Management programs offered should provide an opportunity for students to choose the courses which facilitate their multifaceted learning to augment employment opportunities. Managerial portfolios or roles demand that prospective candidates should have the ability to function in an environment where frequent interaction with different departments is the order of the day. Management Institutions need to own the responsibility of grooming students to have exposure to various functions of an organization. Programs offered by the business schools and courses designed should focus on students gaining knowledge and skills in more than one functional area. For instance, in an organization be it a manufacturing or service industry, a decision like providing credit to customers demands knowledge of both finance and marketing areas as it has implications for both the departments.

Siva Sivani Institute of Management (SSIM), Hyderabad’s Sectorial Specialization provide students with several opportunities to enhance their employability factor. SSIM is the first AICTE-approved private Business School in Hyderabad with a legacy of 30-plus years in imparting quality management education since 1992. The institution is also accredited by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC), the National Board of Accreditation (NBA), and the Association of Indian Universities (AIU). 

The article will deep dive into how SSIM Sectoral Specialization along with its industry-aligned program structure has helped in enhancing the employability factor of its MBA graduates.

Introduction of Sectorial Specialization along with Major and Minor

Students pursuing management programs must understand the interrelationships and interlinked nature of functions that are performed at organizations. Hence, students while choosing their specializations or courses need to understand the corporate practices and expectations so that the assigned activities at organizations can be performed with ease and could overcome challenges. The Siva Sivani Institute of Management (SSIM), Hyderabad has roped in senior corporate practitioners to design the programs keeping in mind the industry practices, trends, knowledge, and skills, so that the students passing out from the institution will be able to deliver and live up to industry expectations. The detailed reasons behind the Sectorial Specialization being one of the best courses for the enhancement of the employability factor of an MBA Graduate are as follows:

Performance-oriented Curriculum: The curriculum of SSIM, Hyderabad is competitive and performance-oriented. Management graduates are expected to be broad-based in their learning to be competitive and performance-oriented. The curriculum of SSIM helps the students in a great manner. It is well said that “The question is how can the programs and courses offered, pedagogy adopted and exposure to experiential learning tools need to be designed so that it contributes to Corporate’s Expectation out of management graduates”.

Broad Exposure: SSIM provides students with broad exposure to specializations. Management graduates who are exposed to varied specializations will certainly have broader exposure and knowledge in their specializations augmenting their employment opportunities which will facilitate higher productivity in their respective workplaces.

Variety of Elective Courses: During the second year, at SSIM, Hyderabad students get to customize their curriculum by choosing 10 electives across different areas apart from compulsory courses. Students are offered Major and Minor specializations in the areas of Marketing, Finance, Human resources, Operations, Information Technology, and Business Analytics. 

Offered in a wide variety of Specializations: As part of the new initiative, students are offered Sectorial Specialization in a large number of fields. Some of the well-known areas are as follows:

  • Banking Management
  • Digital Marketing
  • Retail Management
  • Business Analytics
  • Entrepreneurship

Out-of-Box Thinking: Out-of-box thinking or lateral thinking has been considered one of the most important skills that management graduates are expected to possess.Problem-solving and decision-making demand lateral thinking as well as knowledge of more than one functional area. Management education is providing a great learning experience by offering a range of courses where students are allowed to choose based on their interests and career plan. Hence, Business schools should provide an opportunity for students to choose a wide range of courses to have broad-based knowledge and skills. SSIM, Hyderabad provides students with a lateral or out-of-box thinking attitude.

Skill-based Learning: As part of the experiential learning exposure, Siva Sivani Institute of Management (SSIM), Hyderabad has started offering “SKILL BASED LEARNING” through the following avenues –

  • Real-time Cases
  • NSE Assisted Finance Lab
  • Business Simulations
  • LIVE Projects

Career Prospect of MBA’s Sectorial Specialization

MBA graduates of the Sectorial Specializations have multiple career options in both the Private and Public sectors. Some of the top career options are:

  • Product Manager
  • Data Scientist
  • Digital Marketer
  • Research Analyst

The Sectorial Specialization of the MBA Course provides students with several job opportunities in various fields. Some of the well-known fields in which MBA graduates got job offers are as follows:

  • Finance
  • Marketing
  • Human Resource Management
  • Operations
  • Supply Chain Management
  • E-commerce
  • Retail 

Sectorial Specialization and Skill-Based Learning had a huge impact on the transition of the recent management graduates from the institute resulting in 96.5% placements for the last 4 consecutive years. There has been a drastic change in the roles offered by corporates to SSIM graduates and they have been given portfolios in the area of 

  • Data Researcher -S&P Global
  • Analyst – Risk and Brand Protection- Deloitte
  • Associate Analyst – Global Production Operations- BERKADIA
  • Platform Advisory Associate - Supply Chain Management- Accenture

Benefits for Management Graduates

  • Continuously learn and adapt to a dynamic environment, exhibit analytical skills and effective decision making
  • Collaborate, network, and act as a catalyst of change for business and society