Design a Potential Non STEM Career Path for Generation Z

By Sandeep Munjal

Creative courses like Design, Art, Liberal Art, Humanities, Architecture & Media present many opportunities for students after school. So, these creative and arts fields are getting more takers than the traditional STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) options after 10th & 12th.

It is widely recognised that one of the fundamental shifts in thinking required for attaining higher levels of employment and by default managing the crisis of having millions of young Indians without means of livelihood is about our approach towards education. A part of the above mentioned much needed thinking shift is about widening the range of educational pursuits that the generation Z (people born after 2000) can consider as potential career pathways. It is here that pathways beyond the traditional STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) options become relevant.

Without even going into a debate around the type and quantum of opportunities that the STEM pathways may or may not bring to the table, the larger issue to address is the fact that not every young learner is likely to have alignment and interest with what STEP options lead to. The opportunities that our education ecosystem enables must be as diverse as the young talent that generation Z represents. The much touted and often celebrated demographic dividend cannot be leveraged till educational reform is focused on creating more options with employability.

The creative and liberal arts related educational programmes that include Design, Art, Liberal Art, Humanities, Architecture and Media present a plethora of opportunities for young learners coming out from our lower education (10+2 schooling) system. An issue with how the creative and liberal arts related educational programmes are being perceived in the Indian context is the ‘elitist’ tag that is often being attached to them. The price point at which most of the private universities / institutes offer these programmes at both under graduate and post graduate levels is one part of this elitist perception challenge. The other is the lack of any clear understanding among the students about how a services driven economy has opened new doors of opportunities for trained, educated professionals to get employed/ self-employed in vocations that did not exist couple of decades back. A quintessential part of the required shift in the educational landscape has to dwell around building the right narrative as well as fix any structural challenges that may prevent a much larger group of generation Z from considering the creative and liberal arts space.

Within the larger creative and liberal arts space ‘design’ and a multitude of specialisations/ super specialisations are being offered by educational institutions. Fashion, Interior Design, Advertising Design, Product Design and more recently Services Design are some of the popular sub domains within the larger Design education landscape. Design thinking has become a buzzword in the service industry, and professionals with design thinking aptitude and skills are in demand across a range of professional roles in a rapidly growing industry. School system, counselors, practicing professionals from the wide array of design related professions as key stakeholders have a role to play in building learner interest as well as assisting them in evaluating a potential fit in terms of the competencies and aptitude required for a professional journey in design.  

There is need for institutions to offer a range of design programmes at a price point that allows the massive Indian middle class to find the same affordable. Initiatives like the skill India mission too can play a role, a design sector focused skill council can drive development of shorter-term, skill-based design programmes connected with specific design fields. The success stories from such initiatives will build the required momentum that will draw the generation Z to consider non-traditional career pathways including design. As the sector expands, the opportunities available too will grow many folds, including entrepreneurial possibilities. Creative art and liberal arts space led by the design segment is likely to represent one of the most dynamic and high growth segments of the larger higher education landscape in India, that too for all the right reasons.

About the Author:

Sandeep Munjal is the Director, Vedatya Institute, Gurugram. He holds BSc (Hospitality), Widener University, USA and Hons Diploma (Hospitality) AH&MA, USA along with Master Course in Business Temple University, USA and Masters in Tourism Management, IGNOU. He has co-authored a book 'The Indian Hospitality Industry: Dynamics and Future Trends'.