Launched with a special midnight session of Parliament on the 1st of July 2017, GST was a historical move by the Government, which left the citizens of the country in a confused state. GST has brought in 'one nation one tax' system, ditching the old system when businesses in India had to pay a range of taxes - some to the center, others to the state government. But there were several other nuances attached with the GST subject, which the big, as well as the small businesses, were not aware of. Overnight the demand for professionals with commerce background, Chartered Accountants and the few with GST expertise, intensified. Every company was prepping to get in order GST teams to cope up with the changes required in the tax arena. According to experts, companies across sectors were set to hire over 20,000 finance professionals that year. In that scenario when hardly any institute was imparting GST related education, GST Centre (R), founded by Naison Louis, was training GST experts before months ahead.
A Chartered Accountant by profession, Louis had started his career as an Audit Head in a reputed company, only to realize his strong passion for teaching. This made him leave the comfort of a well-paying job and embark into the field of education with commencing a small accounting training Institution in Kerala with few courses and two staff in 2010. Despite bumping into some initial challenges, Louis with his non-compromising attitude in quality training soon earned niche recognition in various colleges for accounting training programs followed by becoming visiting faculty in some eminent colleges. After that point, there was never looking backfrom accomplishing some government projects in training to adding more courses. The training center of Louis later took the shape of GST Centre (R) that offers specialized training in GST and it started with initial works in 2015 with Trademark registration, Website domains registrations, studying GST laws outside India, designing software and systems and so on.
Louis shares, "The GST Centre (R) is a prestigious project of Topmans Education And Career Horizons Private Ltd (TEACH Group), a Company incorporated under Companies Act 2013, India and Approved by Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, Govt. of India. It is also certified with ISO 9001:2015." The students aspiring to undertake GST training at GST Centre (R) are offered varied courses viz. GST beginner level, Inter level, DGSTTM (Diploma in GST) and so on. However, out of all these courses, the most popular one among the student community is Diploma in GSTTM that promises to provide a comprehensive theoretical and practical knowledge and skills of GST. Exclusively customized for Gulf going candidates, the institute's Diploma in GCC VATTM helps the candidates to understand how GCC VAT works, to whom it applies, how to comply with the administrative obligations related to it and how to mitigate any risks deriving from the implementation of GCC VAT and so on.
"The institute also goes the extra mile and ensures cent percent job guarantee to those who pursue the institute's premium course- D CAT (R) (Diploma in Computerized Accounting & Taxation) that comprises all subjects relevant to an Accountant to work in the industry including with personality development sessions," adds Louis. GST Centre (R) stands out among the other training centers in many ways, one of which is, of course, its humble effort of providing one-year e-learning program entirely free with all the courses to its students. Notably, considering the frequent changes in GST Law, the institute has placed a Research & Development Team that continuously monitor the changes and come up with latest contents in the e-learning tutorials and supplementary notes to update course content.
For an Effective Education
Compared to most of the training centers, where the students are kept confined only to the classroom training by the trainers, at GST Centre (R), the students are handed over high quality, an affordable and easily accessible educational programme. Louis explains, "Designing each course with the assistance of renowned experts in the field, we take the onus of providing not only industry-oriented but also simplified study materials, along with the accessibility to learning management system with e-learning videos in which they can learn at any time any-where & anytime." Owing to the relentless efforts for achieving excellence, put by the institute, now there are more than 100 branches of GST Centre (R) across India with a student pass out the strength of 2360 within two years.
And for those who are unable to physically attend the classes, the institute has started online courses through the platform www.accounts.academy (powered by TEACH Group), in which more than a thousand candidates enroll every year. As the institute ardently focuses on grooming the students in the best possible manner, precise attention is given by the management of the institute to bring on board only the exceptional trainers. "We have appointed an esteemed team of faculty members who are twice a week trained by the R&D team via webinars. Before they commence the training sessions, they are supposed to attempt qualifying exams and get certified from GST Centre (R)," pinpoints Louis.
The teaching methodologies adopted by the faculty members are also quite up to the mark. Faculty members at GST Centre (R) go beyond the classroom boundaries and arrange regular seminars and provide doubt clarifications through social media groups. All the trainers at GST Centre (R) are well acquainted with their responsibilities and take the necessary steps in strengthening the knowledge of the students through arranging frequent seminars even after the course, doubt clarifications sessions through social media groups. Louis claims, "In our institute, we embrace a simulation environment that greatly encourages the students to mold into industry-ready candidates. Industry visits, internships, and personality development sessions make the entire program more fruitful."
Translating Success
Given the fact that GST Centre (R) caters to a student community that includes a major portion from employed candidates; it takes explicit care in meeting the individual needs and convenience of its working students. Louis proudly says, "For reaching out to maximum students, we conduct workshops on GST in various locations such as Mumbai, Pune, Lucknow, Delhi, Kochi, and Bangalore. These workshops were a great success with about 400 participants getting benefited from the training." Over the years, the institute has achieved impressive milestones encompassing association with National Council for Technology & Training, Certification from Association of GST Professionals, approval by Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, Govt. of India, GST Centre (R) trademark registered by Controller of General of Patents, Designs and Trademarks, New Delhi for training and Consultation, inauguration of its 50th Centre by Shri. Suresh Prabhu (Honorable Minister of Commerce & Industry, Govt. of India), to name a few.
"Compared to most of the training centers, where the students are kept confined only to the classroom training by the trainers, at gst centre (r), the students are handed over high-quality, an affordable and easily accessible
Educational programme"
GST Centre (R) since its inception has stood upon its promises by maintaining the highest standard of quality in all its centers across the nation. In an account of this, the institute has formed a Total Quality Management (TQM) system, where strict eyes are kept on forwarding the most updated and worthy content to the students. Positioning itself as "Next Generation Education Company", GST Centre (R) leaves no stone unturned to adopt the best existing training practices.
"We take pride in having a very strong alumni base who is brand ambassadors of our institute and are taking forward the name of GST Centre (R) through demonstrating their earned skills at their respective workplaces," opines Louis. The institute has built a separate portal viz. www.gstcentre.org that helps the alumni to stay connected with their alma mater. All the members of the institute including both the past and on-going students also get in touch them through webinars, WhatsApp groups, and social media. Notably, GST Centre (R) in parallel to giving strong career foundations to the students assists them in obtaining decent jobs in top-notch companies.
When it comes to evaluation and certifying the students, GST Centre (R) takes the support of world-class exam software, live recordings, and quality evaluation process, enhancing the student's confidence and making the process more reliable and transparent. "Understanding our aim of developing responsible leaders and taking a small step towards the betterment of nature, we gift our students a seed pen which contains seeds that can grow into trees (an initiative by Dr. Lakshmi Menon- Pure living)," shares Louis. Headquartered in Mumbai, having a corporate office in Noida and registered office in Kochi, GST Centre (R) team is working relentlessly on launching various new courses in near future and keep on producing lifelong learners who can compete globally.
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