Hindustan Times (Chandigarh)

How to maintain healthy friendship­s with everyone

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by your friend, it is important for you to give an assurance of being there in as much capacity as possible at the time.

AVOID FORMING DEPENDENCI­ES

This is essential both from your own perspectiv­e as well as your friends’ perspectiv­es.

It is not healthy to be emotionall­y, socially, or even psychologi­cally dependent on each other.

PROVIDE A LISTENING EAR

Often all that is needed is for you to be able to hear your friend out. Do not always be giving advice, but instead also try and be a sounding board for them at times.

ESTABLISH CLEAR BOUNDARIES

While friends are undoubtedl­y of immense importance, it is important to establish clear and strong boundaries, and not to let your own privacy be invaded.

Set clear limits, and also at the same time respect the other person’s limits.

Don’t forget to have fun! Undoubtedl­y, there can be no substitute for the fun to be had with one’s friends.

Therefore, do not hesitate to invest in your friendship­s, as true friendship­s can indeed last a lifetime, and can also serve as a life support in times of need!

STRIKE A BALANCE

Last, but not the least, remember that balance is the key to life and there is no denying that the balance needs to be maintained from both sides.

Whether you are the one giving opinions or you are on the other end, it is imperative that everything be said, done and absorbed with a pinch of salt.

There is a need for exerting one’s own reflective thought process and utilizatio­n of prudence in making any choices or decisions. Friends are important but they cannot assume a position of omniscienc­e about one’s life. With a population of roughly 1.25 billion, of which more than twothird is under the age of 35, India possesses a huge demographi­c dividend with the potential of becoming the manpower capital of the world.

The country has taken great strides in the developmen­t of the education sector and the number of institutio­ns as well as student enrollment had grown over the years. However the country is far from realizing its potential as the manpower capital due to the rampant lack of employabil­ity. Studies by a leading employment solutions company and by the industry body ASSOCHAM have found that barely 7% of all engineerin­g and MBA graduates are employable.

Employable skill or the lack of it is a major contributo­r to such a dismal rate of employabil­ity. Our education system overtly focuses on the developmen­t of theoretica­l education and skill developmen­t has been neglected for a long time.

The current government has emphasized a lot on skill developmen­t programmes and a new ministry (Ministry of Skill Developmen­t and Entreprene­urship) was up set up in 2015 in our Country.

Efforts have been made by the Government in promoting skill developmen­t program across the country however in order to envision India as Worlds Skill Capital more and more PPP models should be promoted by the Government.

In a highly globalized world, there is an increasing demand for skilled workers and about 90% of employment opportunit­ies today require vocational skills.

Contrast this with the situation in our country where on 20%3 of all graduates gets meaningful employment. In order to increase employabil­ity and to realize the country’s potential as the human resources capital of the world, it is critical that skill developmen­t and training is developed and due focus is paid to the sector.

For skill training to be truly effective there is a need for skill education to be integrated into the school curriculum. This will enable students to learn about a trade progressiv­ely over the course of a few years.

This will ensure a more holistic understand­ing of the trade and extension of better quality skills. As it is, the current system of out of school vocational training is low on efficiency mainly because of the short duration of courses and palletized training.

As with any form of education or learning such as music, dance or even the formal education, it is best for skill training to be introduced early as it will allow students to build interest in a trade, gain confidence about his skills and also build a broadbased pool of skilled resources that can power the growth engines of our country.

Introducin­g skill training early in schools will also enable the students to learn and appreciate multiple trades before identifyin­g a trade of their choice upon which they wish to build a career.

About 15%4 of the roughly 300 million children enrolled in primary schools across the country reach the university level. Where do all these school dropouts go without education nor training in any skill.

As is evident from cited statistics, not all engineerin­g graduates make for good engineers or MBA’S qualified managers. The reality is that while some students will certainly excel in academics, the others may have a knack for certain trades.

Each individual has his/her own innate skill sets. Introducin­g skill training early at the school level will have the dual benefits of arresting the problem of high drop outs in schools while at the same time help build a talent pool of skilled manpower, trained and ready to join the workforce.

The shortage of skilled workers is a global phenomenon with studies indicating a shortage of upto 50 million skilled manpower by 20205. India with its demographi­c advantage is likely to be the only nation with such a surplus of skilled manpower that can meet the global shortage of skilled manpower.

For that to become a reality, skill training needs to be strengthen­ed, and mainstream­ed into the education system, and for that schools have to play a very big role.

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