Speaking at the ‘Constro 2012’ seminar in Pune recently, CREDAI’s national president, Lalit Kumar Jain said, “The construction industry is the second largest industry contributing to the nation’s GDP. In the coming years this industry will require more than 1.25 crore of skilled labour. It is important to produce at least 25 thousand skilled labour every year.”
Getting a skilled labour is an uphill task in construction industry. To overcome this issue, National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) along with CREDAI Pune Metro has initiated a unique program called Kushal. The main objective of “Kushal” is to impart practical skills to un-skilled & semi-skilled laborers.
CREDAI (Pune) vice-president Rohit Gera said training will be offered to construction workers in six trades - shuttering carpentry, bar-bending, masonry, plumbing, painting and tiling. “The USP of the programme lies in providing learning opportunities to poor construction workers on the job and on the site free of cost. Workers learn while they earn,” he said.
“Giving training of international standards to unskilled labours is an intricate task in itself. Focusing more on practical knowledge rather than only technical information is done by Kushal. To take our nation on a growth path, Kushal is doing a commendable work, said Shekhar Reddy, Director-NSDC and Vice President of CREDAI India.
On the evaluation pattern Gera said, “The labourer’s performance is evaluated daily by the trainer present on-site full time. Also, intermediate evaluation and final evaluation comprising an oral test and a pictorial test will be done. On completion of the programme, the laborers are awarded certification by Builders Association of India.
“The Kushal project aims at imparting training without disturbing on-site work. It consists of 80 per cent on-site training and 20 per cent classroom-based training. The most measurable outcome of the programme for the trainees is considerable wage rise, leading to better living conditions,” said Gera.
The course content has been professionally developed by experts, said CREDAI officials.
FICCI's take on skilled labour issue
For the construction sector, the New Year brought grim news. Already burdened with a shortage of unskilled labour across the country, the industry is now further hit by a serious shortfall of skilled workers.
Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Ficci) and Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) have both warned that the sector is severely starved of proper staff.
By 2020, the construction industry will need 5 million civil engineers, architects and planners but the country is expected to produce fewer than 1 million of these professionals, says Rics.
"The industry has seen a massive increase in the last few years, especially the real estate segment due to the swelling housing needs," said Pooja Gianchandani, the director of skills development at Ficci. "Whether it is the ambitious low-cost housing schemes and programmes of the government or the demand for modern homes, each of these require a pool of specialised and trained manpower that cuts across professionals like engineers, architects, designers and so on."
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