Create jobs, don't seek jobs, Sam Pitroda to youngsters

Chairman of Natl Innovative Council wants youth to be enterprenuers

Chairman of the National Innovation Council Sam Pitroda, on Saturday, called upon the younger generation to build careers on the citadel of the rich past, turning into job givers rather than job seekers.

Addressing a gathering of academicians and students, after inaugurating the Golden Jubilee Auditorium of Sri Jayachamarajendra College of Engineering (SJCE), in the city, Sam, who is revered for bringing revolutionary changes in the field of telecommunication, exhorted the youth to explore avenues on their own.

Stating that the current generation is introduced to the nitty gritty of technological advancements from their birth itself, Sam said, the need of the hour is to create conducive atmosphere to encourage the already gifted brains.

Annually, there is a demand for 10 to 15 million jobs and the employment can be ensured only by creating the a new stream of entrepreneurs.

Citing the example of his three-year-old granddaughter who reaches out to him (Sam) through Skype daily, Sam said, such are the youngsters today, for whom teaching a thing or two about computers in schools may sound monotonous. Instead, teachers should turn into mentors, incorporating technology in the field of education.

Sam said, it is high time a paradigm shift is brought in the field of education too, with 550 million youth below the age of 25 years, forming a major chunk of the population. The major challenge is to provide them jobs, skills and opportunities. Education is the key. By imparting education one can be brought out of the scourge of poverty.

Sam wondered how can brainy people be engaged in solving the problems of the poor, when they prefer to work for the rich.

Apart from obtaining conventional education, by getting a degree after four years, people should continue to acquire knowledge. Or else, they will become obsolete. Citing his own example, Sam said: “At the age of 72, my quest for enriching knowledge remains the same”.

On technology, Sam said, “The present government has done much in the last 10 years, but there is a general feeling that nothing has progressed. It is due to the lack of communication”.