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How the start-up, small business revolution is changing the face of employment in India.

As the world’s most populous nation, India produces a large number of graduates and post graduates. In 2018 for example, it is reported that around *64.7 lakh students cleared their UG programs and about 15 lakh cleared their PG programs. Out of this approx. 10-14 lakh engineers graduate each year. The most common question would be, “Where are the jobs for all these young men and women?

Traditionally, the government and banking sector among others, have been India’s biggest employer. This included government departments, public sector companies and large quasi-government corporations. The private enterprise was restricted to a few large corporations.

But as the population grows and the number of those educated increase, these sectors are not able to provide employment to all those coming out of educational institutions. It is practically impossible for the government to provide job opportunities to all and the only thing it could do is energise the economy and grow it to enough to empower employment.

Post the liberalisation in the 90s, the IT sector boomed and along with this real estate, telecom, textiles, entertainment, lifestyle and various services sectors grew exponentially.

India has a large number of youth coming out of colleges each year and their aspirations have to be met. Again this cannot be met through traditional models of employment considering that they are being redefined at a global level. Worldwide, the concept of jobs, its longevity, and the assurance of job security are being diluted and redefined, something excellently documented in the book ‘The End of Jobs’ by Taylor Pearson. So, youth have to identify their aptitude and develop the skills needed in the market considering their resources, geography and other aspects.

Several marketplace developments have made it easier for the present generation more than ever before to become entrepreneurs. One is the internet. The net offers access to information, markets, product information and abundant resources to enable youth wishing to become entrepreneurs. The second is the easier availability of funding with angel investors and VCs willing to risk their investments.

The other is the ecosystem. There is a never-before presence of startups and small businesses, across the country and particularly in Bengaluru. **India currently has 90, 000 startups in 2023 with over 100 unicorns. This offers exciting job opportunities to engineering/ other graduates with specific skills, giving them opportunities to learn and contribute to the economy besides also offering attractive earning options. There are excellent opportunities even for freshers to gain a foothold and valuable experience in the industry.

This coupled by the government’s efforts to encourage entrepreneurship through initiatives such as ‘Make in India’, are slowly but surely creating a very conducive ecosystem for self-employment/ entrepreneurship.

So students today need to focus on skills, learning and mastering their chosen skills and their opportunities to earn will be ample. They must change their mind set of seeking jobs that assure permanency and develop an aptitude to take on challenges. Learning has to be a continuous process as it is in most developed economies across the globe.

At Dayananda Sagar College of Engineering (DSCE), students are imparted comprehensive education that includes sound academics and market knowledge. Students are encouraged to explore and learn the nuances of the marketplace and the technologies and platforms currently in vogue. The departments have excellent associations with several companies and experts to help students learn programming and development skills in a variety of domains to help them get good placements and advance their careers.