EduMark CEO Invited to Deliberate Upon Educational Framework in Construction & Infrastructure Sector

Union Government is planning to create a national vocational educational framework pertaining to construction and infrastructure sector in the country. In this regard, a meeting of experts has been convened on 27^th June, 2011 at Delhi under the chairmanship of Shri Kapil Sibbal, Hon’ble Minister for Human Resource Development and Communication & Information Technology. CEO of EduMark Realty Education Services has been invited in the meeting to deliberate upon the issues. EduMark is India’s first real estate focused Vocational Education and Training Organization. Hon’ble MOS for HRD, Dr. D. Purandeshwari is also expected to attend the program.

Government recognizes the need and is looking to formally integrate vocational education together with its current conventional educational streams across schools and higher education space and provide an opportunity and incentive to students to explore a larger universe of opportunity.

This is an imperative need, considering 40% of India’s population falls within the age group of 21-35 years. In order to serve the aspirations of India’s youth, this step from government will spell a seminal moment that needs to be deliberated and reiterated together with the help of the industry. The basic objective is to augment and optimize the Human Resource.

Shri S.S.Mantha, Chairman of All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE), who extended the invitation, expects that EduMark will contribute effectively through an overview of its systems and nuances and provide the experts a comprehensive and insightful input pertaining to present and perceived need-gaps from the domain of Construction and Infrastructure Sector. This will enable the Government to prepare a holistic framework to support the industry.

Credai Evaluating Possibility to Replicate Pune’s Onsite Training Model for Other States

The Confederation of Real Estate Developers Association of India (Credai), the apex body for private real estate developers in the country, is currently evaluating the possibility of replicating the onsite training model for construction workers, being implemented by its Pune chapter, to more states shortly. “At present, Credia’s national skills development committee is studying the model and is in the process of doing certain modifications to it. We have already received enquires from Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand , Orissa and Mumbai for implementing the same,” C Sekhar Reddy, vice-president, Credai India and president of Credai Andhra Pradesh, told Business Standard. Credai Pune, under the aegis of the National Skills Development Corporation (NSDC), provides onsite training to construction workers in plastering, masonry, plumbing, electrical works, tile-laying and other allied activities with a Rs 18-crore fund sanctioned by NSDC last year.

Reddy said lack of skilled labour was a cause for concern and the construction industry was currently facing a 30 per cent shortage of skilled workers. “Onsite training will bridge this gap,” he said. In onsite training, the training campus shifts to the construction site rather than the trainees shifting to a fixed campus. “It (onsite training) improves productivity and quality, besides providing an earn-while-you-learn’ opportunity to the workers. A certificate will be given to the worker who has passed the training, which will entitle him to a better pay,” Reddy said. Reddy said recession, which was followed by the agitations for a separation Telangana statehood, dealt a blow to the real estate sector in Hyderabad, resulting in the sales plummeting by 25-30 per cent.

“Since October 2010, the sector is doing well and we expect to witness sales of 18,000 units a year in Hyderabad, from 10,000 units until two years ago. This projected uptick will primarily be driven by the increase in employment opportunities in the city,” he added. Meanwhile, Credia India, represents over 6,000 developers through 20 member associations across the country, today announced Ashoka Developers and Builders managing director N Jaiveer Reddy as chairman of Credai Hyderabad, Manjeera Group chairman Yoganand Gajjala as its president and SMR Holdings chairman and managing director S Ram Reddy as general secretary.

How to Become a Real Estate Investment Analyst

by S.K.Jha, EduMark Realty Education Services

Real estate investment analysts are the most important and vital element in real estate investment decision making process and in optimization of the performance of currently held portfolio of investors. Their prime responsibility is to find out the feasibility of making investment in any real estate project, either now or in future. Their specific activities include collation, compilation and analysis of large amount of information about a potential project, carry out financial analysis, valuation modeling, cash flow analysis etc., understand and analyze operating statements, capital budgets, rent rolls, tenant leases etc. and analyze third party reports. Property investment analysts prepare property analysis and investment report. They are closely associated with the investment and acquisition process and work actively with asset managers to identify under performing assets and to optimize portfolio performance.

