Mind the Gap

There are many gaps in our individual and social life, such as the generation gap, the credibility gap between leaders and followers in all walks of life, the micro gap between our inhalation and exhalation, regarding which there are principles and books like “Mind the Gap”.

The gap that is actually of more concern is the gap between the formal education imparted in the institution from KG to PG and the actual world of work! A graduate in any faculty literally knows nothing about the atmosphere, human relations, work culture, job expectations, etc. as a result of which he gets badly exposed not only at the interview, but also when he starts his job.

It has been the experience of battalions of novices and apprentices in technical education that they get completely lost in labyrinth of problems, just as Abhimanyu of Mahabharata was caught in Chakravyuha. They have studied the structures and functions of machines in textbooks or college labs or workshops. But the industrial atmosphere of work involving so many machines, softwares, different mechanisms, several instructions and above all the uniformed workers literally stun the new entrants . These proud products of educational institutions are completely at a loss to know what is happening around them. At the same time a minimum of training required for the industry is given in a month or so and the employee is adequately fit for smooth functioning of the firm.

What are the means of improving this sorry situation? How to mind the gap?

  • First and foremost is bridging this gap between formal education and day to day tasks in industries. In simple words, the eligible candidates (with fairly impressive CV) should be   made employable. For this, internship period during academics should be made longer.
  •  To make studies worthwhile from industrial point of view, subject specialization could start from the start of the semester itself.
  • A novel idea of sandwich courses could be effective in this case. Many new industries or startups are coming up. When added to already existing industries they offer
    abundant scope for starting such courses under the joint auspices of colleges and universities wherein students can be given education in college followed by  actual field work and    work experience.

In short, this technical educational institutes should approach industries of all types and in return industries should come down to colleges for fulfilling their requirements by training young candidates for their general and specific requirements.
As it is said, the walls between town and gown should crumble down; similarly we can say the gap between the ivory tower (universities) and industrial gear should be mixed at the earliest. This is not a pipe dream but a practical and practicable vision!

-Miss. Shreyas Gawde (Asst. Prof, ETC department , SRIEIT Shiroda)