This Black belt can get you green bucks

In a bid to enhance their CVs and grab higher paying jobs, scores of young professionals in Pune are going for Black Belt Six Sigma Certification, discovers Subroto Roy

This Black belt can get you green bucks

In a bid to enhance their CVs and grab higher paying jobs, scores of young professionals in Pune are going for Black Belt Six Sigma Certification, discovers Subroto Roy

JOBS continue to be hard to come by, thanks to the ongoing economic slowdown. Manyu00a0 young professionals in the city are opting for a black belt to help their prospects in the bleak market. The black belt however has nothing to do with karate but is an additional qualification in Six Sigma.

Niranjan Rode, a first year BCA student who is studying for a black belt, said, "I'm sure that I'll get an edge over others when I apply for a job, as the certification will give me an overview of the organisation I will be working with."

Like Rode, there are about 250 students and professionals in the city who have opted for this certification.

According to experts, there were just 200 such professionals in India three years back. But now, the number has increased to 500. And as this number falls way too short of the demand, the companies are hiring Six Sigma Certified professionals by offering hefty salaries.

G H Rahalkar, a resource person for the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industries (FICCI) u2013 ASQ, said, "Anyone with a statistical bent of mind can clear the black belt exam and may get a salary that's five times higher that what's being offerred to those with a plain professional degree." Rahalkar, however, added that the certification comes at a high cost. "The fee for Six Sigma Certification is around Rs 1.5 lakh and a student has to undergo 16 hours of training," he said.

Subhash Raje, who runs the FICCI-ASQ chapter in the state, said that awareness of the programme is increasing with the qualification becoming mandatory in organisations at the entry level and during promotions.

"Earlier, companies like Airtel used to impart an in-house Six Sigma training for each department. But now, they are demanding ASQ certified candidates," he said. Godrej & Boyce Appliance in Shirwal has recently got their manufacturing head Laxman Mahale and 11 of their top performing executives from across departments to undergo Six Sigma training. "The training has changed the way we look at production, and helped us match international brands in terms of infrastructure and that too without any extra expenditure," said Mahale.