Sukh Sandhu: A Serial Entrepreneur With An Impeccable Academic & Professional Record
Sukh Sandhu
CEO
Sukh's story is quite interesting. Let's wind back two decades. Then there was a talent hunt conducted in India by a US-based organization in 1998-1999. One of the youngsters selected for a training course was Sukh and he subsequently was trained alongside 60 other professionals with the promise of a five figure salary at the conclusion of the course. Sukh kick started his professional career as a web designer and developer in Solana beautiful Himalayan town, and was promoted to manager within four months. The boy who always dreamed big and worked hard, gave his career all and seized every opportunity that came his way. Sukh mixed his professional career ideally with different academic courses and certifications, which further helped him climb through the ladder at a swift pace. He inevitably stepped into entrepreneurship serial entrepreneurship, and then some!
Today after more than two decades he started his journey Sukh's entrepreneurial venture Career Calling International, keeps up with his reputation by helping to build a skilled manpower pool for global industry requirements, developing best organization wide global mindset improving virtual team performance preparing international assignee's and equipping employees to work effectively in a specific target market.
Let’s hear more from Sukh, who engages in an exclusive interview with CEO Insights.
You started your professional career at such an early age, and you never stopped learning. How has been the journey so far? How does your strong professional and academic background help you today?
Yes, my journey began relatively early, and I was fortunate to work with managers who were both talented and professional in their roles. I have also been able to complete numerous bachelors and masters level courses, including bachelors of computer applications, a postgraduate diploma in process improvement, a post graduate diploma in computer applications, an advanced diploma in technologies, a postgraduate diplomain business management, a master’s degree in computer science, a master's degree in information technology a master’s degree in business administration, and many vocational education and training courses. I am a qualified social media expert as well as a successful blogger, having published thousands of blogs and web pages over the course of my professional career.I also obtained my ISO certification quite early in my professional career. Risk management, quality assurance, auditing, and project management have all been vital parts of the work I've done thus far.
My educational and professional backgrounds have been extremely beneficial to me the university where I received my education provided me with job opportunities. Also, I was able to make some really great professional contacts, I understood and followed the processes, and I was given the opportunity to understand how things can be done, the risks associated with them, while project management, and other skills such as technical, non-technical communication, and interpersonal have also been extremely beneficial to me.
What was the gap that you foresaw to start Career Calling International?
I started Career Calling for the simple reason that I couldn't discover any compliant learning or assessment resources in the market when I first went looking. There were resources, but none of them were of the quality I wanted to provide to my students. As a result our resources have been tried and tested, and they are audit ready. We provide audit and compliance support, as well as advocacy and support for industry best practices. I also noticed that truly good consultants were extremely scarce in the fields of higher education and vocational education, and training with sound knowledge of standards legislation or audit experience, among other things.
What different roles & responsibilities have you been undertaking within the organization?
My roles and responsibilities within the organization include Senior Instructional Designer, Director Training, Operations and Compliance Director Compliance, Resources, Risk Management and Quality Assurance and Chief Executive Officer.
What are the differential factors that set Career Calling International a class apart from your competitors? What's your mantra while bridging the gap between industry and academia?
Our organization is identified by a number of characteristics that distinguish it from other organizations. The majority of people who work in this organization have known each other for at least 10-15 years they are all industry leaders who are highly qualified and follow forward thinking, who have a can do mentality, and who work collaboratively as a family.
Also, all of our team members come
from education and training backgrounds, so they have extensive knowledge of adult learning principlestheories and standards, as well as compliance and regulatory background.
Our organization also spends a significant amount of money on research activities, better technology, and recruitment of exceptional people. Any organization is only as good as the people that are a part of it on a constant basis. As a result, our primary focus has always been on identifying individuals with a can do mentality.
A number of technologies, including cloud computing, robotics, artificial intelligence virtual reality, cyber security, gamification, big data, the Internet of things, voice assistants, the blockchain, predictive sales and lead scoring, serverless computing, natural language processing, and a variety of other technologies are currently being actively researched and solutions are currently in development.
Consequently, what distinguishes us from other organizations is that we are constantly looking for ways to improve our practices in a positive way, that we take calculated steps to ensure that we try and then adopt better ways of running our businesses and processes and that our employees are regarded as members of our extended family.
Can you elaborate on the different talent pool development services that are provided by Career Calling International? How do you coordinate the operations of your different ventures?
We provide one stop shopping, as evidenced by the growth of CAQA Resources and CAQA Publications, which provide training and assessment resources for universities, colleges, and TAFEs, as well as CAQA and Australian Higher Education Group, which are consultancy arms for vocational education & training and higher education, respectively, providing compliance and risk management services to government and non-government organizations.
