When Shaik Khaja Mohiddin bagged a job as a Data Entry Operator at an MNC, he was both thrilled and wary. Thrilled because he had bagged a job and wary because frankly, he has no idea what actually it would entail. But when he started working, he experienced another feeling altogether. "After a few days, I was doing the work of an office boy. I kept wondering why I am struggling like this?" recalls the youngster who was born and brought up in Guntur.
After several sleepless nights, he was able to talk to his manager, who understood both his skills and feelings. Soon, he became the HR Coordinator. Being the first graduate from his family, this job was important to him and he came to realise, he was not alone. "I started meeting many people whose job roles were different from what was on paper and then there were also those who were hired but not paid. There were also those who were working in a field completely different from their job role," says the 22-year-old. He took the help of his friend who was an HR in a Bengaluru-based company and understood this is a problem that many young graduates face.
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With a desire to start his own company, but without the requisite know-how, Shaik signed up for the Social Start-Up Fellowship programme by PwC India and The School for Social Entrepreneurs (SSE) India. "It was a big achievement for me to get selected, come out of my city and learn about things like business, social impact, sustaining business models and so much more," exclaims the youngster who chose Hyderabad to establish his social enterprise, Job Genie with Co-founder Yosuf Mohammad.
At NGS Professional Academy in Madhapur, Shaik organises two kinds of courses. First, is the basics of computers, which if you ace, you earn credits. And with credits, you can unlock advanced courses like Digital Marketing, Business Management and more. "A credits system builds accountability in students. If I offer it for free, no one will care," says Shaik and informs us that these courses are for anyone who has dropped out from education or wants to upskill their knowledge. He also offers the example of offering computer fundamentals courses and upon clearing it, offering a C language course which can be unlocked with credits.
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This model has already been successful as Bounce, the scooter rental start-up, has hired six people from their academy. "I asked them to take the candidates for three months, which will be their prohibition period. I even asked them not to pay me if it doesn't work out," shares Shaik, but it did work out wonderfully. The aim is to go digital soon so that they can reach out to more and more people.
Talking numbers
7.8%
The unemployment rate rose to 7.8 per cent in February 2020
Oct 2019
This is the highest since October last year
The highest rate of unemployment were recorded in Tripura and Haryana
