“The focus will be on skill development and the enhancement of the employability of the students in colleges in and around Madurai,” said Mr N. Krishnamoorthy, the new Chairman of the Confederation of Indian Industry, Madurai Zone and President-Dealership Business, T.V. Sundram Iyengar and Sons Ltd Madurai.
In an interaction with Business Line recently, he said that most students lacked soft skills, in-depth knowledge of IT and communication skills.
Exposure to students
A practice school programme has been envisaged to give the necessary exposure to students, after meeting a number of employers. Seven companies have come forward to offer the programme.
Under a tie-up with Thiagarajar College of Engineering, students of BE Mechanical course are being trained in TVS. A CII-sponsored Faculty Development Programme for all colleges irrespective of whether they are members of CII or not is also envisaged during semester holidays. This will help them understand the working environment in an industrial set-up and help bridge the gap between industry and institutions, he said.
Steps will also be taken to enhance the productivity and profitability of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), he said.
They need to be exposed to modern production techniques. CII would work as a catalyst and bring the experts to help them. Funding is another problem faced by MSMEs and CII would work to bridge the gap in sourcing funds too, Mr Krishnamoorthy added.
The third area of focus, he says, will be to take efforts to reactivate the IT Park in Madurai.
The image of Madurai in popular cinema, as a centre of violence has dented industrial opportunities. An effort was taken during the recently held ‘Madurai Vizha' organised by CII, to invite cine-directors and discuss the issue with them.
Efforts will be taken to attract mid-sized IT companies such as HCL to set up shop so that others follow in due course. The recruitment in most of these companies are from tier II and tier III towns and hence, should not be difficult for them to step in.
He added that another focus will be to improve tourism in Madurai.
In this connection, he said that ‘Madurai Vizha' conducted in the city in the last two years, showcasing the heritage and culture of Madurai, will be henceforth held in other cities such as Vellore, Chennai and Salem among others.