Poonam Shirsat speaks about her venture The Skill Company and how her training vertical has helped youngsters over the years.
Poonam Shirsat, founder of The Skill Company has been in the field of training and education for the last 11 years. She has a significant experience in grooming youth in public speaking, personality upgrading; training for hosting events and soft skills.
Poonam has addressed the training needs of several educational institutions and corporates, having conducted training sessions for large companies in the pharmaceutical industry, educational institutions and for the hospitality sector.
Her career in training began with the establishment of her academy in Nagpur, now well known as Amon Ra’s Academy of Broadcasting. The academy is known for being Central India’s Radio Training Academy with maximum placements in the industry across India, training youngsters in the field of radio and personality grooming.
With a background in electronics and tele- communication, Poonam has Station Management and Operations in her kitty. She has been coaching and instrumental in placing several students in the radio industry.
Poonam handles topics like personality development, public speaking, team dynamics, manners and etiquettes, communication, business communication, positive mental attitude, healthy mind-set, leadership training, entrepreneurship development and also other customized programs.
She has carried out assignments in around 20 countries and believes it has been a globally enriching experience, taking with her lessons of the corporate world and varied social behaviour.
Poonam’s partner Amruta Onsker holds a MBA from Mumbai University, having attended IES College, Bandra; who is making her comeback into the business world after taking a break for a few years. This is the second venture where she is actively involved, the first as director at Brunchbites Pvt. Ltd. Amruta’s earlier corporate experience has been with an HR company Teamlease Services Pvt. Ltd and in the education sector, with a stint at R A Podar Group, which helps her understand students and corporate skilling needs.
Poonam elaborates on her inspiration to start The Skill Company. “As the world is changing and is adapting to become a single global market, it is not just important to have knowledge; but how well you can communicate the same to your stakeholders. With more and more startups emerging and opportunities opening up, it is no secret that one needs to harness soft skills to adapt to this global changing scenario. Even a Harvard research shows that 85% of professional and personal success comes from well-developed soft skills and only 15% come from hard skills. It best to acquire these soft skills at a tender age hence we decided to start The Skill Company – which will compliment your education with the power of soft skills – with our mantra, Skill Up to Scale Up”
Poonam adds that while one will find most edu-tech platforms focusing on education content for students, professionals, individuals etc, The Skill Company as a platform is conceptualized with the idea of transforming the soft-skills of students, professionals, individuals – offering them the edge of confidence, communication, leadership, enterprise, listening skills, decision making and other essential life-skills.
The Skill Company offers their four well-thought and curated verticals, which are, Life Essential Skills, Passion based Skills, Corporate Training and Outbound Trainings.
Life Essential Skills: Public Speaking, Personality Development, Business Communication, Manners and Etiquettes, Critical thinking, Interview Skills etc
Passion based Skills: Radio Jockeying, Audio Production, Diploma in Radio, Stage Anchoring, Podcasting, Movie-making, Culinary Art etc
Corporate Training: Team building, Goal setting, Wow-your-customers, selling skills, Customer engagement, Conflict management, Leadership development, Presentation Skills etc
Outbound Projects: Team Building, Leadership Program, Goal setting, Communication, problem solving, decision making, Motivation, Overcoming fears etc
The Skill Company is a young initiative which has been redesigned based on their experience of their 11-year-old institute and the new training demands that one witnesses in the market today are ably supported by the New Education Policy, Harvard research etc.
The NEP has also helped Poonam since parents and the institutes are more receptive to the idea that soft skills are as important if not more as knowledge, hence they have been able to sign up their first MBA institute for 1 year for one’s Soft Skills training needs.
Poonam speaks about the students who have undertaken the courses. “There are several students who have been placed in some of the top companies nationally; some of the testimonials are available on our website.
Soft Skills development is very personal when it comes to achievements. There are several students who have benefited from an early promotion, or a good pay upgrade or won a pitch to an Investor.”
Regarding the facilitators involved with her company Poonam says, “Our facilitators come from a pool of freelancers, recruits and business partners who are best in their field and have the requisite industry exposure. They have been experienced trainers, facilitators, mentors for several years.”
Students who have completed their courses with The Skill Company are well placed in several industries. “Today, our students are well placed in several industries. Of course, companies prefer well trained and well groomed entrants. The Skill Company gives over students an edge over others,” Poonam adds.
Speaking about their future plans Poonam says, “Our short term goal includes becoming a pan-India name for all skilling needs and making an impact to our four verticals. And our long term goal includes going global with partnerships and franchise models.”
Poonam concludes with a message to their students and potential students. “The world is changing, it is more digitalized today, the market has become global, the world is seeing a pandemic which is demanding change in the way we carry out our businesses. This also means that it demands more communication and expression.
Your knowledge is only as good as it is communicated. Your resume will get you a job interview call but it is the soft skills that will enable you to get the desired job”
