Chandigarh, Panchkula, January 01, 2021: Post-COVID scenario has brought a dramatic change in the job market. Key speakers at the Satluj Career Fest 2020, stressed that with many losing their jobs and uncertainty looming large, there is a need to develop entrepreneurial skills.
5000+ students gained knowledge from over 500 Indian & International Universities
Region’s largest career fest ‘Satluj Career Fest’ was organized by Satluj Public School, Sector 4, Panchkula (a part of Satluj Group of Schools, with 14 branches across India; the newest being in Jammu and Derabassi, with an upcoming campus in Kurali, New Chandigarh) with an aim of guiding the students of class 9th to 12th and their parents about various career opportunities. This year, the event was hosted virtually, leading to not only a pan-India, but international reach with student registrations from all over the world. The official government partner this year for the festival was the State Government of Victoria, Australia, through their program ‘Study Melbourne’.
Counselors and foreign representatives from more than 500 universities, foreign and Indian. Over 5,000 students represented 100+ schools from India (including metros, tier 2 and tier 3 towns) and around the world during the career fest.
Reekrit Serai, Managing Director, Satluj Group of Schools, said “After brainstorming internally, we realized that students in non-metro cities and smaller towns face a lack of opportunities when it comes to quality higher education options. Also, there’s a lack of awareness about jobs and skills of the future. Thus, we decided to organize Satluj Career Fest to spread awareness. In the last year, we have seen a complete change in the education of students because of the pandemic which has led to online teaching. It has been hard on students also as they have not been able to go to the schools but learning hasn’t stopped though. Virtual education has become a norm this year which was not there till the last year and has changed the way we educate our children.”, said.
Krit Serai, Co-Chairman of Satluj Group of Schools, said, a lot of hard work went into the planning of Career Fest, which is one of the biggest career shows. He said, 20 plus panelists deliberated on various aspects that helped the youth to choose proper careers. “Career planning is very important in our lives and for a proper career choice planning must start at plus two-stage or even Class X. We have a variety of jobs for the youth available now”, he added.
The representatives from top Universities in the UK, US, Australian, Europe, and India including – Australian Catholic University, University of Melbourne, Florida Atlantic University, American University, University of Kansas, University of Fraser Valley, University of Essex, Queensland University of Technology, Auckland University of Technology, KREA University, Chandigarh University, Lovely Professional University, O.P. Jindal University, Ashoka University, Ahmedabad University, Amity University, among several others participated.
The inaugural session was on Jobs and Skills of the Future – Pre and Post COVID. Dr. SPS Grewal, Chairman, Confederation of Indian Industries—CII; Founder & Managing Director, Grewal Eye Institute, Chandigarh, while speaking stressed the right approach to choosing the careers and how it will be in the times to come.
Mr. Gurmeet Singh Chawla, Founding Director of Chandigarh Angels Network, while speaking on why upscaling is important than any year before, said, COVID has added to the complexities and has thrown a lot of people out of jobs. There will be more influence of technology in every job and there is a need to inculcate a sense of entrepreneurship because you can’t look at jobs as secure.
Mr. Amrinder Singh Kang, Co-Founder, Inquad, Director, New time Contractors and Builders Pvt. Ltd. and Secretary-General, Punjab Amateur Yachting Association, while speaking on the future of careers in the post-COVID world, said, children need to change their mindset. It is important to have an entrepreneurial mindset, he added.
In a session on undergraduate career pathways in Melbourne, Australia, Annie Santhana, Regional Director – Education Services, Victorian Government Office in India, said, international students are an important part of the community. More than 50 percent of Indian students who come to Australia come to Victoria. Australia is the second most popular destination among students looking to pursue education overseas.
Other panel discussions included, ‘Undergraduate Career Pathways in Melbourne, Australia’; ‘Evolution of Indian Higher Education and Challenges Faced Pre and Post-COVID’, New Education Pedagogy and Career Trends in the Post-COVID World’ and ‘Future Edification Pedagogy’. Interactions on Microsoft Teams were conducted by Krea University.