"Most companies include adventure sports as a part of their HR training modules. They use it to test and train their employees" Michael Mitra, Managing Director, Step Consulting

Help, Tarun!

Mistress Of Spices

Akshay Kumar's grandmother was shell shocked more than a decade ago when he told her: "I'd love to be a white water rafting guide because I love it." She had asked her grandson about his career plans. Chartered Accountant, it code jock, or, even better, corporate lawyer were the answers she was hoping for. "But a boatman and a trekking guide? Unimaginable!" chuckles Kumar reminiscing about his grandmother's reaction. But family disapproval could not dissuade him from following his chosen path. The St Stephen's College, Delhi, alumnus is today the owner of the Rs 6-crore Mercury Himalayan Exploration, which specialises in offering adventure tours all over the Himalayas.

Kumar is not alone. Many young people-mostly adrenaline junkies with lots of smarts and good communications skills-are turning their backs on traditional careers and taking to adventure sports. It's still a niche career option, but drawing a broad spectrum of recruits-college grads, qualified mountaineering professionals, ex-servicemen and even MBAs. "Most companies today include adventure sports as a part of their human resource (hr) training modules. They use it to test and train their employees on tackling crises, building teams, coordinating between different teams, overcoming internal conflicts and achieving goals," says XLRI alum Michael Mitra, Managing Director of the Rs 1.7-crore Step Consulting, which designs adventure modules for top companies and puts their executives through their paces. Mitra has designed and conducted adventure sports modules for leading companies like Microsoft India, sap, Dr Reddy's Laboratories and American Express, among others. Even senior management personnel sometimes participate in these modules. For example, Maruti Udyog Managing Director Jagdish Khattar recently went rappelling and river rafting with his senior team as part of a team building-target achieving-planning exercise module.

This corporate backing has made this hitherto neglected segment of the Rs 25,800 crore travel and tourism industry in the country attractive to potential recruits. For one, it lacks the hierarchies of traditional industries; the money can range from good to great (a good 30-year-old trainer can easily earn in excess of Rs 30 lakh per annum); then, it allows one to live out one's sense of adventure; and best of all, it operates only eight months a year (there's little activity during the four-month long monsoon season); so it allows players time to chill out. Not surprisingly, one sees only young people here.

"There is a high demand for skilled professionals, but there aren't enough such people in the pipeline," says Kumar, adding: "The requirements of this new industry are pretty exacting, but there are few schools or training facilities which can produce the right kind of people."

"I don't really rely on trained kids or training institutes," says Swaraj Roy, Proprietor of the Rs 60-lakh Adventure Zone, who is an ex-Major in the Army. He recruits youngsters who are physically fit and possess good communication skills and trains them himself in parasailing, rappelling, rock climbing, camping and scuba-diving near Mahabalipuram.

Roy, a former instructor at the Commando Training School at Belgaum, says he recruits young trainees with no experience at about Rs 6,000-7,000 per month. Depending on how they progress, this can rise to Rs 30,000 per month in a few years.

Specialisation

Incidentally, plain vanilla adventure sports training is the bread and butter of the industry; but the real moolah lies in devising corporate training capsules which marry the principles of management with the practical experience of adventure sports. This is the high-end of the industry and instructors need a sound knowledge of management theory, practical experience of running an adventure sports camp and experience of dealing with senior corporate executives. "This is usually handled by another category of professionals-the facilitators-who can earn up to Rs 40,000 per day," says Roy (see The Opportunities).

Facilitators are usually young qualified professionals with excellent communications skills who devise training modules for corporates based on their particular requirements. Most facilitators work as consultants and charge the earth for their services. "They are in great demand but there are only a few good men in the country," adds Roy.

"The requirements of this industry are pretty exacting, but there are few schools or training facilities which can produce the right kind of people" Akshay Kumar, Owner, Mercury Himalayan Exploration

But not everyone wants to walk alone. "I prefer to be part of an organisation," says Ajay Kandhari, Senior Executive, Step Consulting, who graduated from the Institute of Tourism and Travel Management, Gwalior, and then learnt river rafting, rock climbing and mountaineering on the job. "Many young people even go abroad for professional training in aero sports and 'extremes' like bungee jumping, skydiving and cliff jumping (jumping from a 30-40 feet high cliff into a water body). Of course, the financial rewards for such trained pros are great," he adds.

Many adventure sports professionals turn entrepreneurs after four-to-five years on the job. This, in fact, is the logical progression from being a facilitator. And it doesn't cost a lot to do so. All one needs is a reputation for delivering (which anyone with more than five years experience should have) and a couple of lakhs of rupees to start an adventure sports firm.

"It's an emerging field and the returns are amazing for daring and skilled personnel," says Mitra. "We have a turnover target of Rs 3.5 crore this year," he adds. That's a projected growth of more than 100 per cent. And that, in turn, means a greater demand for adventure sports professionals.

COUNSELLING
Help, Tarun!

Q: I am a 39-year-old BE (Mechanical), MTech (Quality Assurance) and work as a Management Systems Manager in the auto supplies industry. My job involves designing business processes, implementing them and auditing them internally. I want to join the IT industry, for which I have cleared the Certified Information Systems Auditor exam. Please advise if this is the right step and at my age.

There is no harm in doing something you really want to do at any age. The one thing that you must make sure is that you get the credit for your work experience and don't have to start at the bottom. The thing to do is to join a company which integrates your education and experience.

Q: I am a 23-year-old BPharma graduate and am pursuing an MBA (Marketing) on a part-time basis. I don't have much work experience. However, I now want to work on a full-time basis and would like to know which sectors other than pharma can provide me with a good career path and financial security.

Given that you are pursuing your MBA in marketing, getting into sales would be a good option. And keeping your educational background in mind, you also have the option of doing pharma sales, which is a good sector to be in.

Answers to your career concerns are contributed by Tarun Sheth (Senior Consultant) and Shilpa Sheth (Managing Partner, US practice) of HR firm, Shilputsi Consultants. Write to Help,Tarun! c/o Business Today, Videocon Tower, Fifth Floor, E-1, Jhandewalan Extn., New Delhi-110055..

Mistress Of Spices
Women chefs are increasingly making their mark at star hotels.

There is an acute paucity of trained manpower in the food and beverages (F&B) service area," says Pradeep Kalra, Vice-President (Sales) at the 39-property Jaypee Hotels. This scarcity is accentuated as star chefs "move to privately-run luxury restaurants on a profit-sharing basis," says Aditya Mishra, General Manager, Ma Foi, a Chennai-based hr Consultancy. Result: another male bastion, the hotel kitchen, has fallen. Women chefs, conspicuous by their absence in star hotels and high-end restaurants till a few years ago, can now be seen at almost every hotel. "There are no boring routines and no appearances to maintain. And you get the opportunity to create something that makes you happy," says Nita Nagaraj, Corporate Chef at Jaypee Hotels. "It's a hard grind, since freshers start off at the bottom of the ladder, cutting vegetables and manning a grill," says Kalra. But the financial and professional rewards make the effort worthwhile.

-Rahul Sachitanand