·6 min read
From Cuttack to Dubai: When Skills Create More Than a Career
A career does not always begin with a big ambition. Sometimes, it begins with a simple decision: learn a skill, find a job and build a better future. For Shreenath Das, that decision began in…
A career does not always begin with a big ambition. Sometimes, it begins with a simple decision: learn a skill, find a job and build a better future. For Shreenath Das, that decision began in Cuttack, Odisha, when he joined Madhusudan Government ITI after completing Class 10 in 2020. What followed was a journey that took him from technical training in India to international experience in Singapore and facility management in Dubai—and eventually gave him the confidence to think about building something of his own.
Shreenath’s first step was the Fitter trade at Madhusudan Government ITI. He later went on to the World Skill Center, where he completed an Advanced Certificate in Mechanical & Electrical Services Facility Maintenance. This gave him exposure to mechanical and electrical systems as well as the wider work involved in keeping buildings and facilities running. His training was not just about learning a trade; it gave him a foundation that he could build on as his career developed.
I chose to invest in my skills before investing in my salary.
From Cuttack to Singapore
The next opportunity took Shreenath beyond India. In October 2023, at the age of 19, he moved to Singapore for a seven-month internship with LAN System Engineering. He worked across three commercial buildings and gained practical experience in MEP systems, preventive maintenance and inspections of electrical panels, HVAC and lighting systems.
For Shreenath, the experience offered something that a classroom could not. He was able to see how technical work was carried out in an international environment and understand the importance of workplace safety, processes and standards. It also gave him a first glimpse of what a career could look like beyond the place where he had started.
When he returned to India, he joined Tata Steel Technical Services Limited in May 2024 as an Assistant Technical and took on shift-in-charge responsibilities. His work involved supervising technicians and vendor personnel, managing SAP PM work orders and working across industrial equipment and maintenance operations. His responsibilities were gradually changing, and with every role, he was moving from simply doing technical work towards taking responsibility for people, systems and operations.
Building a career in Dubai
In October 2025, another international opportunity took him to Dubai, where he joined Emrill Services. His work brought him into major developments including Dubai Creek Harbour and Expo City Dubai. He worked on MEP operations, coordinated teams and contractors, managed planned and reactive maintenance, and worked within international permit-to-work and HSE requirements.
This experience marked another stage in his career. The skills he had developed through his ITI education and specialised training were now being used in a much larger and more complex working environment. His role was increasingly about coordination, problem-solving and making sure that operations continued smoothly.
Today, Shreenath works as a Maintenance Coordinator at MFMC Maintenance LLC, where he coordinates facility maintenance across 106 residential and commercial properties in Dubai’s Business Bay. He supervises eight technicians, manages work orders, coordinates vendors and contractors, oversees preventive maintenance and also supports tenant and customer relations.
His journey reflects a gradual shift in the kind of work he does—from technical work on the ground to supervising people, coordinating operations and managing responsibilities across multiple properties. What began with a practical skill at an ITI has developed into a professional career in international facility management.
What mobility can mean for a family
There is another part of Shreenath’s story that is easy to overlook when talking about international careers. His journey has not only changed his own professional life; it has also created opportunities for his family back home.
Shreenath continues to support his younger brother’s education. After his father suffered an injury, he also took a restaurant on lease in his hometown for his father to run. His experience and earnings abroad have therefore found their way back into his family and community in Cuttack.
This is one of the ways in which the impact of mobility can extend beyond the person who moves. A job in another country can mean greater financial security for a family, but it can also bring back new ideas, confidence and the willingness to invest in something closer to home.
For Shreenath, that next step is entrepreneurship.
From working for others to building something of his own
Over the years, working in facilities management gave Shreenath an idea. He saw the systems and services being delivered around him and began wondering whether he could create something himself.
We are doing all this in facilities here. Why can’t I do it in my own country? Why can’t I do it for myself?
That question has now become a new chapter in his journey. Shreenath has begun his entrepreneurial journey as a co-founder of AAVARÉ, a venture rooted in Odisha’s heritage. Starting with the traditional Puri Khaja, AAVARÉ aims to preserve the character of the iconic delicacy while presenting it in a way that can connect with a new generation and a wider audience.
For someone who began his career by learning a practical trade, becoming an entrepreneur is a significant change. But the experiences that came before it have helped shape that decision. His training gave him technical skills, his work in India gave him responsibility, and his international experience exposed him to new ways of working and thinking. Together, these experiences have helped him move from asking where his next job might be to thinking about what he could build himself.
It takes an ecosystem to change a career
Shreenath’s journey also shows why skills mobility is about more than simply moving a worker from one country to another. Behind his journey are several connected parts of an ecosystem: vocational education, specialised training, industry experience, international exposure and opportunities to use those skills in new environments.
An ITI gave him his starting point. The World Skill Center helped him develop specialised capabilities. Employers in India and abroad gave him opportunities to apply those skills and take on greater responsibility. International mobility exposed him to different workplaces and standards. Over time, these experiences helped him develop not only professionally, but also personally.
That is what makes a skills journey meaningful. The outcome is not always visible at the beginning. A young person may start by looking for a job, but the right combination of training, experience and opportunity can open up much more—a better career, greater support for a family, new ideas and eventually the confidence to create opportunities of their own.
Shreenath’s journey began in Cuttack with a decision to learn a skill. It took him to Singapore, then to Dubai, and now towards entrepreneurship in Odisha. His story is a reminder that when education, industry and international opportunities connect, mobility can become more than a pathway to employment. It can become a pathway to possibility.