We are also a well known provider of professional development and workshops around the world through our subsidiaries Edu learning and CAQA Skills, as well as employment services through our businesses CAQA Recruitment and Career Calling Jobs. We provide website, digital, SCORM compliant files, mobile learning and e-learning, and social media services to thousands of organizations through our sister company CAQA Digital and Online Media Solutions. Our CAQA Systems department providesinformation technology, cybersecurity, and system support to organizations all over the world.
We also provide immigration and migration services through our affiliate companies, The Immigration Worldwide and Khalsa Migration, as I am also a migration agent and immigration consultant. We provide a one stop shop for vocational education and training organizations through our website, VET Sector.
We have some fantastic business analysts who provide support to our company through Professional business analysts and CAQA Analytics services. The input from stake holders, as well as benchmarking standards and criteria established according to the best practices in the industry, are used to evaluate the quality and efficacy of the training that we provide.
In your professional journey so far, which are the milestones that bestowed you with utmost satisfaction both as individuals and as an entrepreneur?
In life and business, there are things that you do because you need money, things that you do to build connections and network, things that you do to improve your resources and practices, and then there are things that you do because you enjoy doing them, regardless of how much or how little money you get out of them. A key highlight of my professional journey thus far has been being headhunted to work for the Australian Government, despite the fact that I had not applied for the position, which was fantastic.
Other notable accomplishments include being named by a US firm as one of the top 60 students from a country, as well as having written over 20,000 poems and 400 stories. Published thousands of blogs, collaborated with some of the best companies, universities, and institutions in the world, was selected as a Twitter Jockey to run Dancing with the Stars contestants and marketing promotions, worked with Colors TV to run the Big Brother (Bigg Boss) contest, launched the first Punjabi online radio station in Australia, and worked as a Radio Jockey with Australia's premier Punjabi radio station and interviewed my favorite people in the world, among many other accomplishments.
The VET Sector has been recognized as the finest newsletter by the public on a monthly basis since 2013, and I have been ranked among the top ten social media specialists from 2012 to 2016. In 2012 and 2013, LinkedIn recognized me as one of the top one percent of most-viewed profiles worldwide, and I have been trending on Twitter more than 45 times between 2012-2016
People who want to do the right thing will find numerous excellent opportunities in the country
Our organization also spends a significant amount of money on research activities, better technology, and recruitment of exceptional people. Any organization is only as good as the people that are a part of it on a constant basis. As a result, our primary focus has always been on identifying individuals with a can do mentality.
A number of technologies, including cloud computing, robotics, artificial intelligence virtual reality, cyber security, gamification, big data, the Internet of things, voice assistants, the blockchain, predictive sales and lead scoring, serverless computing, natural language processing, and a variety of other technologies are currently being actively researched and solutions are currently in development.
Consequently, what distinguishes us from other organizations is that we are constantly looking for ways to improve our practices in a positive way, that we take calculated steps to ensure that we try and then adopt better ways of running our businesses and processes and that our employees are regarded as members of our extended family.
Can you elaborate on the different talent pool development services that are provided by Career Calling International? How do you coordinate the operations of your different ventures?
We provide one stop shopping, as evidenced by the growth of CAQA Resources and CAQA Publications, which provide training and assessment resources for universities, colleges, and TAFEs, as well as CAQA and Australian Higher Education Group, which are consultancy arms for vocational education & training and higher education, respectively, providing compliance and risk management services to government and non-government organizations.
We are also a well known provider of professional development and workshops around the world through our subsidiaries Edu learning and CAQA Skills, as well as employment services through our businesses CAQA Recruitment and Career Calling Jobs. We provide website, digital, SCORM compliant files, mobile learning and e-learning, and social media services to thousands of organizations through our sister company CAQA Digital and Online Media Solutions. Our CAQA Systems department providesinformation technology, cybersecurity, and system support to organizations all over the world.
We also provide immigration and migration services through our affiliate companies, The Immigration Worldwide and Khalsa Migration, as I am also a migration agent and immigration consultant. We provide a one stop shop for vocational education and training organizations through our website, VET Sector.
We have some fantastic business analysts who provide support to our company through Professional business analysts and CAQA Analytics services. The input from stake holders, as well as benchmarking standards and criteria established according to the best practices in the industry, are used to evaluate the quality and efficacy of the training that we provide.
In your professional journey so far, which are the milestones that bestowed you with utmost satisfaction both as individuals and as an entrepreneur?
In life and business, there are things that you do because you need money, things that you do to build connections and network, things that you do to improve your resources and practices, and then there are things that you do because you enjoy doing them, regardless of how much or how little money you get out of them. A key highlight of my professional journey thus far has been being headhunted to work for the Australian Government, despite the fact that I had not applied for the position, which was fantastic.
