Hard lessons in life skilling

Dilip P Patel

A young engineer was waiting to face his first ever job interview in a high profile firm in Mumbai (then Bombay). The scheduled time was 4 p.m but he was called in at 6 p.m. The tall bespectacled managing director did not apologise for the long delay, and launched straight into a conversation. Visibly pleased with the applicant’s confident answers, he wrote a six digit number on a pad, showed it to the candidate, and asked him to repeat it. The latter succeeded. Different numbers of higher digits were written until the candidate experienced difficulty in recalling a 16 digit number correctly.

"Good," said the managing director. "You speak English well, and your memory is good. We can offer you the position of a sales engineer at our works in Baroda, if you report there at 8 a.m day after tomorrow."

That was the summer of 1972. India had just won an expensive war in Bangladesh and was entering a period of stagflation. There were few industries, and fewer job opportunities. I had just acquired an electrical engineering degree with a rank, despite which I was struggling to get an interview, let alone a job. Hence, when this offer was made, I had to make a quick decision whether to accept a sales job or wait for a more ‘technical’ one. I decided to accept the offer.

On arrival at the company’s works in Baroda, I found a huge number of job aspirants waiting for interviews. I had to wait from 8 a.m to 12 noon, but confident that I had already been offered the job, I was not perturbed. However when I was called in finally, I was taken aback by a panel of interviewers pouncing on me. Ultimately one question completely bowled me over. "What is the difference between an agreement and a contract?" asked one of them.

I fumbled, because the question was wholly unrelated to my education background. "You may come back at 4 p.m with the correct answer, if you want this job…"

These words almost shattered my hopes. However I made it to a relative’s house and sought his advice and help. He took me to meet a college lecturer who taught company law. The lecturer asked me to refer to a fat legal textbook. I leafed through the book with much anxiety, read a chapter on ‘contracts’ and made it back to the interview panel in the nick of time.

"So, what’s the answer?" asked the interviewer.

I blurted out the first line of the chapter on contracts and agreements which has remained stuck in my mind to this day. "A contract is an agreement enforceable by law…"

An instant acceptance of my answer, followed by the confirmation of my appointment was my reward.

Looking back I often reflect upon the factors which enabled me to clinch this much needed job. Now I realise that it was a combination of factors which had little connection with my formal education. The patience I had displayed while waiting in the company’s Bombay office, and later at the Baroda works; my communication skills — especially my English which had impressed the managing director; my memory and recall; the quick decision I had taken to opt for the sales job in Baroda, and finally the problem solving capability I displayed by running around in an unfamiliar city to find the answer to a non-engineering question, were the key deciding factors. My engineering degree with a rank had merely worked as a visa to an interview.

Many years later I realised that I had clinched my very first job on the strength of my ‘life skills’. Now I am convinced of the importance of life skills education.

The term ‘life skills’ was perhaps first used by WHO (World Health Organisation) to describe the minimal behavioural skills which help us manage life issues more effectively. Essentially all the ten skills (or five pairs of skills), when learnt and practised, enhance our mental capabilities and psychological competencies. These basic life skills are: self-awareness and empathy; communication and interpersonal relationships; critical and creative thinking; decision-making and problem solving; and stress and emotional management skills.

In this connection it’s important to note that who set up a task force in the mid-1990s comprising mental health professionals from several developed and developing countries (India included), which examined studies conducted in various countries over long periods relating to mental health and social issues. Consequently they designed a life skills programme appropriate to the psychological development of children of differing ages.

Following this WHO has made an official recommendation to all member countries to implement life skills education programmes at the school level to raise a more responsible new generation. India was among the countries which accepted this recommendation in principle. Since then the Delhi-based Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has included life skills learning in its syllabus. However trained external teachers are better suited to offer life skills education, as ‘school laws’ are fundamentally different from ‘life laws’. As a consequence several pioneer schools in Bangalore and Hyderabad have introduced life skills learning programmes administered by external agencies.

It is imperative that other schools follow their example in the best interests of the development of their students. This is a promising beginning. Let’s hope that sustained, quality life skills education will serve the purpose of enabling a more responsible generation which will accelerate the socio-economic development of the nation.

 (Dilip P. Patel is a director of The Activity, a Bangalore-based life skills education centre)