Gujarat has been considered the most sought-after investment destination for many reasons — industry-friendly policies, single-window clearances for new projects, availability of infrastructure, transport and other basic needs. But, with large volumes of investment now pouring into the state, the big gap between the demand for and supply of trained, skilled manpower has become very visible. The result is a shortage of skilled industrial manpower, leading to unemployment and underemployment.
To address this issue, the state government has plans to develop industry-responsive and readily employable manpower, focusing on local resources. The Gujarat Industrial Policy, 2009 has laid emphasis on the expansion of a skilled and educated manpower base. This is one of the steps taken by the present government to speed up growth.
Also, with the establishment of 202 GIDC industrial estates, 60 approved Special Economic Zones (SEZs), 21 registered Industrial Parks and 83 identified Industrial Clusters, Gujarat has generated vast scope for the employment of technically competent manpower.
Another reason why Chief Minister Narendra Modi feels the need to focus on skill development and training is the huge population of youth in the state. “Having a massive young population is not enough. There is a need to equip these youngsters with adequate skills and at the same time accord proper dignity to each and every skilled profession. Only then will our youth power become our strongest asset,” Modi believes.
While Gujarat is eyeing a 15 per cent growth rate, the state government has estimated the skilled manpower requirement in the next five years at 500,000. The state government plans to achieve these through Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs), skill upgradation centres set up in association with industry players and by identifying “anchor institutes” for training in different sectors.
Over the last decade, Gujarat has attempted to improve the scope and infrastructure in ITIs. Syllabi of courses have been revised, the number and diversity of courses has shot up and institutes have been equipped with state-of-the-art infrastructure. From a mere 275 ITIs in 2001, the number has shot up four-fold to 1,100. Also, the number of ITI trainers has gone up to 6,000 from 3,000 a decade ago.
The ITIs offer skill development and training in diverse occupations like instrument repair, electrical repair, fitting, plumbing, diesel mechanic work, IT and computer hardware for those with different interests and aptitudes. They have also started organising campus interviews and job placement facilities. The state government has also started demand-driven courses like call centre training, hotel management and motor driving.
Also, as part of the strategy to promote skilled manpower, a high-level empowered committee has been established under the chairmanship of the industries commissioner, government of Gujarat, consisting of the Directorate of Technical Education (DTE), Directorate of Employment Training (DET) and Centre for Entrepreneurship Development (CED).
The state government, through the CED, has tied up with eight “anchor institutes” like M S University of Vadodara and Indian Diamond Institute (IDI). The anchor institutes have been focusing on specific sectors like chemicals, textiles, engineering and automotive, agri and food processing, infrastructure, gems and jewellery, and others.
On its part, the Gujarat government, through the Centre for Entrepreneurship Development, has been empanelling 22 national-level training institutes for boosting employability in the state through skill development. CED is targeting 300 skill upgradation centres by 2013.
According to the state’s minister for labour and employment, Vaju Vala, the government aims to train 1,000 youths in each taluka of the state in information technology and basic computer education.
The labour and employment department has come up with a scheme for imparting training to 4.5 lakh youth. Further provisions to the tune of Rs 130 crore have been made to establish 10 new ITIs, to construct 50 new buildings for ITIs and upgrade 27 of them.
As part of its skill development initiatives, engineering and construction heavyweight Larsen & Toubro has set up the L&T Institute of Project Management at Vadodara, apart from partnering with the state government for ITIs. Even auto majors such as Maruti Suzuki India and Tata Motors Ltd have committed to set up skill development centres near their plants in Hansalpur and Sanand respectively.