Other notable accomplishments include being named by a US firm as one of the top 60 students from a country, as well as having written over 20,000 poems and 400 stories. Published thousands of blogs, collaborated with some of the best companies, universities, and institutions in the world, was selected as a Twitter Jockey to run Dancing with the Stars contestants and marketing promotions, worked with Colors TV to run the Big Brother (Bigg Boss) contest, launched the first Punjabi online radio station in Australia, and worked as a Radio Jockey with Australia's premier Punjabi radio station and interviewed my favorite people in the world, among many other accomplishments.
The VET Sector has been recognized as the finest newsletter by the public on a monthly basis since 2013, and I have been ranked among the top ten social media specialists from 2012 to 2016. In 2012 and 2013, LinkedIn recognized me as one of the top one percent of most-viewed profiles worldwide, and I have been trending on Twitter more than 45 times between 2012-2016
for various projects. For more than two decades, I have worked in the vocational and higher education industries. During this period, I have held a variety of positions with RTOs, including CEO positions for international colleges and National Compliance and Quality Assurance Manager positions for a variety of RTOs, TAFEs, and universities. As a result, I am quite grateful for these few opportunities and milestones as an individual and as a CEO.
Tell us about the recentrevenue growth, client base, global presence and the future roadmap of your company.
At this time, Career Calling International is seeking suitable expansion opportunities in a range of countries in order to provide high quality training and assessment, digital and online media, networking, and technology solutions to customers. COVID has undoubtedly made it increasingly challenging for us to connect with the appropriate people and businesses throughout the world, but we welcome all of their offers and look forward to connecting with them viavideo conferencing tools. For example, our sister company CAQA Publications has begun developing and distributing resources on Google Books and Amazon Kindle, and we hope to be available on 28 other platforms by the end of the year 2022. A relationship with Sydney based EduLabs has recently been formed in order to deliver actual lab environments to organizations that employ our assessments and learner solutions. CAQA Digital and Online Media Solutions provide search engine optimization, marketing, and digital solutions to a global audience our professional development portals Edu Learning and CAQA Skills are there to support the personal and professional growth of individuals and organizations around the world and our compliance and regulatory operations services are there to serve governments not for profit organizations and other organizations worldwide. Working on a variety of initiatives that we plan to deploy in the next 3-4 months has kept us fairly busy at the present which is understandable given our current workload.
What will be your advice for other leaders who aspire to expand their operations to Australia?
Australia is a beautiful country with some of the most amazing and talented individuals I've ever met, and I highly recommend all companies worldwide to consider Australia as a business place. People who want to do the right thing will find numerous excellent opportunities in the country. The governments are extremely supportive, and there are numerous financial and commercial support programs available. Because of our income we did not obtain much COVID support nonetheless many businesses received tremendous government support, indicating that the country possesses all of the necessary elements to start grow and manage successful businesses.
Sukh Sandhu, CEO, Career Calling International
Sukh is the Founder and CEO of a number of successful businesses and brands globally, including Career Calling International, RTO Training and Consulting Group, Quality and Assurance Group, The Immigration Worldwide, RTO Training Resources, and Compliance and Quality Assurance (CAQA).
Hobby:Sukh enjoys writing poems and stories, and he has a YouTube channel that has 5.69K subscribers. He loves doing volunteer work to support not for profit organizations and has worked with over 500 of them. Learning new languages is also one of his hobbies. He adds, "However, I am not getting much time from the last few years to focus on poems and YouTube and social media channels”.
Favorite Cuisine:I absolutely adore Indian cuisine and my favorite dish is malai kofta.
Favorite Book:"I like the Shantaram book that was handed to me by my manager, Anna Haranas, who has always treated me as if I were her own son,"Sukh says.
Favorite Travel Destination:"I would love to visit Canada it wasalso my mother's dream to visit this country before her death, which I was unable to fulfil, so I would like to visit this country as soon as possible before I leave this world. Despite having obtained Canadian residency, I was unable to travel to the nation for a variety of reasons," he adds.
Awards & Recognition:
•Best Blogger Award 2013:Internet choice Awards (On people votes)
•Top 10 Social Media Experts - 2002 to 2016
•Haryana Punjabi (Sahit)Kala Manch-January, 2005, Haryana Punjabi (Sahit) Kala Manch Got First prize in ‘Mini Story Competition' on the basis of Lok Sewa Story
•May,1997, Adara ‘Rooh',Hisar successfully participated in "Educational Quiz Contest" organized by Adara (Rooh) Hisar and won the first prize.
•Stage acts and Dramas: Always got first prize from his participation in stage acts and dramas from 1988 to 2000.
