Phenomenal initiative to build skills, Ants Consulting & Services provides a comprehensive vocational education leading to employability.

Phenomenal initiative to build skills, 

Ants Consulting & Services provides a comprehensive vocational education leading to employability.

Nobody can deny the fact of fragile unemployment system in India and probably the majority will agree with the reason which is improper education system and management. Since many decades, youth face serious problems of unemployment and underemployment. The causes are legion and include dropping out of high school because of poor education, needing to support one's family at an early age, a lack of information on the job market, and, most importantly, not possessing the basic skills required by employers today. Many youth engage in daily wage work unaware of the opportunities available to them. To solve such issues with its expertise, Ants Consulting and Services Pvt. Ltd has positioned itself strongly among the vocational training institutes which can lead to skilling and employmentSince inception, Ants Consulting and Services is actively working to create a nationwide network of centers that provide high quality vocational education, affordable & accessible to youth; leading to gainful employment and career growth. With a decade plus experience in skill training delivery, employment linkages Ant's vision is to Skill to 300,000 youth from low income groups by the year (2012-2022)

Ants is a dynamic organization developing employability skills in the framework of building critical thinking skills, self-reliance and enabling interpersonal skills. At the root of this work is a contemporary teaching and learning strategy that is taken from best practices at top Vocational Education Institutions. They have pioneered several innovative Vocational Education Models. Ant's collaboration with Government, Industries, Corporates and NGOs has been to ensure students are skilled, certified & employed in a relevant Sector. All courses offered are certified by the Sector Skill Councils (or SSC's) of the concerned sector or Certifying bodies. All students are assisted to get placements and build long term careers.

Our Editor Associate in a conversation with Mrs. Rumi Sikdar, founder of Ants

TCM: What is the business problem it hopes to solve with its solutions and offerings?

Rumi:Ants offers Skill training, Certification & Employment. Solves unemployment and underemployment. Helps youth to acquire formal training and recognition of their skills through assessments and certification. Increases the youth employability. Helps them to build careers by up gradation of their skills. Helps industries and companies to hire pre-trained manpower.  Industries and companies spend lesser time in training thereby increase productivity.  All these builds up the economic growth of the company.

TCM:Please tell us about Road Map and Future Plans of your organizations.

Rumi:Ants is now threading into Bachelor of Vocational Education (B.Voc.) courses. Has forged ahead in building International Community college tie-ups.  Ants want to attract investments from social investors who can fund Ants to set up 4 Skill-Multi-skill hubs in India, which will develop into Skill Universities.

TCM:What was your journey like to get where you are?

Rumi:I can compare this journey to a Roller Coaster Ride. There have been so many ups and downs for the past 11 years. It has seasoned me to brace any situation. There have been instances when clients have not paid for more than 4 years especially projects done for the Department of Labor, Urban Development and Rural Development. There have been instances of Vendor taking payments in advance and not delivering.  There have been several Human Resource issues. There have been severe cash crunch at times. However I have always believed in solutions for every problem. There are no problems if we can implement the solutions.  Like an Ant, we have created the culture of hardwork; process driven, team co-ordination and excellence in delivery of services.  Yes today I can say that I am happy at the way we have grown with the change in the Skilling eco-system and we will continue to strive in our quest to make every youth skilled.

TCM:What was the most difficult lesson you have learned as an entrepreneur?

Rumi:As an Entrepreneur, I have learnt to always be ready with Plan B, C & D.  At times options and improvisation is the key to any challenge. As an Entrepreneur I have to wear many hats- from a peon to a CEO. I have seen many fly by night operators getting into Skilling industry to make a fast buck some large companies have ventured into skilling without any prior experience in Training or education. You want to stay in business you have to be honest and offer quality services. You can't fool all people all the time!!

Let's know more about Rumi Sikdar

Rumi Sikdar, Completed her Masters and moved on to work with Social Research based organization and later with Social Businesses in the field of Education, Community Services and Skill Development for 10 years.  In 2005 while working with another company she realized that most Industries and Companies were not able to find trained manpower for the entry-level jobs in their sectors. On the other hand there were unemployed & employed youth looking for employment and careers. Since there were not much option for schools and college drop-outs she decided to target youth who could not access higher education and at the same time fit into entry-level jobs after training.  Thus her journey as an Entrepreneur started in 2005 by creating Ants Consulting & Services.  Today the skilling eco-system has evolved into a 25,000 crore industry in India.

Rumi is a creative person and believes that creative thinking can help in coming out with great solutions, services and products. Rumi is a Voracious reader & has travelled extensively in India and more than 13 countries so far. She & her friends have once driven from Bangalore to Burma. She is also an avid gardener, and according to her is a stress buster and brings in the peace and harmony that is essential in her life. Her two children are her source of inspiration and happiness.  Her husband is the Director and co-founder of Ants is her greatest support to successfully run and scale up Ants.

The best part of been an Entrepreneur is to give birth to an organization and see it growing as I had dreamt! Been a Social Entrepreneur is a double bonanza it helps in creating a positive impact with the community while doing business!!!