Dear All, The letter is very clear about the five essential attributes for a graduate to become employable. I repeat them once again below not necessarily in the same order.
1. A good grasp of spoken and written English.
2. A thirst for learning and self improvement
3. Professional etiquette
4. Responsibility for one's career
5. Creative and critical thinking.
It is interesting to note that all these attributes do not demand higher education at all. For instance, much of the language learning is completed at the school level. Likewise, a thirst for learning and self improvement happens due to a sound learning environment of the home and the encouragement from the school.
Practicing professional etiquette is a product of the working environment. Companies that believe in professional ethics, transparency in decisions and communication encourage sound professional attitude in their executives. Some features of good professional etiquette can be imparted in the many finishing classes and do not demand any higher qualifications other than a basic degree.
Creative and critical thinking is fostered through various subjects that demand logical reasoning such as; Mathematics, a clear understanding of the usage and meaning of words, essay writing, debating, general knowledge of current affairs, a sense of History and Logic and some basic understanding of Geography and of course familiarity with Computers and the Internet. Critical thinking involving analysing, evaluating and synthsising can all be developed by the above studies.
As regards self development, it is a matter of keeping the right company and collecting varied experiences.
I am at a loss to understand why Corporates tend to go for people with higher education degrees when all that they are looking for are these essential attributes. I can well understand that they may desire people with good knowledge of some technical discipline but then why look for graduates with a general degree in Business. Surely, there is something amiss.
In my mind, the corporates look for people who begin to perform from day one and start delivering results with no additional input ( if they can manage). Somewhere the handholding between the corporate and the educational institution is incomplete
As far as the students go, if they don't have these essential traits before entering a higher education institution then they have very little hope to find a job that pays well and encourages professionalism. Expecting the students to acquire the erudition, critical thinking and professional attitudes in just two years of their life is expecting the impossible.
These are my personal views
Best regards,
K.Paranjpe
On Sun, 27 May 2012 08:24:08 +0530 wrote
>Dear Friends
A good read and assessment of Graduating students:
http://india.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/05/23/an-open-letter-to-indias-graduating-classes/
With warm regards
Anurag
Sent from my iPad
K.D.Paranjpe
Mumbai
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