An apparel manufacturing unit in Kerala’s Palakkad Kinfra textile park, 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 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.
According to Rahana, the RI centre had previously contacted the unit in an attempt to secure a chance for the ITI students that fall under it. However, the unit employed experienced labourers from northern Indian regions like Uttar Pradesh at the time. The unit authorities would have had a difficult time keeping an eye on the pupils while they were occupied with fulfilling the order deadlines.
However, it so happened that the company, which had employed about 500 people, suffered a dramatic exodus of employees. The workers left their home states due to the emergence of numerous industrial units and the allure of higher wages there. The owner, who had travelled from Mumbai in 2021 to take advantage of Kerala’s economic prospects, was left with little choice but to pack up and go.
During this period, the Right Walk Foundation, operating as a Policy Management Unit (PMU) for Kerala Development and Innovation Strategic Council (K-DISC), made another approach to P Sasikumar, the owner, with the goal of expediting the Apprenticeship Scheme’s implementation and bolstering Kerala’s skill-based job ecosystems. As a result, the first batch of around 20 students has joined as apprentices.
