The Hindu Business Line : There's a career beyond IT

While the buzz words on the job front today appear to be IT-enabled services, out-sourcing, media and entertainment, and retail, the actual list is long and multi-layered.

Ganesh Chella of Totus Consulting says that the boom years for the software industry saw a number of people enter the market, as the offshore function of the model followed had very few entry barriers. "Several people made huge money, and the story was good for a while." But for the IT industry today, the cent per cent growth years are over. With demand for software professionals dropping, preferences for IT-related courses are decreasing.

And yet, 2001, considered to be one of the worst years for the industry, still saw a 30 per cent growth, which is good, when one considers that with old economic businesses even a 10 per cent growth is considered positive. "The IT industry will soon stabilise and become like any other economic sector or industry in the country, with the same opportunities," says P.K. Mohapatra, President and Chief Executive, IT and Telecom Business Sector, RPG Enterprises. Instead of waiting at the doors of educational institutions to lap up people, IT companies are now choosing `good' graduates. "A mere certificate from some hole-in-the-wall institute will not work," he says.

Dedicated development facilities, centres set up by companies to take care of the software requirements of the parent company exclusively are doing well.

"The rate of absorption of engineering students into the job market has also slowed down thanks to the present recession. There just isn't enough room for the sheer numbers that are churned out," says P.V.R. Murthy, CEO, Exclusive Search Recruitment Consultants, who points out that the service sector is opening up and is actually overtaking the manufacturing sector.

Economy sectors such as FMCG, hotels, the food industry and entertainment may not do any dramatic large scale hiring, but they are stable and dependable. They also act as feeder industries to other employment areas and businesses. An old economy sector such as manufacturing still continues to absorb people. Mohapatra says in the past people were hired cheap in this sector, as the wage levels in this country for 40 years after Independence were `abysmally low'. There was also a tendency to hire more people than required.

India began to open up in the 1990s, and the arrival of a large number of multinationals raised the bar of wage standards. The old economy sectors had to improve efficiency by improving productivity standards, which also meant they had to cut deadwood. The word `redundancy' became more common as also `hire and fire' and the dreaded pink slip. K.Pandia Rajan, Managing Director, Ma Foi Management Consultants, says IT enabled services went from 26,000 jobs last year to 40, 000 this year. Human capital has become crucial in `sunrise' industries like education, telecom services, life sciences, bio-technology, nano-technology, finance and banking, retail financing, actuarial, feet-on-the-street services, and health care. Construction, logistics, media and entertainment and NGO and consulting services also offer career prospects.

Chella talks of exciting prospects for the future, leading to careers — openings in geriatric and child care, home management and garment factories. Lawyers are in demand as people and organisations are becoming more litigation minded. Murthy speaks of still untapped career sources in India. Jewellery design business is one. India absorbs nearly one-fourth of the jewellery produced in the world, but the numbers designing it are limited. Home management, with agencies who control an army of good electricians, plumbers, and the like, is a growing sector, especially if organised and run professionally. The textiles segment is also poised for growth and needs fresh talent.

The economy at certain levels is growing; purchasing power is increasing, and patterns of interest are also changing, as are conservative notions about spending money. Medicine is a good career option, especially if young people are willing to venture into rural areas. The establishment of polyclinics and paramedical centres is being promoted by certain states. Certain specialisations within the field of dentistry are also particularly popular. Biotechnology is also a viable career option with an increasing connection with IT.

If wages are matched competitively in the market, one will see more interest and talent emerging in alternate fields.

Mohapatra says that there is still a continuing demand for certain Indian professionals abroad — teachers and nurses, and a new emerging breed, the `home manager'. This is really a watered down version of the governess of old, and requires basic education and communication skills in dealing with old and young. There is now talk of setting up training centres for home managers, and frontline staff in areas such as retail and tailoring.

As for other alternate careers, Bamini Narayanan of Shilpi, a boutique in Chennai, says there are good career options in the fashion industry for young people who are innovative and enterprising in design and execution. Those who can set trends and combine savvy, comfort, power dressing with ethnicity, instead of merely aping western fashion trends, and succumbing to a certain global `sameness' of look, have great opportunities ahead. "Why don't we come up with an answer to blue jeans?" she asks.

People are turning to ready-made clothes increasingly, and are willing to pay for quality, a good cut and aesthetic sense. This industry has both big and small players, with huge manufacturing units and big names on one hand, and small outlets within neighbourhood shopping contexts, which operate on easy access, and personalised relationships between buyers and sellers. There are hi-end designers with immense talent. There are scores of outlets of various sizes. "Most people do not sink in too much capital initially. Often they start with a little material and a couple of darzis, and they build on it very successfully," she adds.

