When the 23-year-old executive received the ‘Young Entrepreneur of the Year with Merit’ Award recently, there was a general note of satisfaction that merit does play its role in recognising people, irrespective of their age.
It was a moment of justifiable pride and honour for Umesh Thakur, for the honour, bestowed by the Human Resource Institute of New Zealand (HRINZ) at a ceremony held in Parliament Building on November 22, 2012 was well deserved.
Inspiring professionals
Patton Limited, where he is employed as HR Consultant, believes in recognising and promoting young talent is equally pleased over the achievement of the young man who is less than five years old in the Company.
Mr Thakur personified the objective of the HRINZ Awards Scheme, which encouraged professionals to reflect on their experiences, projects and learning.
The Institute believes that “this reflection provides HR professional entrants an opportunity to participate in a process of discovery, awareness, acknowledgment and achievement, which in turn provides an insight into the value that HR adds to organisations.”
The young man is fortunate to be associated with a company that sincerely believes in career advancement of its people and as its HR executive, Mr Thakur would be actively involved in the exercise.
“We have made Patton staff our competitive advantage and the HR initiatives launched over the years have helped our people to achieve a positive cultural shift and enhance the performance of the Company even in tough times.
“We believe in our people and continually aim to provide them the appropriate environment to learn and grow,” Mr Thakur said.
Impressive growth
This HR practitioner is also an inspiring example of hard work, self-confidence, self-discipline and self-motivation, with an innate ability to promote team spirit. Launching his career joining his father’s business and later at a call centre in his native India when he was 15 years old. Three years later, he arrived in Timaru in August 2007 to pursue a diploma course in Human Resource Management.
He was perhaps the youngest executive of Patton, when he joined the company in 2008 as an 18-year-old HR Coordinator, continuing his education as a part-time student.
Mr Thakur has since obtained qualifications in a number of other areas including Health and Safety, Payroll and Human Resources.
“There were several challenges as a HR professional but each challenge brought with it an opportunity to grow. We have in place a number of programmes to promote talent management. As well as focusing on our culture, we are keen to identify and encourage the wealth, knowledge, and experience inherent among our people in Patton. Training and development would be among the areas of concentration during 2013,” he said.
Motivating ambitions
His ambitions include obtaining a doctorate (PhD) in his chosen field and make Patton as a ‘Choice Employer.’ His vision is to be employed in the company’s Thailand and India offices.
With his strong belief in ethics and human values, Mr Thakur is constantly inspired by the life and works of Mahatma Gandhi and Albert Einstein.
“I want to fly high but I want my home on ground. Some people may tend to change their goals when the going gets tough. But I believe in changing and redirecting my efforts and not the goals,” he said.
Health and Safety are his prime areas of interest and he hopes to introduce fresh measures at the company’s operations in Australia this year.
