JOGARADODDI, BIDADI: “People say that at this age I should be taking care of my grandchildren. But, I had never in my wildest dreams thought that I would be capable of earning more than what I did,” says Boramma, a 50-year-old grandmother, who has been working as a helper at construction sites all her life.
From picking up bricks, and filtering sand to lifting cement paste, she has been doing this all for a meagre Rs 150-200 per day. But now, with the State Labour Department’s skill development training programme, there is hope for much more.
A resident of Ramanagara, Boramma has learnt skills ranging from laying foundation to making cement blocks, mixing cement and sand, construction, plastering and much more. Because of her additional skills, Boramma says her supervisor has now promised to hire her for a minimum of Rs 500-700 per day. Boramma, however, is not alone in this regard.
Shantha from Devasa-gowdanahalli, used to work in construction before shifting to a garment factory.
“When I learnt about this training programme, I was excited. I learnt the art of plastering. Initially it was uneven, but now I can make perfect plastering,’’ she says.
Forty-four-year Sanjeevi ran a petty shop at Bhuvaneshwarinagar near Kengeri, where she used to earn a couple of thousands a month. She is now capable of mixing colours, deciding which colours suit best on which background, how to make rooms brighter, how to make smaller rooms look bigger and other such skills. She says she has already got a couple of work orders where she is earning Rs 400 to 500 per day.
Forty-eight-year-old Shivamma, who has now got work as a supervisor, is well-versed with not just painting or construction but also vaastu and rainwater harvesting.