Source: Textile Review

Indian cotton and yarn production is increasing significantly to fulfill the need both for domestic and international markets. On the other side, Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) and new opportunities emerging from service sectors including the realty sector have pushed large numbers of workers away from employment-intensive textile industry very prominently. This situation is further aggravated in industrially developed states like Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Tamil Nadu, known to be the leading textile states in the country.

Getting skilled manpower is a big challenge for Indian trade and business, particularly true for the Indian Textile industry, which employs over 35 million people with an equal number employed in allied industries. It is expected that this should move up to 47 million by 2015 for the Textile and clothing sector. Faced with twin challenges of unemployment and job creation, our concern is not just how it can boost new opportunities but also how it can overcome the acute shortage of skilled manpower.

In the recent past, Indian cotton and yarn production is increasing significantly to fulfill the need both for domestic and international markets. On the other side, Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) and new opportunities emerging from service sectors including the realty sector have pushed large workers away from employment-intensive textile industry very prominently. This situation is further aggravated in the industrially developed states like Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Tamil Nadu, who are again known to be the leading textile states in the country. Interestingly, in a state like Gujarat, over 25% of industrial employment is from the textile sector alone, besides substantial employment for cotton farming. But the challenge today is meeting the demand for skilled manpower. Our Government, institutions, trade, industry, and experts are therefore, expected to play a lead role in meeting this challenge.

One of the recent surveys by ASSOCHAM with heads of 100 textile firms in Ludhiana, Amritsar, Surat, Ahmedabad, and Kolkata indicates nearly 45% of them are utilizing only 50 to 60% of production capacity due to manpower shortage. About 30% of them said their margins are shrinking as they are not able to meet sales targets. Nearly 15% of them said they are contemplating to shift focus on brand building, while 10% of respondents said they may soon move production units to interior areas where workers are available at low wages. Further, a peculiar situation is created in states like Gujarat where the majority of workmen in this segment are migrated from other states and many of them are looking up to go back due to the improved economy in their regions.

As per IMaCS analysis and National Skill Development Corporation report, projected human resources requirement in textile and clothing by 2022 is 61.6 million from the existing 35.4 million in the year 2008 (excluding ginning and cotton farming). In cotton spinning to garmenting alone, projected requirement could be 29.9 million from 13.1 million during the period.

This is primarily to be accepted that the country's textile industry rarely provides any organized training. School education also fails to meet the industry's real needs. Interestingly, there is also no course available at ITI level, except in garment sector. The big challenge, however, is finally designing a model for the industry responsive courses that benefits both learners as well as the training institutions as an ongoing process. In order to overcome this prevailing situation, one of the approaches could be to eliminate outdated capacity and raise productivity in whole value chain, ginning to spinning to fabric and garments. Other thought could be to divert at least part of the activities into high value segments, including manufacturing of technical textiles.


Integrated Skill Development Scheme (ISDS), as announced by the Ministry of Textiles, is to train or re-train candidates as per the needs, incorporating inter-disciplinary skills in textiles. The scheme envisages an investment of ` 272 crore, in which the Government's contribution would be ` 229 crore, targeting to train 2.56 lakh persons, of which 2.20 lakh persons would be trained through various textile related institutions and 36,000 through public private partnership (PPP) model with the help of industry associations, NGOs, etc. The Government would meet 75% cost of the project and balance 25% would be met by way of fees or industry contribution in this direction. On the other hand National Skill Development Corporation is formed in 2009, allocating a fund of ` 1,500 crore to it by way of seed capital to fund training ventures.


Achievement and Way Forward in Gujarat


Gujarat is one of the leading textile states in the country and the largest producer of cotton with 35% share in the country and also the largest art-silk manufacturer with 50% share in the country. Ahmedabad is known as Denim city and is having more than 250 medium and large size processing houses to process mainly cotton and blended fabric from all parts of the country. Surat is known as silk-city, producing over 50% of the art silk fabric in the country.


Gujarat Industrial Policy 2009 has announced specific support to develop industry responsive and readily employable skilled manpower, achieving sustainable & inclusive growth.

 

In the policy, approach is made to utilize primarily the existing infrastructure available in ITIs, engineering colleges, institutions and universities to run various skill development activities with active involvement of industries. Policy also extends support to the industries to set up such kind of training centers also within their premises wherein state government provide upto 50% of the project cost as subsidy, maximum of ` 2 crore. State Government has also plan to establish at least 100 modern skill development centers at GIDC and in various industrial clusters across the state. Already 50 such centers has been established and started operation to fulfill various needs of the industry.


In the sector specific approach, State has announced specific support for setting up Apparel Training Institute by providing a subsidy up to 85% of the project cost (maximum of ` 3 crore). Looking to the enormous requirement of trainers, MS University, Vadodara has been assigned the work as Anchor Institute to train the trainers and also the faculties from various institutions/centres running skill development centres and institutions in the field of textiles. MS University, as Anchor Institute for textile sector, has been asked to develop course curricula on a continuous basis at all levels - shop floor, executive and management level.


Referring to the Modular Employable Scheme of Government of India, State has made a compulsion to have third party skill assessment certification under NCVT 0r GCVT guidelines. Thus, possibly as first time, an approach is made by the Industries Dept, Govt. of Gujarat to create more than 300 such kind of modern skill development centers by 2013. Today, skill development strategies have directly aligned with business strategies and therefore, to fulfill needs of the textile, clothing and allied industries in the state.


All the industries are invited to join in this growth process Gujarat by empowering industry and business through skilled and trained manpower.


Originally published in Textile Review, August-2011


The author is a Director, Center for Entrepreneurship Development (CED-Gujarat), Industries Commissionerate, Gandhinagar