KOCHI: Gone are the days when students after completing their Class XII or Plus-Two courses only focused on getting admission to engineering or medical courses. Now, students are looking more into avenues that have been hitherto unknown or not popularised. It would be a surprise that students are now taking up courses like jewellery design, ornaments manufacturing, gemmology, and management.
"Many people don't know about the huge employment possibilities in the jewellery industry," said K T M A Salam, chairman of the Institute of Gems and Jewellery (IGJ) located at Malappuram in Kerala.
"The demand and supply ratio for skilled people in the various sections of the jewellery industry is very skewed. The demand is higher than the supply. This is evident in the fact that the students who complete the courses from our institute get snatched up by the big names in the industry," he said.
Explaining the growing demand for skilled professionals in the jewellery industry, G Balachandra Kiran, managing director, of Bhima Jewellers said, “The jewellery industry in India is deeply rooted in tradition, with skills often passed down through generations. This heritage has made the industry somewhat resistant to change, particularly in adopting advancements and modernizing its workforce, he explained.
"However, with India emerging as the second-largest market in the world for diamonds and jewellery, industry players are collaborating with accredited institutes to bring skilled professionals into the field. This approach is helping to bridge the skill gap and inspiring more young people to pursue careers in this sector ", said Kiran.
According to Salam, the dearth of institutes that provide a structured education plus skills in the country is an added factor that has led to this skewed demand: supply ratio. "In South India, we are the only ones providing a complete course - all aspects of jewellery making," he said, adding 80 per cent placement that we are achieving every year shows that the demand is still there.
"Another point to be noted is that not a single student of the 12,000 who have come out from our colleges in the past 10 years is without a job. Then there is the factor that once employed they never leave the job. The incentives and the working conditions are very good," Salam added. With the major jewellery brands including Malabar Gold, Tanishq, Kalyan Jewellers and others in an expansion mode in foreign countries, the demand for skilled workers in all departments is increasing, said Salam.