Workplace Readiness Curriculum

1. Workplace Readiness Curriculum

2. Agenda: • Discussion of Current Teaching Methods and Curriculum • The problem of workplace readiness at iMeritand other corporates • Planned topic areas for new curriculum • Workplace Readiness Centric Course Introduction

3. Current Workplace Readiness Scenario

4. Workplace Readiness: Needs at iMeritand other Corporate Placements

5. Barriers to Success: SUCCESS!

6. Barrier One: Skilling for the Job • Understanding the market • Motivation to learn Market Aligned Skills • Attending Class • Understand Corporate Culture

7. Barrier Two: Finding a Job • Job Search, CV Writing • Interviews • Understanding Job Descriptions

8. Barrier Three: Joining a Job • Students parents will not allow the student to move to find a job • Student does not have the funds to move to the city • Student is discouraged by entry wage salary • Students are uninterested in joining a job at the time of finishing course • Student is discouraged by living away from the family and their native place

9. Barrier Four: Retaining a Job: Situations in Which Students Quit • Students leave jobs because of fear of targets or other job pressures • Students see job as temporary and return to village for harvesting season • Students do not manage money well have to return to family, cannot manage costs of city living • Family pressures student to leave job and return to home • Student is displeased with money received and leaves job • Student is unable to manage the schedule of full time job (dislikes fixed hours and no napping, no regular food • Student dislikes living away from home, taking outside food, not being with friends ect. • Students are required to work at night or on shifts and are dissatisfied

10. Barrier Four: Retaining a Job: Situations are asked to leave their job • Student is unable to preform their job duties and do not have satisfactory skills • Students do inappropriate things at work ( impolite, bad hygieneor dress) • Students have problems with attendance

11. Barrier 5: Moving Forward in Your Career Path • Lack of awareness about educational opportunities to increase skills • Lack of motivation to search for further opportunities • Poor performance in job prevents promotion

12. Planned Topics for New Curriculum

13. 1. Learner Orientation and Introduction to the Course Meant for both students and guardians, snapshots of various courses being offered - Retail, IT/ITES, Patient Assistance etc. Advantages of regular employment and career path, setting rules like coming well-groomed for classes, valuing the Anudip program, the employer context, the student context, communicating expectations from guardians

14. 2. Baseline Assessment Psychometric Test and Group Discussions

15. 3. Personal Hygiene and a Healthy Lifestyle Daily bath, use of deodorant, shaving, difference between odonil and soap, concept of working lunch, haircut, daily exercise, food timings, healthy eating, office hygiene - sharing public spaces like toilets, sitting rooms, work stations etc. Do's and Don'ts when suffering from cold or fever - using tissue when sneezing, avoid touching others, blowing your nose loudly only in private, no belching

16. 4. Getting Ready for Work Formal dressing, conservative accessories, shoes, Shabby Look vs. Smart Look

17. 5. Environmental Awareness Why is environmental awareness important? Quick facts on environment. Environment friendly practices in office and home, cost optimizing, energy saving practices

18. 6. Goal Setting Learning to visualize dreams positively, preparing plan A/B/C, finding objectives, setting personal and professional goals and aligning them together, next steps in goal setting

19. 7. Motivation Success story of Prosenjit and Barnali, testimonials, What is motivation? Understanding needs and their impact on our motivation levels, how to keep yourself motivated despite difficult situations,

20. 8. Team Work Knowing team work nuances, team work and reporting up and down, inter-dependence

21. 9. Gender Equity Importance of both men and women contributing to the family income, Gender biases, the social and financial losses due to gender biases, advantages of breaking gender biases

22. 10. Diversity, Equality & Tolerance How diversity can lead to conflicts and how to rise above them, handling differences, equality and tolerance the way out

23. 11.Personal Space – Knowing Your Boundaries Being aware of self and others and knowing how to respect boundaries, understanding privacy cues, no shoulder surfing, rights and privileges, separating personal relationships from work synergy – informing supervisor while taking leave and not taking for granted

24. 12. Safety at the Workplace Public Transport, avoiding carelessness, handling equipment, Women Safety, Mobile Safety, photos of call centres girls, GPRS enabled vehicles, some helpline numbers

25. 13. Time Management Following log-in and log-out time, urgent vs. important work, preparing time table and weekly planners

26. 14. Organizational Structures & Management Why are organizations structured? How do structures work? Synergy among various departments.

