Reach out for the skies

• Q: Although I’m from a small town in Assam, I have studied in an English medium boarding school. Is it necessary for me to join an airhostess training academy if I want to become an airhostess?

— Rukmini Saikia

• A: You don’t necessarily need to enrol for an expensive course run by private institutes that have mushroomed across the country. Most premier airlines put their cabin crew through a rigorous training programme to hone their skills. Many of the international airlines send their hostesses abroad for training.

The training is specially designed to familiarise you with aviation terminology, destinations to which the airline operates as well as refresher courses in geography.

Understanding time differences and different currencies, handling passengers, documentation and laws and regulations of travel are also covered in the training schedule. In-flight service training includes understanding the cuisine of different countries, bar sales and identifying different wines and cheeses. You will be taught how to serve passengers in different classes, that is, first, executive and economy.

Post 9/11, passenger and aircraft security has gained paramount importance. Flight safety classes are conducted using simulated or mock evacuation drills.

Since the airhostess epitomises the warm and welcoming face of the airline, personal grooming and voice training form a very important part of the training.

If you have the grit and determination, you can surely get your wings for this high-flying job. So while it is by no means mandatory, joining a training academy can help if you are lacking in confidence or communication skills. Some budget airlines also tap into the products of these schools. But at the end of the day, you have to make the cut.

Age no bar to SSC success

Q: What is the age limit / relaxation for exams conducted by the Staff Selection Commission?

— Mukesh Gaur

A:The age limit is different for different posts. Make sure you confirm this from the respective exam notices published in the Employment News.

Generally, the age limit is 18-27 years.

The relaxation in the upper age limit is as follows: five years for scheduled caste /scheduled tribe candidates, three years for other backward castes and 10 years for the physically handicapped.

For widows, divorced or judicially separated women, the age limit is 35 years for unreserved category, 40 years for scheduled caste / scheduled tribe applicants and 38 years for other backward castes.

Ex-servicemen and departmental candidates should consult the exam notification. You could also check for details on the Staff Selection Commission website (http://ssc.nic).

Be a sport and manage players

Q: I am crazy about sports and would love to run a sports management company. Please give me some tips. Do I need a degree in mass communication?

— Mridula George

A: No, an academic degree is not absolutely necessary, although some background in marketing, either through education or experience, should help.

Managing celebrities is a well-established concept abroad. In India, it is more in vogue with film stars, but now cricketers, tennis players and golfers are also becoming very conscious about their image. People who are creative, confident, self-motivated and have an eye for detail are well suited to work as event managers or PR managers for companies that organise sporting events.

Players like Sania Mirza are the clients of sports management companies

Nowadays, there is so much money in sports that all well-known players have their own personal agents or managers. Even new entrants have started employing managers to look after their career. As a sports manager or agent, you will be responsible for a player’s schedules, career progression, business promotion, media and public relations. The administrative aspects like budgeting, finance and other logistics would also be your responsibility. Sports management combines work as an agent together with the business and marketing aspects of the sport.

The job of a sports administrator involves planning and management of sports activities and events from time to time. There are many private and government-sponsored sports institutions which employ qualified persons to manage their work at various levels. It has been seen that these officials have been sports teachers and coaches.

In case of leisure and sports-club management, you are expected to handle administrative work, including that of managing accounts, planning, preparing schedules and timetables and arranging for specialised coaches as per requirement.

If you have a sports background, it would be useful. Given below are the names of institutes that offer courses in sports management.

The Indian Institute of Social Welfare and Business Management (www.iiswbm.edu) in Calcutta offers a one-year postgraduate diploma in sports management for which the eligibility is a bachelors degree. The Symbiosis Institute of Health Sciences in Pune offers a one-year PG diploma as well as a six-month certificate course in fitness training. The Indira Gandhi Institute of Physical Education and Sports Science, New Delhi, offers a one-year PG diploma in sports management. Alagappa University (under the department of distance education) in Karaikudi, Tamil Nadu, (www.alagappa univ.org), offers a one-year PG diploma in sports management in the distance learning mode.