The Southern India Mills’ Association has established a textile training institute here in association with the PSG Institutions at a cost of about Rs. 5 crore. Union Minister for Textiles, Dayanidhi Maran, will inaugurate the institute at the Platinum Jubilee celebrations of the association on August 22.
Association chairman, K.V. Srinivasan, told presspersons here on Monday that the Memorandum of Understanding was signed with PSG Institutions almost four years ago to set up the institute. PSG had provided the basic infrastructure (land and building) and Lakshmi Machine Works had agreed to supply the entire range of spinning machinery. Initially, courses would be offered for spinning and weaving fitters and in textile mechatronics.
The courses would be started in the next academic year with a total intake of 120. The State Government had recognised the programmes under the industrial school pattern. Efforts were on to get these approved by the National Council for Vocational Training. The institute would also offer modular, tailor-made programmes for 15 to 20 days.
The association proposed to establish a SIMA Textile Institute of Distance Education. It would initially offer courses in Post Diploma/Graduate in Industrial Engineering and Post Graduate Diploma in Personnel and Industrial Relations specifically for the textile industry.
Mr. Srinivasan said the Platinum Jubilee activities would focus on skill development programmes as the industry faced severe manpower shortage. With the literacy level and employment opportunities going up in the State, job seekers preferred high-end jobs. The textile sector faced shortage at operator, technician and executive levels.
The textile-specific courses offered at Industrial Training Institutes in the State were mainly for operators and the garment sector. The association would focus on courses for technicians with a nominal fee structure. Mr. Srinivasan said with the current level of manpower shortage, efforts were needed by the industry and the Government in skill development and training.
A book on the textile sector and the SIMA would also be released shortly. The association was started in 1933 by the first Finance Minister of Independent India R.K. Shanmugam Chetty. It now had about 370 members, including some of the leading mills in the North.
Apart from the Union Textile Minister, Minister of State for Textiles Panabaka Lakshmi, Minister for Rural Industries, Government of Tamil Nadu, Pongalur N. Palanisamy, Minister for Handlooms and Textiles, K.K.S.S.R. Ramachandran and President of the Confederation of Indian Industry, Venu Srinivasan, would participate in the Platinum Jubilee programme.
