Employability Skills and Entrepreneurship
This domain tests the workplace and business skills needed to turn technical ability into reliable income: communication, customer service, costing, documentation and basic compliance. Questions are practical rather than theoretical.
Workplace skills
Communicate clearly with customers, ask diagnostic questions, and explain faults in plain language. Give a written estimate before starting work, record the serial number and agreed price, and keep a receipt. Teamwork, punctuality and safe work habits matter as much as repair skill. For interviews, prepare a short account of a fault you diagnosed and fixed.
Business basics
Separate material cost, labour and overhead. Markup is a percentage added to cost; margin is a percentage of the selling price. Register the business appropriately, keep invoices, track cash and digital payments, and understand GST where it applies. Small enterprises can use MSME/Udyam registration and local training schemes.
Worked example
A repair uses ₹150 of parts, ₹100 labour and ₹30 overhead, giving a cost of ₹280. For a 20% margin, price = cost/(1 − 0.20) = ₹280/0.80 = ₹350. A 20% markup would give only ₹336. With 18% GST, tax is ₹63 and the invoice total is ₹413. Quoting ₹336 instead of ₹350 quietly reduces profit.
Traps that cost marks
Confusing markup with margin; giving only an oral estimate; forgetting to include overhead; mixing business and personal cash; ignoring tax or warranty terms.
Exam focus
Be ready to calculate a selling price, explain why written records protect both technician and customer, and describe one way to market a small service business ethically.