CII President Ajay S Shriram may come from an ‘old economy’ enterprise, but believes in continuing with his predecessor Kris Gopalakrishnan’s aggressive approach on skill development for economic growth.
The Doon School alumnus and Chairman and Senior Managing Director of DCM Shriram Ltd, is clear on his agenda for job creation. “We have bulk of our population between 15 and 59 years. One is providing employment opportunities, but it is another thing to make employability of people better so that they are better equipped to get jobs.” “Education and skill development are going to be among the 10 key focus areas for CII for the year,” Shriram told Business Line .
“Whether it is masonry or carpenters, there is tremendous shortage today. We also want to look at the Apprenticeship Act and see how it can be expedited so that more people can be taken as apprentices, and more flexibility can be provided.”
Among other initiatives, the industry chamber plans to launch the 100-100 programme where 100 CII-member companies will create 100 faculty sabbaticals, who will spend 2-3 months in the industry.