Stitching a self-reliant future

Nidhi Trehan

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Apparel, Made-ups and Home Furnishing Sector Skill Council (AMHSSC), under the umbrella of Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship has been a major instrument in imparting skills in various spheres of the sector. This sector is the second major employer after agriculture. Sewing Machine Operator is one of the job roles/qualification packs in the AMHSSC which is essentially prevalent in the manufacturing units across various industries in the apparel sector. 

Also called a "Stitcher" or "Machinist", his primary responsibility is to stitch/sew fabric made out of various types of natural and man-made fibers.

Since its inception, the Council has rigorously trained around 5 lakh workers, students in this job role under various schemes and placed around 2.5 lakh candidates in the industry after the completion of the training. 

The job role covers around 70 per cent of the share in the manpower of the sector. Be it an export industry or retail industry, he is responsible for giving a shape to the designer's visualisation of an artistic, yet comfortable clothes for its various customers. 

To achieve proficiency, he should have good eyesight, eye hand-leg coordination, motor skills and vision.

The training  

The training for sewing machine operator is disseminated in various modules which are conversion of the NOSs (National Occupational Standards). 

The training content trains the candidate to get him familiarised with various types of raw material, tools and equipment such as types of sewing machines, sewing kit , fabrics, trims and accessories. The candidate is acquainted with the process involved in stitching garments, made-ups' and home-furnishing articles. The training is imparted by the certified trainers of Apparel, Made-ups and Home Furnishing Sector Skill Council, employed/engaged in accredited training institutes of the council PAN India. 

He is also trained in soft skills, basic computer, customer handling and the various other entrepreneurial skills which will be helpful in open a small shop. 

After the training is completed the assessment is conducted by certified assessors of the empanelled assessment agencies of the Council. The exam consists of practical, theory and viva. It gives an opportunity to a person having an education of till class fifth to get trained in this job role and become self-reliant.  It helps them to overcome the hurdles faced by them at personal and financial levels to attain formal education.

— Writer is  Additional Director - Quality and Standards, Apparel Made-ups & Home Furnishing Sector Skill Council

Scope

The scope of a sewing machine operator is so vast that it is now being taught in vocational skill programs in various Colleges and Schools in India. The scope of the job of sewing machine operator is not just limited to India but also abroad. Trainings in Trans-national Standards make the workers apt to take up jobs overseas and migrate to the various countries. This helps in providing the exposure to international work environment and his prowess is depicted on the couture he creates effortlessly.