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FLOOD GATES OF OPPORTUNITY OPEN FOR ITI GRADUATES IN ASSAM
The salaries of the ITI graduates in Assam, who have got placements in different parts of the country and abroad range between Rs 10,000 to 20,000 and some earn even more.
The Directorate of Employment and Craftsmen Training under the Labour and Employment Department in the state arranged a walk-in- interview recently in Guwahati for 150 posts of Security Guards and House Keeping Attendants under a job order of EMRILL-LLC, Dubai, a multinational facility management company, in collaboration with Overseas Manpower Andhra Pradesh Ltd. of the Government of Andhra Pradesh. The recruits have been offered attractive salary packages that range between Rs.12,000 to Rs.17,000.
The recruitment drive of the Department follows its earlier initiative for overseas placement in 2009, where altogether 11 ITI graduates found job opportunities in Australia through Bharadwaj and Company, one of the India’s leading specialist manpower consultant which is based in New Delhi.
As the public sector service in Assam is stagnating in terms of providing employment to a vast number of unemployed youth in the state resulting in 17 per cent unemployment rate against the all India rate of 7.3 per cent, the Public- Private - Partnership approach of the Department has proved successful in creating new job opportunities to the graduates of Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) in and outside the country.
Over 500 graduates of Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) in Assam have found placements in India and oversees through the PPP approach in industrial giants including Bharti Infratel Ltd; Ashok Leyland; L&T Ltd; Indian Institute of Technology; Baxter India Private Ltd, Haryana; Park International, Kolkata; Hyundai; LG Electronics India; Taj-Spa and others since 2006.
The PPP approach has also recently increased the rate of placement to 80 per cent from the earlier rate of 60 per cent. An enthusiastic senior official claims placement of graduates engaged in certain trades including electricians, mechanics of motor vehicles, computer operators and programming assistants etc. has proved to be 100 per cent in the job oriented courses during recent times.
According to a senior official of the Placement Cell of the Guwahati ITI, the successful placement scenario has also reflected in the cut-off marks in different trades. Although the eligibility criteria in different courses is only 10+, the cut off marks have ended at 65 per cent in those courses having high demand in the market including electricians, mechanics of motor vehicles, computer operators and programming assistants etc. Also, the cut off mark has been increasing each year, making it difficult to get entry into these institutions .
Moloy Bora, Director, Employment and Craftsmen Training says that the Department is heading for a massive drive of course up-gradation and introducing wide-ranging courses under short term Modular Employable Courses (MES) that offer courses including those ranging from 120 hours to 280 hours.
Apart from MES, the Indo-German project, in collaboration with the Ministry of Department of Development of the North-East, is another approach through which potential candidates in the state have been sent in batches to receive training in different skill up-gradation programmes including GIS and Networking in technically advanced institutions of the country since 2007. The participation of industries in these ITIs is already available through learning facilities through Hyundai, Maruti Udyog, Hero Honda (Hero Mindmine), Bharti Industries (Bharti Learning Systems), MODI Industries (MODI educational Institute) etc.
“Under the project, the German government has offered assistance in development and management in vocational training to enhance productivity in areas including training of the trainers, competency based training, management of training institution and centres, employment - oriented modular curriculum development, tools for market analysis, human resource development and e - learning capabilities,” the Director says.
However, the ultimate goal is to set up a Training Institution at Guwahati for the training of the trainers who will, in due course of time, cover the whole of the North East Region. This is highly required as the region lacks quality and professional trainers, the director says.
Major initiative under the PPP mode includes up - gradation of mechanic motor vehicle course by Hyundai Motors India Ltd in Guwahati and Srikona ITI; LG Electronics initiative for skill upgradation in Mechanic Radia and TV, Electornics Corporation of India LTD’s effort to enhance IT related support; Ashok Leyland’s effort and Numaligarh Refinery’s effort for up - gradation in various skills and others.
