Industry bats for hands-on courses to turn local youth into efficient workforce
The industry has highlighted the need for more hand-on, experience-driven courses that could help develop local youth into a skilled workforce at factory units.
Laghu Udyog India president Rajiv Jain highlighted the irony of there being talk of unemployment and joblessness when the industry always has a shortage of unskilled and skilled labour.
“The gap between demand and supply is due to the nature of courses which are of less significance. The institutions are still conducting courses like fitters, turners, which have become insignificant due to the upgrade in technology. The pace at which these institutions are adapting to such changes is also very slow. The institutions also lack in imparting hands-on training to the students due to which the students are not used to work on the shop floors,” Jain noted.
The industrialists have urged the government to bridge the gap so the youth gets employment and good packages and does not feel the need to move out of the state.
As it stands, a vast majority of the workforce at the units are migrant workers while Punjabi youth is often absorbed at managerial and supervisory posts.
The president of Association of Trade and Industrial Undertakings (ATIU) Pankaj Sharma said locals are mainly engaged migrant workers from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar make up for most of the workforce involved in the production of the goods, meaning that they operate the machines and industry largely depends on them.
Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) former president SC Ralhan echoed the sentiment, saying, “However, we wish that Punjabi youth should join the industry as there are plenty of jobs. The industry will also benefit with the better coordination if youth from the region itself is involved.”
Sharma noted that some of the migrant labourers have settled in the industrial areas commonly called “vehras” with their families. These “vehras” have 50 odd rooms each being occupied by four to five people per room.
As such, the industiral areas are overcrowded and ridden with problems like choked sewers, dumping of garbage in the open, unauthorised water and electricity connections etc. “The administration should take note of the problems,” he said, adding that Punjabi youth taking on some of the roles could help decongest the industry.
Former Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) chairperson Rajnish Ahuja said crores are spent on institutions like ITIs, Research and Development Centre, CTR etc but the lack of vision and long-term planning are defeating the purpose.
