The construction industry is the second largest industry of the country after agriculture, accounting 11 percent of India’s GDP. Despite this, the industry faces a grave challenge of unskilled workforce. While this sector continues to grow at a rapid pace, it continues to be devoid of skilled manpower. India’s formally skilled workforce is approximately 4% – which is dismally low compared to China (47%), UK (68%), Germany (74%), Japan (80%), or South Korea (96%).
Hence it was very important to engage in the skilling of workers by CREDAI National. Since 2012, CREDAI has so far trained more than 50,000 trainees in more than 100 construction sites across India and aims to undertake Skilling for at least 1 lakh construction workers by 2018. Following this CREDAI National mandate of skilling the construction workforce, CREDAI Bengal too has been conducting on-site training programmes for construction workers, as its CSR, through its experienced in-house Training Partners. The skill trainings have helped the construction worker to gain better and more remunerative work opportunities and above all a degree of self-confidence. Once they undergo the trainings, raw/unskilled workers look forward to handling semi-skilled jobs and semi-skilled workers to jobs requiring skilled manpower. In fact, Wage Enhancement is assured for all undergoing such trainings, without having to be enforced or stipulated in any formal manner.
The Skill Development Programme in Bengal is being rolled out by CREDAI Bengal in collaboration with the PNB Housing & Finance Ltd (PNBHFL). The PNBHFL is CREDAI’s skilling partner and has so far sponsored the training for more than 5000 construction workers already in Maharashtra, the NCR region, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Chattisgrah, Kerala, Karnatka, AP, Telegana and West Bengal. Under this programme skilling of 900 workers in West Bengal has been rolled out now across 15 sites. Besides what is significant is that for the first time CREDAI Bengal is undertaking skilling at source at off site centres i.e. at places from where the construction labour is traditionally sourced. Hence nine batches each of 30 unemployed youth are being trained in Plumbing & Masonry at Medinipur, Malda & Mushidabad. The labour so trained will be engaged at construction sites of members of CREDAI thus completing the forward and backward linkages.
The Courses had been co-sponsored by PNB HFL and Hiland. Under this training, the 1st batch comprised both freshers and experienced masons. The 2nd batch comprised exclusively of fresher helpers and out of 36 who had enrolled, all the 28 workers who had sat for exams passed the examination. During the 30 days course, both the trainers and Hiland officers helped students to learn how to sign and efectively sit in the obejctive type exam and then pass in it. Our Training Partners for these 2 batches was Salt Lake IEM. Overall from 47 workers who took the tests, 44 of them passed.
Says Nandu Belani, President, CREDAI Bengal and Chairman, Belani Group : “At CREDAI Bengal, we have been effectively training workers to infuse diverse skill sets and also to upgrade their skills..With this training the workers have become more efficient and competent. Also, seeing the enormous chasm in the project-worker ratio, we had to start these privately sponsored training modules, so that some of that chasm could be mitigated. Once, workers are skilled, it has been noticed, that they are not only more efficient, there is also a marked improvement in quality of workmanship . I’m very happy today to hand over the Awards to all the pass-outs and i hope to see many more such workers’ lives get bettered through our skilling initiatives”
Photograph by- নিজস্ব প্রতিনিধি
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