Source: depositphotos.

com/depgosper SKILL DEVELOPMENT

The right combination of theoretical and

practical knowledge can augment the work
efficiency of fresh engineers

Bridging the Gap between Youth and

the Industry
Thousands of students graduate from technical institutes every year in the country.
Yet, the industry complains about the scarcity of employable skilled labor. Here is an
overview of the situation and some solutions that can bridge the gap between
academia and the industry.

T
he scarcity of right candidates for blue service industry. As industries such as
collared jobs in the manufacturing BPOs, tourism, telecom, real estate,
industry can be attributed to various construction, etc., require no special skill
factors, a major one being the rise of the sets or knowledge, it is easier for students
to opt for jobs in those industry verticals.
The high remuneration in these industries
is another attractive factor for them. The
youngsters are especially fascinated
Shrinivas S Bhat towards an industry that offers easy money
Training & Placement
Govt. Tool Room & as compared to the manufacturing industry
Training Centre - Mysore wherein the operators have to work in
ssbhatban@yahoo.com shifts, be competitive and prove their
capabilities on the job. Also, there is the
fatal risk of product spoilage or machine
breakdown along with the physical risk for
operators in case of negligence or
inefficiency.
Moreover, the working conditions in the
manufacturing industry are tough as
compared to that in the service industry.
Hence, more and more youngsters prefer
to work in shopping malls, hotels, tourism
departments, etc., where they are engaged
in ‘white collared jobs’. Students are lured

58 MODERN MANUFACTURING INDIA - MAR 2014


by the AC cabins, high salary and
possibilities of foreign trips in the long run,
which are added advantages offered by the
service industry.
Apart from these, the location of
manufacturing units also acts as a problem.
Shifting of industries to the outskirts of
cities creates commuting problems for
employees. Spending a large portion of
their salary and time on traveling to the
outskirts of the city for work make
employees rethink. Only the companies
that can afford to provide housing or
transportation facilities to their employees
can hope to retain some of them.
Lack of practical knowledge
Amidst these difficulties, the students
who choose to be a part of the
manufacturing industry are not as
knowledgeable as the industry expects
them to be. Unavailability of skilled labor
such as machine operators has become a
serious problem for the manufacturing
sector today. If one analyzes the situation
in detail, one can find that this bottleneck
is due to various factors, lack of practical
training topping the list.
As most of the students have no proper
exposure to the actual factory shop floor
except for industrial tours where they are
given a guided tour, they lack the required
practical knowledge. Additionally, due to
the inadequate focus on practical projects
during graduation, they also lack required
professionalism and discipline. This
hampers the workplace atmosphere.
Solutions
There are a number of measures that the
manufacturing industry and technical
institutes can take to attract students and
Hands-on training and working on live projects will help students gain necessary confidence and
professional attitude towards work
Source: depositphotos.com/macor
Plastic injection mold parts modeled using solid modeling technique in advanced 3D modeling
mechanical software
mold them well to undertake technical jobs.
Some implementable steps are listed below:
Making course employment
worthy
One of the solutions for attracting
students towards this industry is making
the courses employment worthy. Private as
well as government technical institutes can
survey the market and introduce courses
that are in tune with the changing times.
For example, there is not much demand for
a fitter. However, some institutes still offer
various training courses in this category
rather than in the machinist trade, which
is actually in demand. Also, there are fewer
SKILL DEVELOPMENT
Source: Shrinivas S Bhat
institutes that focus on training in operating
CNC machines and other advanced
technologies.
Investment at the right place
Colleges can focus on providing right
infrastructure to students by investing in
advanced machinery and equipment.
Moreover, they should focus on including
updates on the latest technologies in the
syllabus. Also it is important to employ
staff having industrial exposure, who can
share theoretical as well as practical
knowledge with the youth.
Innovative approach
Educational institutes can ask students
to work on live projects and help students
to accomplish tasks while meeting stringent
deadlines at the same time, so that they can
learn about the sense of urgency. These
initiatives will also help students develop a
serious attitude towards work. Institutes
should also focus on developing good work
habits and discipline along with soft skills
amongst students.
Conclusion
Skilled labor forms the backbone of the
manufacturing industry; hence, it is
essential to resolve issues with regard to the
shortage of labor urgently. It is especially
more important to address these challenges
sooner than later as India is all set to become
a manufacturing hub by 2020. MMI
MODERN MANUFACTURING INDIA - MAR 2014 59