Sam, an engineering graduate, needs help updating his skills for employability as his school did not provide career mentoring or expose him to industry needs. Ideas are proposed to address this, including: 1) Arranging mentorship programs with alumni to provide career guidance and help students identify skills gaps. 2) Providing training in innovation, creativity, and entrepreneurship to increase employability and potential for self-employment. 3) Having industry representatives visit schools well before job interviews to explain needs, run bootcamps, and interact with students to better prepare them for interviews and careers.

1. Redesigning school-to-work transition
Ideate - For Design thinking action labs

2. Problem statement
Sam a final engineering graduate who is enthusiastic, and highly motivated
individual needs to find a way to learn specialised skill and update himself
with latest market needs to become more employable because the schools
he went to did not mentor him or exposed him to latest market needs

3. Ideation
Professors update students with latest market needs
Student updates themselves with latest market needs
Group discussions to improve communication skill should be organized
Debates should be organized
Campus interviews should be organized by schools
School should provide list of job search firms / consultancies
School arranges various industry conferences at campus
Mock interviews should be arranged
Access to all necessary books at library
Students can access any eBooks and print it
School provides with laptop and unlimited internet
School should allow attending as many campus interviews as student want to
An alumni group is created in all social media networks so that students can connect and
contact them and find out latest market needs
Get together party for final year students and alumni’s is arranged by school to meet and
discuss latest market needs
Alumni students are rewarded for giving job reference for current students
Student alumina meets every other month
Industry workshops arranged by school
Students are encouraged to watch documentaries in discovery channels and other
informative channels

4. Ideation
Students are encouraged to attend industry exhibitions
Company walk through arranged by school
Students are given special credits for attending industry exhibitions and sharing the
knowledge with other students
School creates special interest groups
Students are encouraged to share new findings in special interest groups
Students are encouraged to travel to different places to new experiences
Companies who are supposed to come for campus interviews are invited to come 6
months before and explain students about their needs
Schools tie up with industries where students can work for them for couple of
weeks
Students are given credits for working in specified industries
Students are training in entrepreneurship
Students are trained on creativity and innovation
Students are trained on creating prototypes and rapid iteration
Exhibitions should be arranged for students where they can showcase their
invention
Students are encouraged to do multiple online courses
Alumnae’s who are currently works are encouraged to mentor students in relevant
industry

5. Ideation
Encourage and create a culture of innovation in students
Access to industry journals and articles in library
A special radio station for the school where all relevant information is broadcasted
Emphasis on group learning
Invest in smart classes
Encourage prototyping
Students in their final year work in an industry and compensation is paid by school
Special training on communication skills
Professors should be updated on new industry needs
Reverse interviews are arranged, were students interview job providers
Students are encouraged to learn at least one skill which is not related to there
industry
Students should be trained on how to create their profile
Students should be provided with the information on which meetups, conference
they can attend
School should arrange parents meeting
School should help parents to help their child in learning new skills
School should invite parents from similar industry background to talk at school
gatherings
Parents should constantly motivate and provide moral support specially while
searching for a job

6. The most Practical plan: Mentorship program
Mentorship programs are arranged every alternate weeks, primary mentors being
Alumni’s and secondary mentors are professors
Alumni’s who are already working, will talk about what process they have followed to
find the job, what are the current industry trends what challenges they have faced at
work because of gap between what they have learned at school and what the industry
need was
This will help students to identify gaps and bridge them by learning those skills

7. The most disruptive idea: Training on Innovation,
creativity and entrepreneurship
Students are provided vigorous training on Innovation, creativity and
entrepreneurship, and are encouraged to invent new tools/machines for the industry
of their interest and also show case at various exhibitions and innovative platforms
This will not only increase the employability of the student but also create a chance to
starting their own enterprise

8. My favourite idea: Industry people visiting schools
much before campus interview
School arranges campus interviews, however neither students know current industry
needs/trends nor Interviewer know the current state of the students
Therefore interviewer (industry heads, job providers) are encouraged to visit the
school 3 to 6 months before campus interviews and run a boot camp where they
explain what their current and near-term need are, and also interact with students
and answer their questions
This will help students to exactly understand what the Industry needs are, and
prepare them self and increase the odd of finding a suitable job