By HH Mohrmen
Skill development is a catchphrase for many states now as governments allocate resources to impart skill training to prepare their youths for jobs that can provide them gainful employment. In Meghalaya, not only do we have an education system which only prepares our people for white collar jobs but even the few skill development institutes like the ITI and the Polytechnics do not address the demand of the modern day job market.
A visit by the minister in charge of the Labour Department of Meghalaya to the Jowai ITI in Khliehtyrchi brought to light the glaring examples of the kind of skill development training that the state is providing to its young trainees. No wonder some trades in the institute have only few takers, while there is a mad rush for skill training in other institutes of repute and parents are prepared to pay hefty fees to get their wards admitted in those institutes. The two trades in ITI Jowai that require the special attention of the Department are Stenography and Motor mechanic. It does not take an expert to realize the reason why there are almost no takers for these courses. The minister herself was shocked to see that trainees pursuing their study in stenography trade were still using old outdated typewriters. Yes, in this day and age of computers the government is training the students to use typewriters. Who still us typewriters now a day? Or for that matter is there any government department which still use typewriter? The minister herself wondered if the typewriter ribbon is still available in any stationary shop in the market. Is this preparing the youths for the future? How convenient! One would think that institutes like this which are meant to prepare young people for the future should think ahead and bring advanced technology to the help them cope with the demands in the job market, but the government is not even providing them computers – but typewriters. This is the 21st century and the world has moved to another generation of computer technology, from desktop to laptop and now people are talking about tablets and smart phones but our ITIs are still in the typewriter age – many generations behind. The government should be ashamed of this because the skills offered in the Institute are no longer in demand in the market.
In the motor mechanic workshop one can see old jeeps and engines of outdated vehicles, when one can only see few jeeps which owners collect as vintage cars plying on the road. Modern vehicles are using advanced technology like MPFi, hybrid engines. We now have vehicles with power steering, power brakes, power windows and we even have cars that come with GPS and air bags and what have you. But the ITI still uses jeep from the second world war vintage to train the upcoming mechanics. Those who do apprenticeship in various workshops in the town are much better prepared for the job than the young ITIians for they are using modern up-to-date technology, but in the ITI one can’t even see the first Maruti Suzuki model in its workshop. In the electrical workshop old water pumps, many decades old were still used for training instead of modern water pump or silent generators.
That the workshop is rarely used is evident from the fact that there were no aprons hanging in the room and the floor does not look as if it is put to use very often. The government needs to think out of the box and restructure the way the ITI is run and introduce course of studies that are relevant to the contemporary society to enable the trainees to get gainful employment after they complete their training.
The ITI building is in a dilapidated condition and the less we say about this other aspect of the infrastructure of the ITI the better. The workmanship of many buildings is very poor, the hostel has not been used since the building was constructed and even if it was used, the safety of the building is questionable. The blame is on the Meghalaya Government Construction Corporation and the contractor and the officials who oversee the construction must be taken to task. It is very unfortunate that despite the ITI being located in an area which is very conducive for study with ample space to develop, yet not even the existing buildings are being put to good use.
Is it because the institutes are managed by the Department of Labour and not the Department of Higher and Technical Education (DHTE) that the ITIs are facing such a problem? Perhaps the DHTE would have been able to do a better job running the ITI because vocational training is related to education. Hence there is a need for a change in policy and the management of these institutes should be handed over to the department of higher and technical education.
If the government cannot run these institutes then the next option is for it to explore the possibilities of tying up with private institutes and run the same on a PPP mode. There is no point of keeping these institutes if they do not serve their purpose. If the government cannot make these institutes change with the changing times and address the need of the next generation of society, it will have nobody else to blame for the huge unemployment roll. Indeed the government is squarely responsible for neglecting the ITIs and the Polytechnics which could have catered to the needs of the educated unemployed youths of the state. As an instance, the government could even tie-up with Indian Institute of Hotel Management and conduct short term courses in waiter’s etiquette, bakery, cooking or even basic courses on how to start and run ‘Bread and Breakfast’ or home- stay units. A lot needs to be done to create employment avenues for the youths.
The state has to import pigs, cows and even goats to cater to the ever increasing demand for meat in the state, perhaps the government can start short term training of piggery farming in the AH & Veterinary farms that are located in different parts of the state, to create employment avenues for the young citizen of the state. The AH & Veterinary deserve appreciation because the department has enabled many young entrepreneur to start their own venture in poultry farming. It would not be wrong to say that the State is now self sufficient in chicken production and the credit goes to the Department. But a lot more needs to be done and the Department needs to put in more efforts to help improve piggery, diary, goat farming to help create employment avenues and more importantly this is one business which has ready market for its products.
With the opening up of Foreign Direct Investment in the super market sector after 2014, the country will see the gradual growth of super markets both foreign and multinational in many parts of the country. The Labour department can help prepare our youths by organizing training for them to become managers, accountants, cold storage technicians, electricians, keepers/attendants, security guards and many other kinds of job available in the super market. This sector is expected to be able to generate maximum employment avenues for our educated unemployed youths and the government is duty bound to prepare them for the jobs.
One hopes that despite the many problems faced by the Labour Minister especially the one relating to child labour which the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights is regularly hauling up the Meghalaya Government for, the lady will still have the time and energy to address the ever increasing demand for job creation for the youths of the state.