Flying just got easier

Q: I am a commerce student. I am keen to become a pilot but I don’t want to waste a year to clear the mandatory physics and maths paper before enrolling for pilot training. Can you suggest some alternatives for me?
Robin Sanyal

A: The good news for people like you is that the total training period for
becoming a commercial pilot (CPL) is likely to come down to one year from 18 months for those who don’t have the mandatory physics and mathematics in Class XII.

The National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) which comes under the MHRD, now offers online admissions for the two subjects throughout the year. If you are really serious about it, you can qualify by fulfiling the basic criteria within a month.

Earlier you could enrol for these courses only once a year, which used to unnecessarily delay the pilot training programme for non-science students. But now you can take the exams on-demand — immediately after you have completed the admission process (details: www.nios.ac.in).

These online exams will expedite pilot training and many more can join the workforce in a very short period of time. NIOS has received a large number of admission requests since it started the online programme in mid-October (whereas only 265 candidates took the physics and maths exams in the past 10 years).

The booming aviation industry is facing such an acute shortage of pilots that other staff — including cabin crew, engineers and flight pursers — are also opting for pilot training.

There are around 4,500 pilots in the country, including about 800 expatriates. The Indian aviation industry needs over 6,000 pilots to sustain its current rate of growth.

When distance matters little

Q: Which recognised university can I pursue a masters from if I want to do a correspondence course in Chemistry?
Vishal Tyagi

A: Here are some universities that offer MSc in chemistry through distance learning mode:

IGNOU (www.ignou.ac.in); Annamalai University, (www.annamalaiuniversity.ac.in); BITS, Pilani, (www.bits-pilani.ac.in); JNTU (www.jntu.ac.in); Bharthiar University, Coimbatore (www.bu.ac.in); Devi Ahilya Vishwavidyalaya, Indore (www.dauniv.ac.in); Kakatiya University, School of Distance Learning & Continuing Education, Warangal (www.kuwarangal.-com; www.kakatiya.ac.in); Madhya Pradesh Bhoj Open university, Bhopal (www.mpbou.org); Manonmaniam Sunderanar University, (www.msuniversitytvl.org); University of Madras (www.unom.ac.in).

Ensure a bright career in insurance

Q: I am a medical representative. I have heard that big life insurance companies are hiring people from sales. What kind of credentials does one need in order to work for these companies?
Mayank Bansal

A: With a 20 per cent growth rate and offshore delivery poised to take off in this sector, the insurance business in India is growing at an unprecedented rate. It stands at the threshold of a brilliant future both in terms of growth and career prospects for bright young men and women who have an aptitude for numbers and statistics.

Life insurance companies are faced with an acute shortage of employees and are on a hiring spree for sales people to capture customers and market share.

The state-run LIC hired one lakh people, with 15 private players making up for the rest.

To be officially enrolled as an agent, you have to pass an exam conducted by the Insurance Regulatory & Development Authority (IRDA) after completing 50-hours of training.

Private players also have their eyes fixed upon small towns to boost sales. Max New York Life (MNYL) hires people for divisions such as sales, operations, service, underwriting and finance.

Some of the soft skills that will stand you in good stead in this profession are a sound sense of money, ethics and integrity, computer skills, persuasive skills and the ability to communicate effortlessly.

An experienced agent gets the opportunity to assume a managerial role with the responsibility of identifying, recruiting and training more agents under him.

Depending on their functional preferences, companies are sourcing their employees from diverse sectors such as financial services, information technology / telecom services, consumer durables, FMCG and office automation.

Over the past few years they have forged strong relationships with reputed aca- demic institutions and recruitment consultants in order to attract the best available talent in the country.

Some of the most important players in the field of insurance in the contemporary times are companies such as Reliance Life, SBI Life, Bajaj Allianz, MetLife, Aviva, Kotak, Max New York, ICICI Prudential, HDFC Standard and Birla Sunlife.