This industry, although based on personal skills of taste and design, is getting more `knowledge' or technology-based, and increasingly demands professionalism. Bella Manoj, faculty member at the National Institute of Fashion Technology, Chennai, agrees that the fashion industry is a multi-layered place of opportunity. The industry includes fashion designing, various forms of merchandising like creative window display, sourcing and supplies, production lines, sampling according to prototypes, fashion co-ordination dealing with designers, models, the media, (although in India, this task is usually handled by choreographers, creating an opening for professionally trained fashion co-ordinators). There's also fashion journalism and faculty in institutes. She says fashion is not just about clothes. It involves understanding markets and social milieu, studying the usage patterns in different segments of society, understanding shopping styles and patterns, and how open people are to international trends.

Indian textiles, bead-work, embroidery styles, prints and our gypsy wear are used all the time by top fashion houses the world over. "So we do have answers to `blue jeans'... we just don't seem to realise it." The fashion world is shrinking globally, with free flow of information and increase in travel. Opportunity within this industry is fairly equally distributed gender-wise, with just a few more women than men. Pay scales today are competitive with other industries. The fashion industry is closely linked to the entertainment industry.

Graduates here do not limit their field only to fashion. Many students find their way into the software industry as graphic designers, or branch into designing interiors, and some even enter event management. Hi-fashion is really on one extreme end of the scale, in reach only of a certain social group that has the money and the lifestyle to patronise this world. There is a conscious effort to link the fashion industry with the handloom and cottage industries, thus preserving traditional age-old parampara of textile crafts. "The industries have to support each other through a sharing of technology, tradition and innovation," says Bella. Export industries also contribute to this.

Modelling is a competitive career option, but not very popular, and definitely is not a `dumbed down' profession as sometimes perceived. It isn't just about a pretty face — it has much more to do with attitude and personality. Suguna Swamy, Creative Director, Ogilvy and Mather, says that there is a huge need for professional casting agencies. Casting houses are a great career option, and one can get started right away with enough capital to set up a small studio and acquire a handy cam or digital camera.

Some of the bigger houses in cities such as Mumbai display portfolios on the net. Commercials need people of all ages, so there are many choices open.

According to film director, Rajiv Menon, the entertainment industry is an immense source of potential employment. It has various branches — print, television, advertisements, web pages, storage and distribution of entertainment from all over the world, requiring managers with both knowledge of the medium and creative judgment; distribution along with co-branding, accounts planning, visual technology, various support services including all aspects of media technology, and an emerging new field of live entertainment. The field of radio and FM, which displays on-air talent, and requires editors and engineering staff is yet another prospect. Entertainment is an exploding field, highly technology based, in which training and skill along with knowledge of the vernacular, ethnicity, and Indian archetypes ensure a high rate of success. He says that for Indians, obsessed with the telling of stories and being `urban centric with mofussil understanding', this area provides a great platform.

Today, professional training is gaining ground, as the old days of being a wild card, with a lone ranger mentality and just `getting into films' on gut instinct are on the wane. This means great opportunities for both educators and students, with more courses providing organised training not only in cinematography and film technology but also in acting, make-up, style, and art direction.

"The entertainment industry is almost like an FMCG," Menon points out, adding that its management dynamics are like those in any other industry. "You are basically dealing with people, and need to understand temperament". Entertainment is a specialist field where there is scope for flexibility, freedom and personal initiative.

B. Hema Kumar, Personnel Manager, ITC's Park Sheraton Hotel in Chennai, says that opportunities in the hospitality industry saw an all-time low recently because of Sept ember 11, threat of an Indo-Pak war and general economic recession. But things are improving and the industry is getting more professional, demanding trained personnel.

Apart from diploma and degree courses, there are also a number of one-year and two-year courses in areas such as kitchen, F&B, housekeeping and accommodation operations.

These are offered by some universities, but primarily by catering institutes. Some big chains run their own catering institutes, with some guarantee of absorption. Computer skills and knowledge of English and regional languages, and in the bigger hotels, a foreign language or two, are assets. This is a highly manned, labour intensive sector with a high room-to-employee ratio. Until recently, the industry was perceived as poor paymasters, but Kumar says salaries and other facilities have now improved.

The food industry is booming, and the international chains which have come in to cash in on the changing food habits of Indians, have opened up new opportunities. Food technology, with the processed and ready-to-eat food industry growing, accompanied by nutrition, is also a good career choice.

There are two things that young people look at while making career decisions — money, and brand value, the latter adding value to one's bio-data, and worth. K. Pandia Rajan says that the very nature of employment is transforming. The work ethic has changed, and allows for people to change jobs, move between companies and even take time off to re-think career plans. Migration of talent today actually brings business back into the country. This is no longer a one-way departure, but a circle.

From assuming or demanding security, both employer and employee are comfortable with flexibility today. Murthy says that people are slowly beginning to accept unemployment as a passing phase, with no stigma attached. Part-time jobs are on the rise, as is the concept of moonlighting and holding multiple jobs.

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