Chennai, Oct 21 (KNN) In a bid to increase productivity, the MSME Ministry has organised consultants and technical experts to offer advice to workers of light engineering units in the Ambattur Industrial belt here.
Under the project all light engineering units with employees ranging from 40 to 300 can avail the services of consultants and technical experts who will train them on various technical aspects such as cutting delays on the shop floor to setting realisable short-term goals in turnover.
It is hoped that the five module course that will expose workers to all nuances of working in engineering units to help improve productivity and ensure optimum utilisation of resources.
The project is an offering of the International Labour Organisation which has tied up with the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises to adopt five units in the Ambattur industrial belt.
According to reports, the project was a part of the 11th Plan to work with managers and business heads through 100 pilot projects to enhance productivity and reduce costs.
An ILO media advisory says, an estimated 42 million persons in India depend on SMEs for their living, the second largest employer in the country after agriculture. While economic reforms have provided SMEs with flexibility to take decisions on technology, location, size of investment, etc, it has also created a competitive market environment pushing Indian industry to improve quality and achieve cost efficiency.
However, with competition in the air, this sector will have to continually upgrade its productivity in view of thinning gross margins. In a bid to reduce the vulnerability of SMEs to external shocks and improve their bottom-lines, the International Labour Organization (ILO) since 2010 has been implementing a global programme called SCORE (or Sustaining Competitive and Responsible Enterprises) in India and 6 more countries - China, Indonesia, Vietnam, Ghana, South Africa and Colombia.
SCORE trained SMEs in India and some other SCORE countries have reported 30 per cent or more improvement towards industry specific benchmark KPIs such as absenteeism, employee turnover, defects, energy efficiency, waste per month, overtime, accidents and labour productivity.
ILO-SCORE enterprises are also expected to report employment and sales growth 5 per cent above industry benchmark.
In India, SCORE is presently focusing on the light engineering industry and is implemented in Faridabad, Ahmednagar and Chennai, with plans for extension to other areas. The industry estimated at USD 7 billion engages a workforce of around 4 million persons is currently witnessing high growth and has high job creation potential.
SCORE training to light engineering units is delivered in partnership with Ambattur Industrial Estate Manufacturers association technology (AIEMATC), Faridabad Small Industries Association (FSIA) and Ahmednagar Auto Engineering Association on a public-private partnership model (PPP).
