Helping people find new opportunities
“If you have a dream or goal, never give up on it – anything is possible” – Sukh Sandhu
The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the education and training landscape in a number of ways. Perhaps most significantly, it has accelerated the trend towards online and distance learning, as schools and colleges have been forced to close their doors and move their operations online. This has had a knock-on effect on the training and education industry as a whole, with many providers now offering more flexible, online options for students. In addition, the pandemic has also shone a light on the importance of digital skills and how vital they are in today’s world. As a result, many training providers are now offering courses that focus on teaching these essential skills.
The pandemic has also highlighted the need for greater flexibility and adaptability in the education and training sector. With so much uncertainty still surrounding the pandemic, it is clear that those providers who are able to offer flexible and adaptable solutions will be in a better position to weather the storm. So, overall, the pandemic has had a profound effect on the education and training industry. It has accelerated existing trends, such as the move towards online learning, and it has also highlighted the need for new skills, such as digital literacy. In order to survive and thrive in this new landscape, providers will need to be flexible and adaptable.
Today, we are going to talk about one such flexible and adaptable company – Career Calling International– whose services have positively impacted hundreds of people across the globe. They have guided people to find new opportunities which suit them the best. They have made a vital impact towards the digital literacy of India and helped people excel in their career choices. Career Calling has been the go-to place for people with qualms related to risk management and auditing besides guiding guding people from education and digital media industries. There were many firms providing same set of services before the pandemic him them and it hit them really hard.
The COVID-19 pandemic has thrown many businesses and industries into turmoil. But Career Calling International (CCI) has remained strong and continues to help organisations and individuals in risk management and auditing, training and education and digital media industries. Since the outbreak began, CCI has been working hard to help its clients adapt to the new normal. CCI has also been active in helping its clients find new opportunities. The company has started offering SCORM compliant files, virtual labs, and a lot more offerings in the virtual learning/online learning space.
Career Calling was founded in 2009 by Sukh Sandhu. Since then, the firm has become one of the leading suppliers of compliance, risk management, auditing, RTO resources, RTO consultancy, higher education consultancy, higher education resources, digital solutions and services, in the world. They have customers all over the world, and their products are used by some of the largest companies in the world. They sell their quality training resources through CAQA Resources, CAQA Courses and CAQA Publications.
Highly skilled and experienced professionals passionate about their work
Their mission is to provide their customers with the best possible products and services, and to continually innovate and improve their offerings. Their team comprises highly skilled and experienced professionals who are passionate about their work. They also work with a number of highly talented instructional designers, audit and compliance consultants and experts. They aim to increase their training and auditing activities in the ISO sector. Additionally, they are looking to open branches in a number of countries to provide training and education support to the local education and training institutions. Sukh Sandhu, the brain behind Career Calling, has been the force to reckon with and has led from the front.
Sukh Sandhu holds more than two decades of experience in the social media and digital, compliance and risk management, and training and education industry. Sandhu founded Career Calling International, Edu Learning, Awaaz Media, RTO Training and Consulting Group as well as CAQA, which have all won several recognitions and awards. As a serial entrepreneur and investor, he has founded and sold several companies. He is also a philanthropist and serves on the boards of directors for several organisations in addition to his business endeavours. On several special projects, Sukh has worked with national and international brands.
He has always been entrepreneurial. It’s always been in his nature to want to be his own boss and build something from scratch. That desire led him to take the first step and set up his own business. He started his first business while he was still in college. He saw a need for a particular service on campus and decided to fill it. From there, his business took off and he hasn’t looked back since. Now, he is passionate about helping other aspiring entrepreneurs take that first step and turn their dreams into reality. Like a true leader, he has always had a clear purpose or goal. He adapted and changed according to the circumstances. This has contributed immensely in achieving company’s goals.
One of the major components to achieve the goals has been the encouragement it provides to its people. The company believes in encouraging creative thinking. It encourages employees to think outside of the box and come up with new and innovative ideas. It also promotes creativity through the organizational culture, which values new perspectives and approaches. Finally, it provides opportunities for employees to share their ideas and receive feedback from others. This helps to create an environment where creativity can flourish and great ideas can come from. It has a very talented and creative workforce, and they always come up with new ideas to improve products and services.
Another source of great ideas is from their customers. They constantly solicit feedback from their customers about what they want and need, and this helps them generate new ideas for how they can better serve them. Finally, they also get some great ideas from outside sources, such as other businesses or industry experts. This allows them to keep up with the latest trends and stay ahead of the competition.
Maintaining momentum and remaining relevant in today’s ever-changing environment
The company has been flexible and responsive to the needs of its members and supporters. This has helped it maintain momentum and remain relevant in today’s ever-changing environment. Apart from this, they have stayed true to their values and principles, even when it would have been easier to compromise. “This has not always been easy, but I believe it has been one of the key factors in our success”, asserts Sandhu.
Since the inception of the firm, Sandhu set realistic goals and worked towards them each day. He religiously kept a track of his progress. In the entrepreneurial journey, one might meet people full of negativity. In such circumstances, it becomes imperative for the entrepreneur to surround himself with positive people, who support his goals. This is exactly what Sandhu did. In tough situations, he would visualize himself achieving all set goals which would give him the most needed courage to keep going amid all the obstacles.