Hard realities:
Despite these positive moves, the hard reality is that only 12.5 per cent of the total unemployed are skilled. Among the employed only around 10 per cent are skilled workers. Here too, there is a gap between the males and females, as above 12 per cent of the male employed are found to be skilled in comparison to barely 6 per cent of females. Among the unemployed also, the rate is much higher among the females with 23 per cent as compared to the male population with 15 per cent.
This is at a time when 96 per cent of the workforce in Korea, 75 per cent in Germany, 80 per cent in Japan and 68 per cent in the United Kingdom receive vocational training for skill up - gradation.
The director says that the skill gap in the state has been identified as a result of a lacking in a number of areas including non - availability of latest machinery and equipment, obsolete teaching facilities, mismatch between demand and supply, weak theoretical background and lack of soft - skill.
Meanwhile, a team of experts from Indian Welding Society including SM Mahajan, who is also the Advisor of the Power Sector and Welding and Fabrication and Prof Sunil Pandey if IIT, Delhi were on a tour of Assam and Meghalaya to support the government’s efforts to increase the proficiency level of refineries and plastic making industries. Mr. Mahajan is of the opinion that the level of knowledge and training imparted in the ITIs of the state is not at all commensurate with modern technology and there remains a huge gap. The team also plans to set up a School for Uplift of School Drop - outs to impart training on vocational education in the state targeting those students who are not interested in formal studies, with assured job guarantee. The team is also looking at a partnership with the state government, says Prof. Sunil Pandey.
The Directorate of Employment and Craftsmen Training under the Labour and Employment Department in the state arranged a walk-in- interview recently in Guwahati for 150 posts of Security Guards and House Keeping Attendants under a job order of EMRILL-LLC, Dubai, a multinational facility management company, in collaboration with Overseas Manpower Andhra Pradesh Ltd. of the Government of Andhra Pradesh. The recruits have been offered attractive salary packages that range between Rs.12,000 to Rs.17,000.
The recruitment drive of the Department follows its earlier initiative for overseas placement in 2009, where altogether 11 ITI graduates found job opportunities in Australia through Bharadwaj and Company, one of the India’s leading specialist manpower consultant which is based in New Delhi.
As the public sector service in Assam is stagnating in terms of providing employment to a vast number of unemployed youth in the state resulting in 17 per cent unemployment rate against the all India rate of 7.3 per cent, the Public- Private - Partnership approach of the Department has proved successful in creating new job opportunities to the graduates of Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) in and outside the country.
Over 500 graduates of Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) in Assam have found placements in India and oversees through the PPP approach in industrial giants including Bharti Infratel Ltd; Ashok Leyland; L&T Ltd; Indian Institute of Technology; Baxter India Private Ltd, Haryana; Park International, Kolkata; Hyundai; LG Electronics India; Taj-Spa and others since 2006.
The PPP approach has also recently increased the rate of placement to 80 per cent from the earlier rate of 60 per cent. An enthusiastic senior official claims placement of graduates engaged in certain trades including electricians, mechanics of motor vehicles, computer operators and programming assistants etc. has proved to be 100 per cent in the job oriented courses during recent times.
According to a senior official of the Placement Cell of the Guwahati ITI, the successful placement scenario has also reflected in the cut-off marks in different trades. Although the eligibility criteria in different courses is only 10+, the cut off marks have ended at 65 per cent in those courses having high demand in the market including electricians, mechanics of motor vehicles, computer operators and programming assistants etc. Also, the cut off mark has been increasing each year, making it difficult to get entry into these institutions .
Moloy Bora, Director, Employment and Craftsmen Training says that the Department is heading for a massive drive of course up-gradation and introducing wide-ranging courses under short term Modular Employable Courses (MES) that offer courses including those ranging from 120 hours to 280 hours.
