I was in the second year of my engineering when for the first time I saw the Forbes Marshall’s Kasarwadi unit from the bus while travelling to Pune. I was studying in Government College of Engineering & Research, Awasari Khurd, in Instrumentation and Control stream. I didn’t know much about FM at that time. Then I searched about FM on the internet to know about their business and product ranges. I found it very interesting. I used to watch the FM’s product videos on YouTube and look for job opportunities if there are any for freshers.

In the last year of my engineering, Dhamankar Sir had visited our college, and at that time he presented the concept of CII training. At that moment, I had decided to be a part of this training and I started to put my steps accordingly. I would like to thank Ms. Shalaka Mane who had guided me at that time as she had been working with FM after the completion of her CII training.

Unfortunately, I got placed in one company during campus placement in the final year and I joined there. But still, it was ticking in my mind that it is not the thing which I wanted. One day, I received an email from Dhamankar Sir regarding an application for CII training, and without thinking much, I had applied for it. Within the next two days, I received a confirmation email. Without wasting much time, I resigned from my current job (which was in Goa) and I came to Pune.

The inauguration ceremony of our batch-31 was conducted on 22nd November 2021. That ice-breaking session by Puranik Sir was so much happening and the learnings started from the very first day. You need to speak out with confidence wherever you go.

Everything was going very well and then one day, Dhamankar Sir called us and told us, “we have to hold our training for a few days due to the spread of COVID 19 herein Pune”. We didn’t know that it would be our last training day at FM. Everyone was excited for the valedictory ceremony which was going to happen in the next 13 days but then this also got postponed. Everyone was disappointed but we did not have any option at that time and that was the end of our training. We still look forward to holding it in person whenever the office starts normal operations again. In that tough time also, our few batch mates got selected in the various areas of FM after successfully cracking the interviews. All credit goes to Moushami Achari Ma’am who had guided us in resume building and interview techniques and of course Dhamankar Sir who helped us with those opportunities.

So, I learned a lot of things from my CII journey. I got clarity on which career path I have to choose. In this competitive era, only sound technical knowledge is not enough to sustain and progress. You have to be proactive and bold enough. One thing I would like to mention is that Dhamankar Sir used to tell us to ask as many questions as we can. No question is silly or stupid and yes, that was right. Asking questions when you are new to all the things is worth it. It defines our dynamics. It is my strong belief that if you are fresher and confused about your career path, join the FM CII training and you will get answers to all your questions.

On the concluding note, I would like to say thank you to each FM family member, Puranik Sir, Moushami Ma’am who helped me, guided me during my training period, and to Dhamankar Sir indeed for everything.

– Shubham Thaware,
CII-FM AA Batch-31