It was a bright and sunny day when I was waiting for my final year results and had gone to college to meet our Training & Placement officer. Here, I met Shekhar Dhamankar Sir AA (Affirmative Action) training head, he was discussing a unique training idea with a bunch of Instrumentation students. I was listening to it distinctly as I thought it was for ‘Instru’ students & me being an E&TC engineer cannot be a part of it. But then Shekhar Sir told me that as an engineer your attitude has to be that of a problem solver. I thought there was no harm in joining the training as I was going to get a glimpse of the corporate world and there was no compulsion as I was free to join any other job at any point during the training. The training didn’t assure any job guarantee but it was a good platform to get industrial exposure. This has been one of the wisest decisions I have made.
On inauguration day, I was equally excited and scared. Everything was new to me. Mr Aspi Kolah, Director, whose keynote address rightly predicted that our future was going to change! And Indeed it surely did! This CII-FM training program is unique in its own way as it gives exposure of the industry environment to fresh graduate engineers, who have studied theory for 4 long years and are eager to understand the actual life applications with absolutely zero cost. The training was for 3 months and we had 15 days of classroom sessions. My fellow trainees never gave up on me and with their help, I could study Instrumentation basics very well. The hands-on training was enjoyable. So much to learn, so much to experience. We all studied together for the test and discussed individual learnings. I feel we not only learnt the technical aspects of the Forbes Marshall product line but also we learnt the behavioural aspect of a professional, the attitude to maintain while solving an unexpected problem, to put in extra effort in times of crisis, and to stretch to test our individual stamina. We learnt to be responsible for our own tasks as well as be good team players to achieve the team target. This has also helped us in our personal lives. During the valedictory ceremony, many of us shared our experiences and it was a very bittersweet moment.
After a month, we received a call from HR stating that the organisation wants to interview us for the vacancies in different departments. We all rejoiced and prepared to crack the interview. When we were nervous before the interview, it was Shekhar Sir who calmed us down and wished us to perform our best. A month later one sudden afternoon I got a call from the HR department informing me that I was selected and asked to join Forbes Marshall in the next 2 days. Finally, all my hard work and patience had paid off. I was extremely overjoyed to join the organisation where I had already spent 3 months. It was a ‘coming home’ feeling for me. In a span of 5 months, my life has taken a 360 degrees turn. I had got placed in one of the leading manufacturing Indian Organisations that cared to provide customised solutions & best service to their customers. Forbes Marshall has always worked passionately for the welfare of the underprivileged people & surrounding community in different ways. I am glad that I could be part of a few activities in the past 11 years.
This being my first workplace, there are uncountable memories, so many lessons learnt, a few by someone else’s mistakes, many by my own. FM has always encouraged us to take calculated risks & few of the outcomes have been astonishing. These incidents had boosted my confidence. I feel this is what we all call an “experience”. The open culture at FM made us approachable to our bosses and higher management. We could always share our ideas and many of them have been implemented for the betterment of all the members. The Management has always listened to the people and acted upon suggestions which I feel makes FM different from other organisations.
In these 11 years at FM, I have experienced highs & lows in my life. But my team & entire FM family stood by me in the time of crisis. We celebrated festivals together, we worked extra hours in needy times. This way we have uplifted each other’s lives. This workplace has taught me hard work, integrity, compassion, family spirit, a mindset to fight the odd, smart work and much more. On the professional front, I have been fortunate enough to handle various product lines & different work roles in the organisation. This has honed my professional skills & made me a good team player. Without trust & equal opportunity, it would have been impossible to serve for more than 9 years & it’s still going strong.
I am immensely grateful to the organisation which has given me my first job, first salary, lifetime friends, a big extended lovely caring family, and much more professional knowledge & it all started with an unexpected unscheduled casual meeting with Shekhar Sir. I am truly grateful to this fatherly figure who has always been a great friend, philosopher, guide & Guru. He has been there with me, in my highs & lows sharing his experiences, knowledge, and words of wisdom. Moreover, he always listened to us patiently & his friendly advice has saved us every time. Even after all these years, hundreds of us are in touch with each other over social platforms, all thanks to this ‘Age is just a number ‘& ‘Young at Heart’ Fellow!!
“Now when I look back I feel that coincidence is a wonderful thing & nothing is a coincidence. Everything you are experiencing is meant to happen exactly how it’s happening.”
My one choice of joining this training program has changed my life forever! I know there is much more to learn, many milestones to cross and many achievements to accomplish!
A big warm Thanks to CII-FM training, Forbes Marshall & my Guru Shekhar Sir!!!
Madhavi Narote
CII-FM.AA Batch-1
