Auto component jobs to grow

A government's taskforce on the 10-year mission for the automotive industry said the employment opportunities in the auto component sector can grow almost 10-fold to 2.55 million in 10 years from 2.6 lakh now.

The taskforce's committee on human resources, headed by the Sona group Chairman Surinder Kapur, also said the auto component sector can grow nearly five times to $40 billion by 2015, from $8.7 billion now.

Various committees were constituted by the ministry of heavy industries to provide the government with inputs on demand creation, safety, human resources (HR) and infrastructure development for the 10-year mission.

This mission document will form the basis for the new automobile policy the government is working on.

While the HR committee's report identified the component sector as a major area offering employment opportunity, it also noted a steep rise in the productivity levels in the industry, leading to a lesser number of people being employed for every million dollar increase in turnover.

According to the report, the average number of new jobs for every million dollar turnover by 2015 will require only 20 people, lower than the present level of 32 people.

Over the last three years, the average number of people needed for every million dollar worth of business in the auto component industry has fallen by 27 per cent.

The report also asked the government to take initiatives to ensure that there is no shortfall of skilled manpower over the next decade. There is a need for the Indian technical institutes and automobile training institutes to focus on 'Megatronics', which involves integration of mechanical equipment with electronics, the report stressed.

One of the key drivers for the automobile industry in the future will be the usage of robotics, which is an integral part of Megatronics.

Other areas of manpower development, the report observed, would be in 'manufacturing management', promoting R&D through education and training, and focus on electronics by the Indian Institutes of Technology.

The report also recommended that R&D personnel employed by national-level laboratories and universities must be given the opportunity to work in the industry either on a deputation basis or as a sabbatical for three-four years.