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EDUCATION TRIBUNE | Tuesday, April 25, 2000, Chandigarh, India |
Career in airlines industry By Poonam Batth With increasing globalisation of economies, liberalisation and technological developments in civil aviation, new trends are emerging on the horizon. The technological, infrastructural, institutional, economic and human challenges have prompted those in charge of airlines and related aviation agencies to effect a shift in their policies and approaches pursued for years. In fact, civil aviation in the new millennium would be one of the biggest growth sectors. How to face exam blues Brisk
business at students cost |
Career in airlines industry With increasing globalisation of economies, liberalisation and technological developments in civil aviation, new trends are emerging on the horizon. The technological, infrastructural, institutional, economic and human challenges have prompted those in charge of airlines and related aviation agencies to effect a shift in their policies and approaches pursued for years. In fact, civil aviation in the new millennium would be one of the biggest growth sectors. Let us analyse how the air traffic will increase? Increase in the wealth of the people, dual income, increase in disposable incomes, desire to reach destinations at the earliest and to be away for short and long holidays have contributed towards growth in air travel. Further, travel is now supplemented by leisure with business. Already, 80 per cent of air travel worldwide are classified as tourism related. Deregulation also brings in price wars and end to monopoly or oligopoly, resulting in reduction of air fares, making it economical for the ordinary middle class to avail air passage. In India, already private carriers, like international airlines such as Swiss Airways, British Airways, Air France plan to increase the number of flights from India. Virgin Atlanta International has entered into collaboration with Air-India from September 2000. This all will give a tremendous boost to direct and indirect employment in the Airline industry. This has opened new vistas of career opportunities for the youth on the threshold of choosing a career after completing school or college education in spheres of ticketing sales, marketing, customer handling, product development strategies, press and media handling, preparation of publicity material, airport facilitation staff, check-in counter staff, baggage handling, guest management, customer facilitation travel guidance and information, food and beverages handling, engineering, maintenance and material handling, air traffic management, cargo handling, public relations, and as flight attendants. Those choosing airline as a career are expected to be warm, caring with a pleasing personality, sensible, intelligent, calm, possessing effective communication skills. They must be hardworking, confident, enjoy meeting others and open to various cultures and values, and courteous. Youngsters aspiring to join domestic airlines should have the minimum plus two level education, fluency in English and a regional language, between 18 and 27 aged. The minimum height for girls is 5ft 2 inches and for boys 5 feet 7 inches. The institute of Tourism
and Future Management Trends in Chandigarh conducts a
basic course in airline management. Besides the airline
essentials the course covers airlines ticketing, basics
of sales and marketing, tips in customer care, body
language and mock interviews, world and Indian geography,
general trends in domestic and international tourism and
computer applications in the airline Industry. |
How to face exam blues EXAMINATIONS are stressful. Students are smitten with varying degrees of anxiety ranging from fear to panic. After the event, while teachers spend time marking answer papers, students remain on pins and needles, awaiting the verdict. With examinations looming large at this time of the year, it may be helpful to examine what plays an important part in reducing examination stress. Of course, nothing can beat this more than by being thoroughly prepared to deal with the likely questions in the examination papers. Prepare your best but be prepared for the worst because this is how our examination system works. A positive mental state can improve your chances of success and scores. Enthusiasm, persistence and resilience are the three main factors involved in the attainment of any worthwhile objective. Why be put off attaining your own success in any field of your choice? Of course, there may already be better and more qualified men than yourself in the field, but why walk away? You can learn something for them. If you do walk away, then ask yourself: Why? Are you afraid to accept a challenge or defeat? Defeat is only temporary. Leading men today in any field had to make a start somewhere. So can you. No failure is final. And success is never ending. You can make it in any examination if you really want to. It is