Working Environment

The normal working time is 40-hour per week. However, during project acquisition and/or investment period, they may have to work longer and on weekends in order to meet project deadline. They work closely with internal staffs, external consultants and other professionals. Internally they work very closely with investment as well as asset management team. Externally, they deal with a host of professionals including research professionals, property consultants, project development managers etc.

Employers
Property investment funds, equity investors, high net worth individuals etc. are the major employers of investment analysts. However, large developers, international property consultants, advisory firms also recruit property analysts.

Employment Prospect

Since Indian property market is in the growth phase and offers one of the highest rates of return to investors, global investors are setting up their base in India, which in turn has enhanced the need for investment analysts. Therefore, employment and growth prospect for them are expected to remain very strong in the coming future.

Education
Educational background in real estate, finance, investment, urban planning, commerce etc. is preferred. Educational background in property related subjects is however most preferred for career advancement.

Knowledge, Skills, and Personality Traits

Employers prefer candidates with following qualities:

• Good analytical skill
• Excellent written, verbal and listening skills
• Good decision making ability
• Excellent problem solving skills
• Ability to work under pressure and strict deadline
• Report writing skills

Similarly, candidates with knowledge in the following areas are highly preferred:
• Accounting journal entry
• Spread sheet accounting programs
• Analytical software such as ARGUS
• Design, graphs, charts, tables etc. for presentation
• Excel spread sheet etc.

Compensation
Analysts are among the highest paid professionals today. Moreover, salary range rises very fast after having two to three years of work experience.

Tips for entry: If you are working as analyst in other sector, pursue a real estate course in any related area from a reputed real estate institute and then approach employers either directly or through placement consultants. Institutes such as NIREM, EduMark Realty Education http://www.edumarkindia.in/ etc. offer several related real estate courses. Infact, EduMark offers to highly specialized courses in investment. These are certificate in residential investment and certificate in commercial investment, which may be of great use to those planning to start their career as analyst. 

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=S._K._Jha

Ready aim hired

Perceptions about interviews usually depend on the interviewer's likeability and first impressions.

by Aspire - India Today

Right after a job interview, you could either be supremely confident or faintly worried. Either way, we feel pretty relieved when it is all over. Perceptions about interviews usually depend on the interviewer's likeability and first impressions. It is, therefore, important to remember some statutory courtesies in order to have a positive interaction and favourable result.

After an interview shoot a thank you email or letter

Many interviewees think that once the face-to-face interview is over, the interview process is complete. However, this is not the case. The job interview is just the beginning. Once the personal interview is done, the company mulls, evaluates and decides the best candidate who would best suit the job profile and company.

Therefore, it is a good idea to remain in touch with the interviewer and the company in general. One of the best ways to do so is to drop them a ?Thank You? note. If you have been in touch with company or interviewer via e-mail, then one should email such a note within 24 hours after the interview. Interviewers have short memories. So, this is your final chance to stand apart from all of the others who want the same position.

Follow up after the interview when there is no response

How long should you wait before you call the company or interviewer? Usually, if there is no response within sometime, you will start worrying about whether it is appropriate to call back and check hiring status.

When to call

Post-interview it is best to give a gap of two to three days before you make the first follow up call. One of the most important things to keep in mind during the call is that one should be succinct and brief. Another important aspect is to chalk out a time when to call. The best time to call the interviewer is after lunch or an hour before closing time. This will ensure that you have a comfortable time frame to speak to the interviewer.

Whom to call

Interviewees are sometimes confused about who to follow up with after the interview the human resource team or the interviewer directly. This situation is more confusing if there was more than one interviewer. In such circumstances, it is best to first check with the human resource team on the hiring status.

What to say

Begin the conversation by thanking the person for the opportunity to interview with the company. Recap some of the conversational highlights and clarify any information you need to check on. Use the last paragraph as the chance to state, ?The job is a good fit for me because of XYZ, and my past experience in XYZ.?

Continue your job search

While waiting to hear from the company after the job interview, you should not ignore other interview calls because you are waiting to hear back from the current interview. Even if you are convinced that you have got the job, there can be many slips between the cup and the lip. It is also a good idea to critique your previous performance and use the experience to polish your interviewing skills.

Reproduced From India Today. © 2011. LMIL. All rights reserved.