Inside
Life…POST COVID19
[Episode 1]
Ameya Vanjari Head – Technology & Innovations
Kitchen Ventures
Strive@Pune The Monthly Newsletter exclusively Published for Pune April 2020/Year 3 Edition 4-24
Anita Rajan CEO Tata STRIVE
Volunteering team from Tata Communications
In Collaboration with
FROM EDITORS DESK Hi Friend, Last 45 days have really been engaging and a learning experience for many as the Facilitators conducted online training sessions on the course modules, conducted SME sessions and interacted with the parents as well. At the same time, even our Facilitators were engaged in many Self-development & Value addition activities themselves. There is a lot of work happening on the Content as well where in our Facilitators are playing a big supportive role. Employees from Tata Communications, Pune participated in the Volunteering – Mentor together event at the Pune Center (just before the lockdown started) and for the very first time, few of our Alumni got a chance to interact with the Volunteers and share their experiences. The team from Tata Communications were quite excited and glad to hear them and even the mentoring sessions were quite interactive. There is always a learning element for the learners to hear from a Mentor with a practical (hands-on) exposure. This edition of strive@pune becomes special as we managed to pull in our CEO Anita Rajan to pen down her skill story during this lockdown. Check out how she manages to catch up on her culinary skills during her ‘Kitchen Ventures’. You will surely be interested to read on how the Life is going to be post COVID19 for most of us, as Ameya Vanjari, (Head Technology & Innovation – Tata STRIVE) takes a peep at how the life is going to change once the lockdown eases out and life comes back on the road again. Keep sharing your feedback. I will request all enthusiast writers, who wish to contribute to strive@pune should feel free to write. We will really be happy to publish them here. Stay Safe & keep reading!
Sameet Joshi Cluster Manager - West
THINK ABOUT IT
“In order to create an engaging learning experience, the role of instructor is optional, but the role of learner is essential.” Bernard Bull In Collaboration with
COVER TRAIL Volunteers from Tata Communications were at our center as a part of the TATA Volunteering DRIVE. Last month, we had 18 members from different divisions of TATA Communications at the campus. Ravi Shirgaonkar, VP GTNOG - Automation welcomed all the volunteers. He emphasized on the need for volunteering and how this activity is a part of TATA DRIVE. His insight about the satisfaction and realization one receives on and purpparticipating in such activities was endearing and gave meaning ose to all the other participants attending the program. Our learners briefed them on the Counselling process, Coaching and mindfulness exercises, spoke about what they learn during their respective Domain and YDM sessions and how different aspects of training is helping them to shape up as a professional. The volunteers mentored 90 learners from 5 batches. They shared their personal experiences with regards to their career path and the challenges they came across in their career journey. They also shared their knowledge on confidence building, effective communication skills etc. The learners were filled with motivation and zeal in synergy with their mentors. For the first time ever we had our alumnus interact with the volunteers. Akshata Satpute (ABT), Sapna Karad (BFSI) & Ketan Bagade (AAD) spoke about their journey at Tata STRIVE and about their profession, their challenges, success and aspirations. Prem Kishore, AVP TCTSL - Corporate conducted the debriefing session, wherein he encouraged volunteers to give their feedback about the activity. We received valuable suggestions and feedback from the discussion. We at Tata STRIVE look forward to many such activities wherein the Employees get to work closely with us voluntarily in Unique and different ways and thereby go back with a Life changing experience.
CREATIVE CORNER PRANALI JADAV BDE_0191 KAJAL WAGH ALUMNI- BDE25
In Collaboration with
THIS IS HOW WE DO IT Online BDE session for Learners. Batch BDE_195
Guest Lecture by Rahul Jadhav (Owner- Kera & Pro salon) Topic - Hair cutting methods
Guest Lecture by Pooja Priyolkar (Trainer Finance industry) 14th April’20- BDE 0191 Selling techniques in Insurance
Online Coaching for BDE Learners
Practical session by ABT Learner (At home)
Practical session by AAD Learners
Learning during COVID19
In Collaboration with
KALAM SE COLUMN TAK
Life…Post-COVID 19 (Episode 1) We learn from our experiences, our pasts. This pandemic is unprecedented. There has been nothing like this for us to learn from and predict. This article is based on what I’m currently experiencing, reading, learning through conversations, and apply the learning to our context at Tata STRIVE. In the recent past, some extreme predictions have gone all wrong. Certain predictions made during the financial meltdown in 2008 or the 9/11 or 26/11 were extreme. These include predictions like ‘end of SUVs’ or ‘no more outsourcing’ among others. These were far from what emerged post the event. However, certain predictions came true, the changes prevailed, and eased into our day to day lives. More stringent corporate governance, security at airports, hotels, malls, and offices are examples of changes that stayed and became part of the new normal following a recent catastrophic event. Ameya Vanjari Head, Technology & Innovations TCIT
We must ‘rehearse the futures’ and proactively ‘shape the new normal’.