27. 15. Roles and Responsibilities Understanding roles and responsibilities and trying best to fulfill them. Job descriptions and what do they mean? Consequences of ignored responsibilities, concept of deadlines. What are targets?

28. 16. HR/Admin in an Organisation Concepts of probation, appointment, leaves are privileges and not rights, salary components, PF, negotiating leaves and salary, ethics in negotiation, on-the-job training

29. 17. Understandingthe Office Work Culture Interacting with peers and juniors, irritants like not using garbage bins, security mandates like security checks, scans etc. cafeteria, avoid proxying, avoid duplication entries,

30. 18. Quality Awareness and Customer Satisfaction What is work quality? How work quality impacts customer satisfaction, finances and staff morale and makes you reliable, internal and external customers, experiencing good pen/toy and a poor quality pen/toy

31. 19. Job Ownership What is commitment to work? Why is it required? How job ownership impacts your personal outlook and behaviour towards larger issues.

32. 20. Mid-Term Assessment Psychometric Test, Group Discussions and Trial Interviews

33. 21. Looking out for career opportunities Networking, Job portals, newspaper, enquiring about a job,

34. 22. Communication Skills Basics of communication, types of communication, listening, speaking, silence etc.

35. 23. Curriculum Vitae Preparing a CV, never share bad experiences with previous employer, tips to keep it relevant and short, carrying the CV safely, not asking the CV back from employers, no spelling errors, signing the CV

36. 24. Self-Confidence and Assertiveness Repeating a question, Saying No!

37. 25. Body Language Correct body language - gestures, body posture, facial expressions, and eye contact. Practice sessions with an instructor.

38. 26. Interviews What does an employer seek in a candidate while interviewing, what are the pre-interview tasks to be completed, right practices during giving an interview, what are the steps to be taken after giving an interview. Right questions to be asked from the employer – difference between a daily wage labourer who enquires crudely about how much money, how many leaves Vs. a polished corporate job seeker asking for what will I be expected to do, where is the office located, what are my career prospects, how much can I expect as a remuneration, what is the leave policy etc.

39. 27. Dealing with Criticism Types of criticisms - constructive and personal. Giving criticisms and accepting criticisms,

40. 28. Performance Assessment Why is work assessed? Accepting performance appraisals in the right spirit, understanding reward mechanisms, treating appraisal results as learning opportunities

41. 29. Managing Stress Good and bad stress, how poor time management can lead to stress, ways to cope with stress

42. 30. Managing Money I Employment and earnings, spending, saving

43. 31. Managing Money II Planning, borrowing, money transfers

44. 32. Relocation for a better life and Staying Away from Home Long term advantages of relocation vs. short term disadvantages of relocation, benefits of staying in networking hub like Kolkata, social and financial benefits, static career vs. growing career, tips on managing homesickness and insecurity.

45. 33. Usefulness of Ambitions Case of Ramesh and Suresh, Impact of complacent attitude in the long run, breaking lazy habits and outlook, game on cumulative impact of opportunities lost through a simple afternoon snooze, setting the platform for future generations, love for lifelong learning

46. 34. Endpoint Assessment Formatted Group Discussion and Mock Interviews

47. Workplace Readiness-Centric Orientation Lesson 1

48. Work Readiness Session 1: Introduction and Orientation

49. Let us know each other! Name, Age Relation with the student Residence Occupation Interesting incident from life How did you come to know about the MAST program?

50. What is Work Readiness? Increase in skills and understanding related to: Occupations Self Understanding – motivation, self - confidence Career Planning, Decision Making Daily Living Skills – using phone, opening a bank account, shopping Positive Work Habits – punctuality, responsibility, follow instructions and complete tasks