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Raja Simhan T.E.

Trainees at the Larsen and Toubro's construction skill training institute in Chennai. - Bijoy Ghosh

Chennai , Aug. 5

SANTOSH Kumar slogs five to six hours a day in the hot sun doing masonry work. No, he does not work at a construction site, but at Larsen & Toubro's Construction Skills Training Institute (CSTI) in Chennai.

The unemployed youth hailing from a hamlet in North Arcot in Tamil Nadu is undergoing training in the institute to develop skills and enrich his knowledge in masonry.

Coming from a poor family, Santosh Kumar was working as a helper to a mason at the L&T's construction work in Vellore. On advice of a foreman there, Santosh Kumar applied to join the CSTI in Chennai to learn masonry. After three months, he would become a mason technician, says the institute's manager (skills training), Mr P.R. Srinivasan.

To gain knowledge and experience further Santosh Kumar has to work for four years to become a well-trained mason. During this period, Santosh Kumar would not only apply his learning with L&T or for any other construction company but would revisit CSTI for higher levels of learning under L&T's multi-level training to upgrade his skill and knowledge. At the end of the stipulated period of about six-seven years, he would rise to a level of a foreman, he said.

Next to agriculture, the construction sector is the largest employer in the country and employs nearly three crore in various on-site projects. Of these, only 4 per cent are qualified and skilled, leaving the sector with 2.85 crore unskilled and semi-skilled workers, says Mr Srinivasan.

It is to offset this gap for skilled workers that L&T, one of the country's largest construction companies, started the institute a decade ago to train young people in various disciplines, including masonry, carpentry, plumbing and sanitary and electrical work. So far, around 1,500 students have been trained and are deployed in various onsite locations in the country and abroad, he told Business Line.

"We are creating higher skills and knowledge at grass-root levels," he said.

The need for training workmen was first felt in early 1990s. The nature of the projects changed with larger values, shorter duration and emergence of new technologies. This resulted in large work force at a single point, core competencies changing, demand for better workmanship and improved productivity of labour, he said.

The institute trains students in the18 to 24 age group. Candidates need to be at least 50 kg in weight and 165 cm tall.

Santhosh Kumar will work on repetitive exercises, including brickwork with lime mortar in the institute. He will work on a pre-specified quality and productivity, and also with table-moulded bricks and wire cut bricks, said Mr Srinivasan.

The institute takes 25 students in each batch, and hostel facility is provided to students who also get a monthly stipend of Rs 1,500 during the training period. There is no job guarantee, but L&T will offer a job for the trainees, he said.

For each category of work a "Job Tree Task" analysis details the content to be covered under a unified modular training and a basic course book has been written. The training is imparted for a period of 600 hours spread over three months, including on the job training. The coverage includes80 per cent practical and 20 per cent classroom training, he said.

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