KOCHI: In a state that in the near past has always been in the news for being anti-entrepreneurship, things are changing for the better. Recently, an apparel manufacturing unit on the verge of closure due to the unavailability of skilled workers got a lease of life after students from the Government Women’s ITI, Palakkad, joined the company as part of an apprenticeship programme. The partnership is a mutually beneficial one. The apprenticeship programme is being carried out as part of the National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS).
“While the students get hands-on experience from the one-year apprenticeship, the garment manufacturing unit gets workers who have undergone training and know-how of using the machinery,” says Rahana P H, Assistant Apprenticeship Advisor of the Related Instruction (RI) Centre.
Relating how the students came to the rescue of Sariga Apparels in Palakkad Kinfra, Rahana says, “It so happened that the RI centre had earlier approached the unit seeking an opportunity for the students of the ITIs under it. However, at that time the unit had skilled workers from north Indian states like Uttar Pradesh. It would have been tough for the unit officials to monitor the students while being busy meeting the order deadlines.”
But it so happened that the unit which used to employ around 500 workers, suddenly saw workers leaving en masse. “Many industrial units coming up in their home states and the lure of better pay on home ground made the workers leave. The situation was such that the owner, who had come from Mumbai in 2021 to tap into Kerala’s industrial opportunities, had the only option to pack up and leave.
It was at this time that the Right Walk Foundation, which is functioning as a Policy Management Unit (PMU) for K-DISC to streamline the implementation of the Apprenticeship Scheme and strengthen the skill-based employment ecosystems in Kerala, again approached the owner P Sasikumar,” says Isthiaq A, divisional coordinator, of Right Walk Foundation. Sasikumar explains, “I still have a company in Mumbai. But my love for my state made me come down here. The aim was to provide jobs to at least 400 people.
However, when it comes to getting skilled workers, it is very difficult. The most we get are those who have worked on the simple machines at home or small stitching centres.” After the north Indian workers left, Sasikumar had packed up and was all set to go back to Mumbai. “I had packed all the machinery and other equipment in crates and boxes. We were getting ready to load them on trucks when the RI training officer along with the people from Right Walk Foundation came to me,” he adds.
“They asked whether I would like to take on some students. I thought why not? Now, the first batch of around 20 students has joined as apprentices,” says Sasikumar. According to Isthiaq, the Right Walk Foundation tied up with K-Disc after it was found that the state was lagging when it came to the number of apprenticeships being done per year. However, Rahana says,
“The reason why the number of apprenticeships is low can be explained by the penchant of the students to join manufacturing units right after graduation. As such the students do part-time jobs alongside their studies that earn them around Rs 20,000. So, their thought process is as to why go in for an apprenticeship that gets them only Rs 7,000?”
She says the students don’t realise the value of the apprenticeship certificate they are awarded. “This certificate has the value to land them jobs that pay even more,” she adds.