only the limits of your own imagination which hold you back. If you are one of those dissatisfied with the present-day conditions, there is nothing to stop you going abroad. On the other hand, if your roots are firmly set, then why not make a fresh start now? You wish to make something of your study you have had in mind for years but, so far, have not done anything about. Why not go ahead and do it now? The only reason that many of us do not better ourselves (and go on grumbling from day to day, perhaps putting up with the same monotonous and routine chores) is because we do not make any effort to better our lot. We are content to stagnate. Looking upon examinations as a gamble or speculation are no substitutes for conscious striving and individual effort. Gambling is a sure way of losing and inviting complications, and disaster. If everybody could decide just what it is he or she would like most from life there is no reason why you cannot have it. Nothing comes easy. No
worthwhile project is ever attained overnight. Sometimes
it may involve a long wait, perhaps years, but it comes
in the end. |
Brisk business at
students cost SONEPAT: Prestigious schools in this fast-growing industrial city are forcing students to buy textbooks and school uniforms from selected booksellers and garment dealers. The turnover from the business is believed to be in lakhs. There are 12 big and 60 small schools in this city known for quality education. Most of this business is conducted during the peak admission season of March-June. There is little doubt that some of these schools have a nexus with traders and businessmen. The modus operandi is simple. When admissions are held after a test, parents become an easy prey. When a child is cleared for admission, the school provides a list of books to the parents with the name of the bookstore. For the uniform, the name of a dealer is mentioned. One has to make payment to the school or to the uniform dealer even for the uniform that is required later during the winter season as the dealer continues his services the whole year. On an average, each student has to spent about Rs 2000 every year on uniforms, besides another Rs 1,000- Rs 1,500 on shoes, books and stationery. By conservative
estimates, the total turnover of this business is stated
to be several lakhs of rupees. |
Career hotline I would love to do a course in creative writing. Could you please tell me about the institutions offering such courses. Jitendar, Sangrur The following institutions offer 1-yr diploma courses in Creative Writing in English/Hindi: * Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), Maidan Garhi, New Delhi 110068. Eligibility: 10+2. Those without 10+2 can also enrol for the course if they are 21 yrs or above. * UP Rajarshi Tandon Open University, 17 Maharshi Dayanand Marg (Thornhill Road), Allahabad 211001. Eligibility: 10+2. I am a commerce graduate with basic computer knowledge. For some pressing reasons it is vital that I take up a job right away. What kind of work is involved in IT-enabled services? Harjeet Chaddah, Ferozpore As the name suggests, IT-enabled services are all those activities that are made possible by using information technology. These include e-commerce and internet- based call centres (e.g. a toll-free number to answer queries), medical transcription (which I have dealt with at length in my earlier columns), computer animation, back office operations, revenue accounting and creation of legal and other databases. Through effective telecom links - internet, satellite transmission etc., it is now feasible for companies in the US and other developed countries to subcontract work to India as English is extensively spoken here, and computer trained personnel are relatively cheap. Besides, the 10-12 hour time difference facilitates on-time delivery of the processed information. Presently a little over 25,000 people are engaged in IT-enabled services generating a revenue of Rs. 1,000 crore by way of exports. However, according to NASSCOM, an additional 1 million jobs can be created by positioning India as a leader in IT-enabled services. You must however realise that while it may all sound very hi-tech and the money may be decent, the work can be fairly basic - essentially requiring low-end computing and data entry skills. Except in cases where you need to be handling tricky complaints as part of customer service or persuading clients to stick to repayment deadlines call for diplomacy, presence of mind, excellent communication skills and persuasiveness of a high order. I am in second year BA. Could you please tell me about the job prospects after doing a course in Geography. Jaya Pathak, Chandigarh Depending on the area of specialisation at the postgraduate-level, avenues for geographers exist in cartography where they collect, combine and display cartographic information in the form of maps. They are also employed by public and private organisations engaged in urban planning and design, and