Besides those tough situations, few life defining moments in his career have shaped his life positively. During his time on Twitter, Facebook, Orkut, LinkedIn, and Youtube, he became so popular that he worked for Star Plus, Radio Haanji, hosted a twitter contest for Colors TV, and received numerous offers from media companies. His decision was to continue his journey as a risk management, training, and education consultant, and that decision aided him in setting up a successful international organisation. The first stride to set up this international organization was taken at quite a tender age.
Many feathers in the caps
When Sandhu was only 14 years, he completed his training and started working on a five-figure salary in 1999. Also, he got the chance to work with Gowrie Victoria (Anna Haranas), Navitas, MIT, Australian Catholic University, Government Department – Australian Skills Quality Authority, Webcom Technologies USA, Heights Fashion and Technology, Zee Education, Franklyn Scholar, and other reputable organisations. His unique and engaging pedagogy has helped him win many accolades. One of them includes the teaching excellence award given by two Canadian organisations that selected 121 teachers from all over the world based on their extensive research and nominations.
Aside from that, he has also received recognition and awards such as the Online Choice Awards, which are awarded to the best blogger and the best social media expert according to the people’s choice vote, LinkedIn’s most visited profile, top blogger by VERVE, got several first prizes for the mini story and poem competitions, the fourth rank in PGDCA in the country, trainers of the year, etc. and they were all great moments for my career. He has been a passionate teacher throughout his career.
However, success always comes with a price tag. It always throws some challenges and tests our resilience and determination towards our goal. Even Sandhu, too, had to battle several challenges to become what he is today. There came a time when he had to move to a new country and start a new life. Those were testing times when he was restrained by the financial problems. But putting everything aside he kept his focus on his goal.
Sandhu’s decision to become an entrepreneur was one of the biggest risks ever taken by Sandhu. He left his comfortable, salaried job (around $3,00,000/annum) to become entrepreneur. It was a scary proposition, especially since he had no previous experience running his own business. “But I knew that it was something I really wanted to do, and so I took the leap. It’s been a few years now, and looking back I can say that it was definitely the right decision for me. Taking that risk has allowed me to follow my passion, and has given me the opportunity to build something truly special”, explains Sandhu.
Great support system in the form of family and friends
The biggest factor that helped him be successful during that phase was his willingness to work hard and never give up. “I have always been determined to achieve my goals, no matter how difficult they may seem. This determination has led me to success in many areas of my life”, adds Sandhu. In addition to working hard, he got a great support system in the form of his family and friends. Such support system has helped him become a leader who leads from the front. We know “with great power comes great responsibility”. Same stands true in the case of leaders.
The most difficult task of being in a leadership position is to make decisions that will impact not just yourself, but also the people who follow you. Leaders have to be able to think about the long-term consequences of their actions and how it will affect not just them, but also the people they are responsible for. It can be a very difficult thing to do, and it is something that leaders have to be constantly aware of. Sandhu has always taken decisions keeping in mind the long-term consequences for his team members.
Another difficult task for leaders is maintaining the trust of those who follow them. In any organization or group, there will always be some level of conflict and disagreement. It is the leader’s job to navigate these waters and try to maintain as much harmony as possible. This can be very difficult, especially when there are strong feelings and emotions involved. Leaders have to be able to see both sides of every issue and make decisions that will be fair to everyone involved. Like a true leader, Sandhu has ensured that the voice of every team member is heard and takes decision that is win-win for company and the employees.
Finally, another difficult task for leaders is simply staying motivated. Leading can be a very challenging and demanding job, and it is easy to get bogged down in the day-to-day grind. Leaders have to find ways to keep themselves motivated so that they can continue to lead effectively. This can be difficult, but it is essential for the success of any leader. This is where his support system in the form of his loved ones comes handy. Sandhu loves spending time with his family, dogs and friends. Apart from this, he is a big-time wanderlust and loves to explore different parts of the world. He likes spending his time playing Badminton and writing stories and poems. He has written almost 18,000 poems and 350 stories.
Staying motivated and hungry for any challenge
He tries to keep learning new things, participating in events and helping organisations as volunteer. He also likes to stay active by playing sports or going for walks/runs. Additionally, he enjoys trying new experiences. These activities keep him motivated and hungry for any kind of challenge that comes his way.
There are countless people who have helped him along his journey to success. His parents have always been his biggest supporters, cheering him on through every successes and helping him recover from every setback. They taught him the importance of hard work and resilience, and instilled in him a strong belief in him that has carried him through many challenges. His mother has been a great influence as she started working when she was 14 years old and she also influenced him to start working early as well and that helped him tremendously as he got the opportunity to try different things and finding out what could work for him.
His wife Raj Kiran has been a great source of support throughout his journey to success. She has always been there for him, offering her love and encouragement when he needed it most. “I would not be the man I am today without her by my side”, he says.
His mentors have also played a crucial role in his development as a leader. Their guidance and advice have helped him navigate complex situations, learn new skills, and make tough decisions. “I am deeply grateful for their wisdom and support. I am very thankful to Anna Haranas.”
Apart from this, his team has been essential to his success. They are the ones who help him turn his vision into reality, and he is constantly inspired by their dedication, creativity, and expertise.
Sukh Sandhu has a piece of advice for aspiring entrepreneurs and leaders. He says, “Never give up on your dreams. Pursue your passions and don’t let anything get in your way. Believe in yourself and always keep moving forward. Never settle for anything less than what you deserve. And always remember, no matter how tough things might get, that you can always make it through if you stay strong and never give up. So dream big, work hard, and never give up on yourself–you’ll achieve everything you’ve ever wanted in life.”
