The Hindu Business Line : Tiruchi ancillary units facing shortage of skilled workers

Thanks to the growth in power equipment and the advent of new opportunities from the windmill sector, the `load' on the metal fabricators in Tiruchi region has been on the rise.

In 2002-03, these units processed 60,000 tonnes of steel. By last year, the load had increased to 1.5 lakh tonnes, thanks to windmills manufacturers who got about 40,000 tonnes of towers made at Tiruchi. The business is expected to increase to 2 lakh tonnes in the current year.

All this requires trained hands. According to Mr Rajappa Rajkumar, President, BHEL Small and Medium Industries Association (BHELSIA), there is a shortage of about 5,000 skilled workers, at present. It looks like the gap will widen further.

Another indication of the growing demand is the fact that BHEL, Tiruchi, recently recruited 119 people - the first recruitment in many years. It is planning a major push in capacity expansion. Sources say that over the next few years more recruitment is on the cards - perhaps up to a thousand people.

While BHEL can afford to get talent from across the country, the small and medium units are having to chalk out strategies on a war footing. According to Mr Rajkumar, campus interviews have become common at the various technical institutes in Tamil Nadu.

"Two months ago, about 180 people were interviewed by BHELSIA. About 75 were absorbed," he told Business Line.

Conditions could improve a little, once the proposed training facilities are set up under the umbrella of Trichy Engineering and Technology Cluster, a company formed by BHELSIA for creating common facilities for its members, using funds from the Central Government's cluster development programme. But that is some years away.

In the meantime, the fabricators have to make good with whatever talent they have.

A worker takes home between Rs 5,000 and Rs 7,000 a month. BHELSIA admits that the pay and working conditions could be improved, but at present, the units could afford only so much, given the "tight rates" for fabrication jobs.

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