Have you ever met yourself and experience deja vu…or lemme put it in a rather simpler way…have you ever met someone who is in the same situation, you were sometime back in your life…?
Well…I did. And I enjoyed walking down the memory lane and refresh memories.
Lemme tell you what it is about in detail.
The other day, after finishing an exhaustive meeting at my office, I strolled down till the nearest cafeteria for some relaxing time and a soothing cup of coffee…
I like this particular place because it is thronged by people of all age and that makes it a place to watch for. There come students who discuss their projects in groups, with thick books and notepads, and there are professionals with their swanky laptops making presentations over cups of steaming coffee and cheese sandwiches. And then there are elderly couples and young love birds…
As usual, I went up to my favorite corner table and ordered a nice cappuccino. The place looked extremely busy with waiters running from pillar to post to complete orders and I guessed I will have to wait for my cuppa. But I couldn’t care to complain as I would flip the pages of this paperback.
I was almost settling down with the book when I noticed a bunch of students sitting right next to my table. I couldn’t help but overhearing these 4 college kids, discussing vehemently about their ‘future’, which according to them was not so bright, though they dropped big college names, as their alma mater. I didn’t take much time to realize that their problem was not the institutes they were studying from but the lack of direction. These kids were smart, intelligent and were pursuing courses which were up to date but still, there was something missing.
I just couldn’t sit there and listen to their conversation, and decided to help them out…because when I started out on my ‘career’, I too had a Good Samaritan to help me out. I invited them over for a coffee. Initially they were surprised and clueless as well on the invitation, but I guess their desperation and a bit of intuition led them to my table. I ordered some cold coffee with dollops of ice-cream for them and lend my ears to their ‘problems’.
Ashish and Nisha were design students from a reputed institute while Ravi and Kiran were pursuing their Graduation from Commerce stream. They all looked promising yet disappointed at the same time. In no time, I figured out that here were 4 individuals who were raring to go but had no plans on how to go about it.
While Ashish and Nisha were learning the designing basics, Kiran and Ravi were taking down lectures endlessly.
‘So what is it that really bothers you…’, I asked.
They retorted, almost in shared voices, ‘don’t know actually…but we feel there has to be something extra, as an added qualification, which may help us get the edge in the much competitive world, we are living in…’
‘How about getting into IT…may be the basic course…’, I suggested.
‘Yeah…may be…but IT is for engineers and IT professionals, isn’t it…’, they replied in a confused tone.
Obviously, these guys were fairly unaware about the IT as a tool and how much it can help them in excelling in their respective fields.
‘You know, I am not an engineer. I started out as a Trainee, and today I am an IT consultant with top IT giants…now does that change your opinions…’. I started a new thread.
They were amazed and I had prepared my ground to further the conversation.
Do you know there are many institutes today that impart basic and advanced level IT ‘training to youngsters like you…’, I asked.
They were clueless…they did drop some names but to no use. They never actually tried to probe further about the institutes and courses.
‘Look…there are some really good institutes that are really helpful in furthering careers. NIIT is one of them. It has GNIIT course especially for students like you, who want to go an extra mile for their careers. In fact I am an alumni from NIIT…’, I declared.
They looked curious. I continued. ‘NIIT is recognized as a pioneer in IT education and its GNIIT program is among the best long term courses offered by the IT institution in India which starts from the scratch and is excellent for beginners like them. Besides, NIIT has world class study material that is prepared by a team of experts. One critical element, which most of the IT institutions miss is updating of the courses. But the GNIIT course curriculum is upgraded regularly to keep the courses industry ready with the changing technology’.
I also told them that one of the companies I give consultation to, have recruited 8 GNIITians and all are placed good as their knowledge is in sync with present day tools and technology. Of course it was the efforts of NIIT in getting them placed in a top company. One fantastic thing about GNIIT is that apart from imparting technical education to the candidate the institute also tries to improve the personality of the candidate.
They looked skeptical. They certainly didn’t want to leave their respective fields and become Software engineers or programmers. I sensed their inhibition and suggested GNIIT’s Business Systems and Information Management program.
‘But what is Business Systems and Information Management and how is it relevant to us?’ Nisha asked.
Now that was an interesting question. I took all the pleasure answering that. Actually I can’t resist queries like these and slip into my IT consultant self effortlessly. So I stated…
‘The key to thriving in a competitive marketplace is staying ahead of the competition. Making sound business decisions based on accurate and current information takes more than intuition. Data analysis, reporting, and query tools can help business users wade through a sea of data to synthesize valuable information from it – today these tools collectively fall into a category called ‘Business Intelligence’. GNIIT’s Business Systems & Information Management program teaches just that.
Guess my efforts paid off. The kids were convinced and they finally asked me how to go about it. I think my job was over. I got the address for the NIIT centre in the city and handed it to them.
And you know what…kids had all the praises for me in this world. Well…all’s well that ends well. But our meeting ended on a greater note. Since I invited them for a coffee, I paid the bill for theirs but they bought me my cappuccino and gifted me this cool Tshirt…now how cute is that.
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