•In 2003, from his PGDCA (Post Graduate Diploma in Computer Applications) from Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra got the fourth rank and completed the course with the first division.
•November, 2004, Inlingua, Chandigarh Got Scholarship in Inlingua Certificate of excellence (English) from Inlingua International English School, passed it with 88 percent marks
•In 1998-1999 a US based organization Webcom Technologies US conducted a National Talent Search Examination and selected 60 students from India for onsite training and learning and he was one of them. He further completed his Diploma of Advanced Studies (Information Technology)from Webcom Technologies US with A+ Grade (Above 85 percent Marks).
•Completed Masters of Business Administration(MBA)over 90percent marks
Tell us about the recentrevenue growth, client base, global presence and the future roadmap of your company.
At this time, Career Calling International is seeking suitable expansion opportunities in a range of countries in order to provide high quality training and assessment, digital and online media, networking, and technology solutions to customers. COVID has undoubtedly made it increasingly challenging for us to connect with the appropriate people and businesses throughout the world, but we welcome all of their offers and look forward to connecting with them viavideo conferencing tools. For example, our sister company CAQA Publications has begun developing and distributing resources on Google Books and Amazon Kindle, and we hope to be available on 28 other platforms by the end of the year 2022. A relationship with Sydney based EduLabs has recently been formed in order to deliver actual lab environments to organizations that employ our assessments and learner solutions. CAQA Digital and Online Media Solutions provide search engine optimization, marketing, and digital solutions to a global audience our professional development portals Edu Learning and CAQA Skills are there to support the personal and professional growth of individuals and organizations around the world and our compliance and regulatory operations services are there to serve governments not for profit organizations and other organizations worldwide. Working on a variety of initiatives that we plan to deploy in the next 3-4 months has kept us fairly busy at the present which is understandable given our current workload.
What will be your advice for other leaders who aspire to expand their operations to Australia?
Australia is a beautiful country with some of the most amazing and talented individuals I've ever met, and I highly recommend all companies worldwide to consider Australia as a business place. People who want to do the right thing will find numerous excellent opportunities in the country. The governments are extremely supportive, and there are numerous financial and commercial support programs available. Because of our income we did not obtain much COVID support nonetheless many businesses received tremendous government support, indicating that the country possesses all of the necessary elements to start grow and manage successful businesses.
Sukh Sandhu, CEO, Career Calling International
Sukh is the Founder and CEO of a number of successful businesses and brands globally, including Career Calling International, RTO Training and Consulting Group, Quality and Assurance Group, The Immigration Worldwide, RTO Training Resources, and Compliance and Quality Assurance (CAQA).
Hobby:Sukh enjoys writing poems and stories, and he has a YouTube channel that has 5.69K subscribers. He loves doing volunteer work to support not for profit organizations and has worked with over 500 of them. Learning new languages is also one of his hobbies. He adds, "However, I am not getting much time from the last few years to focus on poems and YouTube and social media channels”.
Favorite Cuisine:I absolutely adore Indian cuisine and my favorite dish is malai kofta.
Favorite Book:"I like the Shantaram book that was handed to me by my manager, Anna Haranas, who has always treated me as if I were her own son,"Sukh says.
Favorite Travel Destination:"I would love to visit Canada it wasalso my mother's dream to visit this country before her death, which I was unable to fulfil, so I would like to visit this country as soon as possible before I leave this world. Despite having obtained Canadian residency, I was unable to travel to the nation for a variety of reasons," he adds.
Awards & Recognition:
•Best Blogger Award 2013:Internet choice Awards (On people votes)
•Top 10 Social Media Experts - 2002 to 2016
•Haryana Punjabi (Sahit)Kala Manch-January, 2005, Haryana Punjabi (Sahit) Kala Manch Got First prize in ‘Mini Story Competition' on the basis of Lok Sewa Story
•May,1997, Adara ‘Rooh',Hisar successfully participated in "Educational Quiz Contest" organized by Adara (Rooh) Hisar and won the first prize.
•Stage acts and Dramas: Always got first prize from his participation in stage acts and dramas from 1988 to 2000.
•In 2003, from his PGDCA (Post Graduate Diploma in Computer Applications) from Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra got the fourth rank and completed the course with the first division.
•November, 2004, Inlingua, Chandigarh Got Scholarship in Inlingua Certificate of excellence (English) from Inlingua International English School, passed it with 88 percent marks
•In 1998-1999 a US based organization Webcom Technologies US conducted a National Talent Search Examination and selected 60 students from India for onsite training and learning and he was one of them. He further completed his Diploma of Advanced Studies (Information Technology)from Webcom Technologies US with A+ Grade (Above 85 percent Marks).
•Completed Masters of Business Administration(MBA)over 90percent marks