Similarly, in “life post-COVID 19”, some changes will stay with us in the new normal. The pandemic is causing a much larger disruption than compared to the events mentioned above. The impact thus will be significantly greater and disruptive than any of the previous experiences we have had. The change will be complex, it will span across all entities in our skilling ecosystem. On one hand, our funders may reprioritize skill development, some industries will experience significant slowdowns, some may see increased demand, the mindset of our communities has already been shifted. So, predicting changes will not be straightforward. We need to keep thinking about the factors driving changes and our responses. This process of thinking deep is what a colleague use to call – ‘rehearsing the future’. The more you rehearse, the more insights you gain, and better you are prepared and better you respond. To ‘rehearse the futures’ let us look at the changes we would see across the three key pillars in our value chain. There are other entities which will drive changes – e.g. Government norms for skill development, NSDC, etc. Still, for simplicity sake, I’m prioritizing the three below over others; namely, 1. Youth and communities, we serve 2. We at Tata STRIVE (the pedagogies, the models, the STRIVE Way) 3. Jobs, Industries and livelihood opportunities we address In Collaboration with
Jobs, Industries and livelihood opportunities we address I reckon that in the long term most industries will find their relevance in the new normal. In the short term (1 year at least), it is obvious that the pandemic will have a significant impact on tourism, travel, hospitality, entertainment, retail, beauty and wellness industries. The ones which will see some increase in demand include IT/digital, ITES/BPO, healthcare, logistics, agriculture and agriculture related. How the manufacturing, auto, banking, insurance sector will bounce back – but how long will it take – months or quarters or longer, is a wait and watch for me. We will need to watch this space and start looking at the opportunities at a much micro-level – at specific job roles. E.g. in logistics it is the last mile delivery which will see a huge demand, in healthcare – tele-calling/telemedicine – prescription writers, health insurance back office, etc. could see a surge. Likewise, on the self-employment front, products and services involving discretionary spending will see challenges for some time. These include beauty parlors, tour planners & operators among others. Those addressing essentials, healthcare-related services/products could see an uptake. While these are macro-level expected trends, we need to have a deep connection with the industry partners to understand these opportunities as they emerge. We also must learn from our alumni and communities we connect with. Collectively these avenues will help us learn, plan and evolve quicker.
IMPACT OF PANDEMIC ON INDUSTRIES
• • • • •
IT/ DIGITAL ITES BPO HEALTHCARE LOGISTICS AGRICULTURE RELATED
• TRAVEL AND TOURISM • HOSPITALITY • ENTERTAINMENT • RETAIL • BEAUTY AND WELLNESS
At the level of skills being important in the coming days, it is a no brainer that effective use of digital technologies to function is a core skill many jobs will need. This means communicating effectively, being adept at using different digital collaboration solutions, selling through digital channels, etc. Compilation: Vishwas Rajput
In Collaboration with
PICK OF THE MONTH StrivEvolve
Quiz with a twist
At the initial stage what were your thoughts and strategies for the engagement and involvement of the team members? "Strivevolve" Programme was designed specifically for the lockdown period for the Centre Operations team, with the sole idea of engaging them, supporting continuous learning, helping in upgrading skills, while having loads of FUN. The key strategy was to create heterogeneous teams and share interesting tasks, activities and projects with them, have teams compete with each other in the true spirit and earn some cool points along the way. What were the challenges you came across while conducting these sessions? The Pandemic and subsequent lockdown has treated everyone differently. The activities and their timelines had to be planned well because participants were equally busy with other operational tasks and responsibilities at home. We are happy that all participants adapted to the situation very well. And yes a few pertinent challenges like internet connectivity did cause some inconveniences, but participants themselves would think of ways to overcome the hurdles and perform for their teams. What was the reach of STRIVEvolve? Strivevole was able to connect, bond, learn and grow with almost 138 participants, comprising Centre Operations Team members including Facilitators, Mobilisers, Project Coordinators and Admin/IT executives. (Through some activities we got to connect with the participants’ family members too?)
Worlds best talent show
How do you measure the effectiveness of the activities conducted? We measured effectiveness simply by seeking continuous feedback from various stakeholders especially the participants and their reporting managers. How has the Lockdown treated you? The lockdown has treated each of the Strivevolve OC members differently and what keeps us united and excited, is our commitment towards the success of STRIVEvoLve. Happy Learning!
Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
STRIVEvolve Organizing Committee: (L to R) Bijitha Joyce, Tony Jacob, Pradeep Lingwat, Mohita Aiyer, Srihari Sunchanakota & Ravish Desai
Compilation: Amrita Fernandes
In Collaboration with
MY STORY
Full Name: Kamini Pawar
Age (In Years): 24 years Tata STRIVE Course: Assistant Beauty Therapist Batch Name: Assistant Beauty Therapist_0003
Kamini hails from Antapur Taluka in Ahmednagar district. She is from Matang community. She belongs to a family of four. Her father is a daily wage earner. Currently, her family stays in Pune. She used to travel 15 KMs to come to centre every day. Before joining Tata STRIVE, she used to work in salon for close to 1 year. Kamini developed a blood clot in the brain for which she was undergoing treatment. Due to this, she had trouble remembering stuff and interpreting what is said. Kamini learnt about Tata STRIVE from her friends, she joined ABT course before too but was dropped out of the course as she was unable to attend sessions due to poor health and it was difficult for her to maintain the pace of the sessions. However, after a few months she enrolled for ABT Course again. Initially, she found it difficult to cope up. She also faced adjustment issues with other learners. Even facilitators faced a struggle to bridge the gap between her pace of learning and matching it with schedule and other learners. However, she was determined to get through with the training successfully. She focused on practicing theory and took a lot of support from her fellow learners. She used to ask questions whenever she did not understand a concept. She used to try to answer questions and be as participative in the sessions. Her transformation was evident to both facilitators. She took special interest in learning English communication and nuances of client service. Her attendance was 87 percent and she scored ‘B’ grade in the final assessment. After completing the training, she joined Salon Apple in August of 2019 at FC Road, which is one of the biggest salon location in Pune. She receives tip from clients almost on an everyday basis due to good service. Clients especially enjoy her services for body massage, facial and body polishing.
Kamini’s story is a story of persistence and beating odds with consistent work. A step however small taken towards success each day will definitely take you to success. She is still undergoing treatment for her brain related ailment yet she has her face in one direction that is towards success. We wish all the best to Kamini for her all future endeavor. Compilation: Amrita Fernandes
LEARNERS SPEAK In the early days of lockdown I felt that there will be no classes now. I was nervous because we were learning so many things daily but in few days sir said I will be taking training online. Pallavi mam and Chandan sir are taking our session daily by different modes like Google meet or Edmodo. Attending online class is different experience for us. But I must say that still we feel connected to our trainers as before. We can ask them queries any time. Right now we are working on project and we are getting complete support for that. There are some difficulties like some time it gets difficult to connect with my project team members if they don't have a laptop or may be network issue. But this lockdown gave us extra time to work on our skills. Definitely there will be tough competition for jobs in future so we need to prepare ourselves for that too. Thank you Tata strive for taking efforts during lockdown also.
In Collaboration with
Swapnali Parole AAD17
MY SKILL STORY
Kitchen Ventures The COVID lockdown has made me an adventurer and explorer – in the kitchen! With my major domo in the kitchen – my house-help locked out, I decided to take over the reins of the kitchen with great gusto. Operation ‘clean up’ led to explorations into the deepest recesses of the kitchen cupboards unearthing the knife sharpener that I thought I had lost, the never used garlic squeezer bought on an overseas trip and many other mini gadgets that had never seen the light of the day! Now, we are a family with a sweet tooth and my earliest foray into cooking was making deserts, which remains my fun thing to do in the kitchen. But what do you do when you are yearning for a warm ‘soul uplifting’ sweet something and then you peer into your everdepleting refrigerator and find only a cupful of flour and last dregs of cocoa? You do a google and discover a cake in a mug! While for the experienced and talented this may hardly be a discovery but for me it sure was the highlight of my day, made in under 5 min from start to finish, it’s the ultimate in instant gratification. This cupful of pleasure made a nice desert for three by adding an orange sauce accompaniment. The adventurer in me plodded me to try variations – red velvet, tutti frutti …I am now hooked to the pure joy of mug cakes in other words ‘desire to fulfilment’ in under 5 minutes. And need I mention it’s a brilliant solution when you also have a 10 to 5pm ‘work from home’ day ahead of you. And before I forget there’s an added benefit of these kitchen ventures it comes with a buy one, get one free tag. Let me explain, who needs finger exercises when kneading your daily dough does the trick for you, who needs shoulder bends and waist swivels, when you can scrub away the dishes while swinging around every now and then, to see if the milk on the gas is boiling over, and who needs aerobics when you have to rush down nine floors to catch the breadman at the gate in time before the rest of the building has bought over his goods! So folks, the next time I excuse myself for 5 minutes from a conference call I just might be making myself a cuppa…(of cake) !!
Compilation: Sameet Joshi
In Collaboration with
Anita Rajan CEO, Tata STRIVE VP, TCIT
Our Knowledge Partners
Tata Strive Skill Development Center Chandrakant Chambers, Opp.Madhuban Restaurant, Dhole Patil Road, Pune | Contact: 02066869100 Content: TSSDC Pune Team | Creative: Anish Varghese | Editor: Sameet Joshi For any feedback or suggestions write to sameet.joshi@tatasustainability.com
