For this Infosys employee teaching job skills is returning the favour

K Nithyananda's journey from being an unemployed science graduate of Kuvempu University to a senior process executive at Infosys is one of hard work and determination.This third child of a lower-level government employee, now shares his story and skill with youngsters from underprivileged backgrounds, who dream of a career like his.
"The reason youngsters like me are not considered in high-profile private companies is because of poor communication skills, reasoning ability and lack of confidence," the 26 year-old said. He recalled that a newspaper advertisement had led him to Unnati, the Bengaluru-based nonprofit that coaches underprivileged youth in technical and soft skills, free of charge.

He enrolled into one of their courses and was trained for administrative assistance and life skills.

After a gruelling three-month session, of more than 12 hours everyday , he found himself a job at Firstsource, the business process management company in Chennai. Within months, he was promoted as a team leader. In 2014, he applied for a job opening at software giant Infosys in Bengaluru and was asked to join the human resources operations team as a senior executive after multiple rounds of interviews and training.

"When I went back to Unnati for an alumni meet, I saw no one from my batch had turned up," Nithyananda said. "I looked at the students, all from a background similar to mine or worse.I wanted to teach them. The trustees were more than happy to let me contribute."

He realised how important it was for students to have full-fledged training in analytical reasoning, numerical ability , general knowledge and aptitude along with technical expertise required for their specific field. So, Nithyananda spent his weekends teaching students all the skills that he had acquired over the years. For this, he travels over 22 km from his home in Electronics City to Benniganahalli.

Nithyananda has trained more than 60 students so far, many of whom have found jobs in companies like TCS and Hinduja Group."Using my skills to teach students and ensuring that they are prepared for the competitive job market is the least I can do."

AS Narayanan, trustee, Unnati, said: "Nithyananda understands the pain of what it means when someone doesn't know a particular skill and how difficult it gets without the knowledge and the means to acquire it. He is determined to transfer his skills to others and that is what is good about him."