital role in the manufacturing sector. Hence having a set of skills and upskilling in the need of the hour.”
Speaking on how we are still lagging behind in our education system, this FICCI official said, “Our education still remains in the second revolution stage. Only a handful of counties have moved on to cater to the needs of the present time. Although India has advanced well in terms of rapid urbanisations, technology adaptation, we still need to harness our rural economy which contributes to 16% of our GDP.
Highlighting the workforce matrix 2022, she elaborated the 9% would be deployed in new jobs that do not exist today, 37% would be in jobs that have radically changed skill set and 54% will fall under the unchanged job category. These changes will primarily be in IT/BPO, automobile, banking and insurance, textile and apparel, retail. Most jobs will die away and give way to 55 unique jobs roled across eight technologies such as VR, IoT, Big Data Analytics, AI, Robotic Process Automation, 3D Printing, cloud computing, social & mobile.
Speaking on the new age pedagogy, this FICCI officer said, “The changing paradigm in our education has led to new age pedagogy. This leads to global classrooms, experiential learning, and addressing diverse learners. Universities should teach students to think and be aware of what is happening around themselves. The learning in this 21st century is different and the faculty and management should also adopt themselves. Mentors should also take up different calibers of teaching. Many institutions are not adopting the latest technologies. Faculty also should not shy from learning from students. Our system only looks at the learning ability. There are nine types of intelligence and we should see that and harness it accordingly. The creative economy has transcended into several sectors including IT, therefore our universities should also focus on liberal education.”
“Women's participation should increase. No country in this world has developed without the participation of women in the workforce,’ she concluded.
Also present on the occasion were Vice Chancellor of SRMIST Dr. Sandeep Sancheti, Pro VC (EA) of SRMIST Dr. R. Balasubramanian, Member of the Board Prof. B. Raghavan, Director Corporate Relations S. Ganapathy, Faculty of SOM Bhaskar, faculties, and students.