by NGOs involved in rural development projects. You can also opt for a career in surveying, land valuation, environmental protection or conservation, landscape architecture, transport & tourism besides teaching at the school (there is a shortage of school teachers specialising in this subject) and at the university-level. The field of remote sensing is opening up new avenues for geographers and there are special short-term courses offered in this area. Since geographers are directly concerned with analysing variable data on the earths surface, this is likely to open up vast areas for analysis and research. An all-India database is on the anvil and geographers will be much in demand to interpret the data. Geographers are also employed as forest managers, demographers in government and research organisations or as researchers in agricultural or economic institutes. Besides geography being a popular subject for the Civil Services (Prelims & Mains) exams conducted by the UPSC, a background in this subject can also be an asset for a career in travel writing. I am interested in doing a degree course in Petrochemicals or Petroleum Engineering. Could you please tell me about the institutions offering such courses, eligibility criteria and the selection procedure. Abhijeet Dhawan, Mohali. The following institutions offer BE/BTech courses in Petrochemicals or Petroleum Engineering: * Amravati University, Deptt. of Chemical Technology, Near Tapovan, Amravati 444602. Eligibility: Class XII with PCM and English (50% agg) in PCM in the first attempt. Selection Procedure: Merit in the qualifying exam. * Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Technological University, PO Lonere 402103, Tal Mangaon, Distt. Raigad. Eligibility & Selection Procedure: Same as above. * Laxminarayan Institute of Technology (affiliated to Nagpur University), Mahatma Gandhi Marg, Nagpur 440010. Eligibility & Selection Procedure: Same as above. * Maharashtra Institute of Technology (affiliated to University of Pune), S. No. 124, Kothrud, Paud Road, Pune 411038. Eligibility & Selection Procedure: Same as above. * Bharathidasan Institute of Engineering & Technology (affiliated to Bharathidasan University), Tiruchirappalli 620024. Eligibility: 10+2 (PCM). Selection Procedure: Entrance test. * Aligarh Muslim University, Institute of Petroleum Studies & Chemical Engineering, Aligarh 202002. Eligibility: Intermediate with PCM and English securing 45% aggregate. Diploma-holders in Engg (2nd Div) from Aligarh Muslim University are also eligible. Maximum age: 23 years. Selection Procedure: Entrance test. * Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad 826004. Eligibility: Class XII with PCM and English. Maximum age: 22 years (27 years for SC/ST). Selection Procedure: IIT-JEE. I am doing BA (Hons) in Education. I wish to work as a counsellor in any spastic society. Could you please tell me if I have to do any specialised course. Virendra Kumar, Bathinda The Centre of Special Education, Spastics Society of India, conducts special courses and training programmes at its regional centres for those keen on a career in service of the spastics. Intensive programmes are offered in the areas of education, speech, physiotherapy and occupational therapy including parental counselling services. * PG Diploma in Education of Physically & Neurologically Handicapped Children. Duration: 1-yr. Eligibility: Graduation in Education/Psychology/Child Development/subjects required for secondary school teaching. Age limit: 38 yrs. * PG Diploma in Basic Developmental Therapy for Physically & Neurologically Handicapped Children. Duration: 1-yr. Eligibility: Graduation, preferably in Sciences. Age limit: 35 yrs. * Certificate in Special Education & Therapy for Rural Rehabilitation Workers. Duration: 6 months. * Non-formal training courses for rural and urban volunteers and workers in a range of subjects from screening and identification to rehabilitation. Duration: 1 week-3 months. * In-service training at all levels. * Short advanced courses for specialists. Duration: 2 weeks-3 months. However, while SSNI offers all the above-mentioned courses, not all of them are offered at the other regional centres. For further information, you may contact: * Spastics Society for Northern India, Balbir Saxena Marg, Hauz Khas, New Delhi 110016. Tel: 6569107, 6966331. * Spastics Society of Eastern India, Calcutta. Tel: 4783488/4177. * Rehabilitation Council of India (a statutory body under the M/o Social Justice & Empowerment), Bharat Scouts & Guides Building, 16, M.G. Marg, I.P. Estate, New Delhi 110002. * National Institute for the Mentally Handicapped (M/o Social Justice & Empowerment), P.O. Manovikas Nagar, Secunderabad 500009 (AP). This institute mainly offers courses in Mental Retardation for those with a pass in Class XII. This is your
column. Please feel free to e-mail your comments and
suggestions along with full name and address,
qualification etc.to: caring@theoffice.net |