Apart from MES, the Indo-German project, in collaboration with the Ministry of Department of Development of the North-East, is another approach through which potential candidates in the state have been sent in batches to receive training in different skill up-gradation programmes including GIS and Networking in technically advanced institutions of the country since 2007. The participation of industries in these ITIs is already available through learning facilities through Hyundai, Maruti Udyog, Hero Honda (Hero Mindmine), Bharti Industries (Bharti Learning Systems), MODI Industries (MODI educational Institute) etc.
“Under the project, the German government has offered assistance in development and management in vocational training to enhance productivity in areas including training of the trainers, competency based training, management of training institution and centres, employment - oriented modular curriculum development, tools for market analysis, human resource development and e - learning capabilities,” the Director says.
However, the ultimate goal is to set up a Training Institution at Guwahati for the training of the trainers who will, in due course of time, cover the whole of the North East Region. This is highly required as the region lacks quality and professional trainers, the director says.
Major initiative under the PPP mode includes up - gradation of mechanic motor vehicle course by Hyundai Motors India Ltd in Guwahati and Srikona ITI; LG Electronics initiative for skill upgradation in Mechanic Radia and TV, Electornics Corporation of India LTD’s effort to enhance IT related support; Ashok Leyland’s effort and Numaligarh Refinery’s effort for up - gradation in various skills and others.
Hard realities:
Despite these positive moves, the hard reality is that only 12.5 per cent of the total unemployed are skilled. Among the employed only around 10 per cent are skilled workers. Here too, there is a gap between the males and females, as above 12 per cent of the male employed are found to be skilled in comparison to barely 6 per cent of females. Among the unemployed also, the rate is much higher among the females with 23 per cent as compared to the male population with 15 per cent.
This is at a time when 96 per cent of the workforce in Korea, 75 per cent in Germany, 80 per cent in Japan and 68 per cent in the United Kingdom receive vocational training for skill up - gradation.
The director says that the skill gap in the state has been identified as a result of a lacking in a number of areas including non - availability of latest machinery and equipment, obsolete teaching facilities, mismatch between demand and supply, weak theoretical background and lack of soft - skill.
Meanwhile, a team of experts from Indian Welding Society including SM Mahajan, who is also the Advisor of the Power Sector and Welding and Fabrication and Prof Sunil Pandey if IIT, Delhi were on a tour of Assam and Meghalaya to support the government’s efforts to increase the proficiency level of refineries and plastic making industries. Mr. Mahajan is of the opinion that the level of knowledge and training imparted in the ITIs of the state is not at all commensurate with modern technology and there remains a huge gap. The team also plans to set up a School for Uplift of School Drop - outs to impart training on vocational education in the state targeting those students who are not interested in formal studies, with assured job guarantee. The team is also looking at a partnership with the state government, says Prof. Sunil Pandey.
Are Hollongs Going the Chipko Way?
What is the Chipko Movement?
The Chipko movement or Chipko Andolan (literally “to stick” in Hindi) is a socio-ecological movement that practised the Gandhian methods of Satyagraha and non-violent resistance, through the act of hugging trees to protect them from being felled. The landmark event in this struggle took place on March 26, 1974, when a group of female peasants in Reni village, Hemwalghati, in Chamoli district, Uttarakhand, India, acted to prevent the cutting of trees and reclaim their traditional forest rights that were threatened by the contractor system of the state Forest Department.
When was it started?
The first recorded event of Chipko took place in village Khejarli, Jodhpur district, in 1730 AD, when 363 Bishnois, led by Amrita Devi sacrificed their lives while protecting green Khejri trees, considered sacred by the community, by hugging them, and braved the axes of loggers sent by the local ruler.
How does the Chipko Movement relate to the Hollongs?
Chipko essentially means ‘to hug’ or ‘to embrace’. With the declaration of the Hollongs as traditional trees and with the talks to accord them sacred or holy status underway, it will be extremely difficult for loggers to fell these trees without facing public ire. As the Hollongs have been given the traditional tree status, the felling of these would be akin to the losing of tradition which the community will never permit.
Ratna Bharali Talukdar
