Students stay away from ITIs as job chances dry up

Visakhapatnam: All is not well with the job aspirants in the MSME sector of the state. Despite the successful completion of technical courses, those passing out of the ITIs who are supposed to get into the industry are finding it tough to get an employment.

Their high hopes of landing in a job based on their educational qualifications are being dashed. Ironically, the blood, sweat and tears for two years of the ITI students is yielding no fruitful result.

Highlights:

• Entrepreneurs complain that those passing out of ITIs lack proper practical training
• If they recruit the trainees, they need to provide them further training for one year
• While about 1.1 lakh technicians are coming out of ITIs every year, only 24 per cent are getting employed
• Hence, students are not opting to secure admission in ITIs after 10th class or Inter
• There are 79 govt ITIs offering courses in different trades with total 23,040 seats
• The govt has given licence for 406 pvt ITIs offering courses in various trades with total 1,06,908 seats

With this, thousands of students after class 10 and intermediate are not looking at the ITIs but preferring to search for other avenues to secure quick employment. The labour and employment department is offering various two-year industrial training certificate courses with a capacity of 23,040 seats from 79 government ITIs.

Meanwhile, the government has given licence to 406 private ITIs with a capacity of 1,06,908 seats in various trades. However, for the last five years, the demand for the ITI seats has been declining.

During the past five years, at an average every year 1.1 lakh trained technicians are coming out from the institutions. However, every year just 24 per cent are getting employed.

"There are very less number of jobs being created against lakhs of unemployed youth. Earlier the ratio of the workforce is for an engineer there used to be four supervisors and 21 technicians.

But, even the engineering graduates are now going for supervisor posts and diploma holders are joining as technicians. Even after spending two years time, the ITI students are not getting jobs and they are branded as unskilled.

For the last one decade the demand for the ITI admissions has come down,” correspondent of a private ITI K R Krishna Kumar lamented.

The industries and establishments are not coming forward to recruit the trainees. “For the training in any trade in ITI, there is no minimum standard. If, we take the trainees we have to again train them at least one year, but right from the day one they are expecting salaries. It is waste of time and money for an entrepreneur.

Industrial Training Institutions are giving certificates in trade, but there is no practical industrial training to them,” Managing Director of Hemalatha Enterprises, a MSME unit engaged in fitting and furnishings,”PSV Subba Rao said.

By Vkl Gayatri