Make in India, the mega campaign launched by the Narendra Modi government in Sep 2014 had an aim to make India a global manufacturing hub. An ambitious project, this campaign will definitely boost the economy of the country. When we take a sneak peep into the various manufacturing hubs of India, we cannot ignore the vast and fast rising unorganised sectors of the economy. The unskilled labour forces across the manufacturing units are also a major concern. How can we aim for world class quality with an unskilled labour force? The challenging path to tread is indeed a major concern before we take this giant leap into the future.

The Human Resources team is the core team that will guide industries amidst the turmoil. Every manufacturing base needs to engage its supplier base to ensure the quality of its labour force. The suppliers can no longer be treated as simply external vendors. What is imperative is the need to understand the entire supply chain before the final product is rolled out. Safety is of prime concern in any manufacturing set-up. However, a key manufacturing unit also needs to ensure that the safety practices are being followed at its supplier end as well. The human resources team will have to engage in various safety training specifically for external vendors. There is an urgency which needs to be felt across the entire gamut of the SC network if the product is to be of world class quality.

When we raise concerns about an unskilled labour force, we basically want to ensure that quality is the parameter that is of prime concern. As per former President, APJ Abdul Kalam, the irony is that 82 per cent of our fresh engineers are deemed unemployable. Hence, we need to tackle unemployment. Until and unless we address the ‘Workforce-Quality’ issues, the campaign will only result in low cost, low quality output. The skilled labour force training needs to percolate to the backward SC as well. The HR team needs to be instrumental in coordinating the training across to the vendors. The biggest input to any product is the man hours, and a well-trained labour force across each and every point of the SC would definitely ensure supreme results.

One of the major challenges for the `Make in India’ campaign is to uplift our labour force. A focus on training is the key requisite of the hour. Many small scale industries will not be able to afford such set ups. Hence, in such cases, the big manufacturers need to ensure the upliftment of these small industries.

Though we have a young population that can accelerate the growth for India to serve as a global sourcing hub, the greatest impediment is the lack of training facilities. India plans to create a pool of 500 million skilled workers by 2022. However, the challenge is ‘Training & Development’. There is a dearth of trainers and adequate training facilities in the nation.

Another challenge is safety in logistics. With an increase in the threat to logistics, it is imperative that we maintain a check on the logistics. If stolen products land up in the SC, it would be a great threat to both quality and reputation of the firm. Hence, we need advancement in technology and an upgraded workforce to handle such sophisticated situations. A research suggests that India is very vulnerable to cargo thefts. A proper contingency plan needs to be in place and the worker needs to be fully aware of the products and the timelines and other minute details of the product being shipped. The bottom-line of all the aspects is a well trained workforce, a quality workforce.

As Kalam goes on to say that it is also an irony that in India, our start-ups are treated as step-children. New ideas and innovations always face the financial brunt while we do not mind allowing our MNCs to fish away our talent. This is against the global trend namely innovation capitalism wherein innovations are funded extensively. When we target the ‘Make in India’ campaign, we cannot turn a blind eye to our homegrown enterprises. India’s 500 start-ups a year as against China’s 8,000 is an indicator that we still have a long way to go.

Some of the big manufacturers/OEMs have slowly started realizing how imperative it is to have a dedicated team to concentrate on the initial part of the supply chain, the vendors. However, it is important that a synergy be created at the top of the pyramid amidst the big manufacturers. It will help realize benefits to the budding small scale industries. Hence, with synergies in place, India would be all set to take off as ‘The Global Sourcing Hub’.

(The writer is former HR Manager, Tata Motors, and Executive MBA Student, IIM Lucknow)

 

 

 

 

 

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