Unlike the students from tier-1 cities, students in tier 2-3 cities face a significant lack of opportunities and resources in terms of affordable, easily accessible, and quality education. They often miss out on the exposure that a student living in a tier-1 city gets; this could easily put them at a disadvantage in today’s competitive era and thus can take a hit on their self-confidence.

 

Such is the story of Shweta who hails from Meerut, a tier 2 city in India. She came to Delhi for graduation and was surprised to know about the kind of exposure her peers from the city already had. Coping with the fast paced college life and the pressure of competing with her classmates took a strong hit on her confidence. Refusing to be a victim of the circumstances, she decided to get out of the confined walls of classroom and get some practical experience. She started looking for part-time and virtual internships through an online internship platform and applied to multiple internships in various domains. Soon, she was hired as a sales and marketing intern by a company where her work included promoting the company app and making shopkeepers and vendors understand the value of having an online presence.

 

During this internship, she got to travel to different parts of the city and interact with new people. This polished her communication and interpersonal skills. Overall, it turned out to be a true learning experience and a valuable addition to her resume. After this, she pursued internships in various domains like human resources (HR), digital marketing, and content writing. In addition to picking new skills with each internship, she regained her confidence and figured out her are of interest, i.e. HR management.

 

Just like Shweta, a lot of students hailing from tier-2 and tier-3 cities face difficulties in coping with today’s cut-throat competition. On the same lines, let’s talk about the two major hurdles students face in tier-2 and 3 cities and how internships could help them overcome them  –

 

1. Lack of good quality education – Due to a lack in diversity of jobs and a huge disparity in pay scales between tier-1 and tier-2-3 cities, people often move to tier-1 cities for better career and earning prospects which sometimes results in unavailability of well-qualified teachers and a restricted number of good educational institutions. This affects the overall quality of the education in these cities. Here, internships come as a ray of hope that could help students bridge this education quality gap as well as make them skilled as per the industrial standards. Internships add to what students learn in classrooms, provides them the right practical exposure, and prepares them for the professional environment.

 

2. Limited opportunities – Another common issue students face is limited number of organisations in tier 2-3 cities, as a result of which, students find themselves in a difficult position when they are seeking internship opportunities. In these situations as well, students and recent graduates can opt for virtual internships that allow them to work and earn from the comfort of their homes and as per their availability of time.

 

Additionally, some internships come with part-time options where students are required to work on a few weekdays or weekends. Such opportunities could be truly helpful for students who might be comfortable traveling for work to distant companies 2-3 days in a week. This way, they could get in-office work experience as well as manage their studies.

 

So, rather than getting discouraged with the shortage of resources and opportunities, students could take the internship path to learn themselves and bridge the gap between what they learn and what are the industry expects from them.

 

Courtesy: Sarvesh Agrawal is the founder and CEO of Internshala – an internship and training platform (internshala.com)