Jorhat/Guwahati, June 3: The next generation of tea estate executives in Assam won’t be rookies learning on the job.

The Bangalore-based Indian Institute of Plantation Management is opening a satellite branch at Tocklai Tea Research Station in Jorhat, the world’s oldest and largest tea research organisation, to train estate managers to handle everything from cost escalation to labour unrest.

Minister of state for commerce Jairam Ramesh will inaugurate the satellite branch, the first full-fledged plantation management institute in a region that has been producing tea since 1838, on June 26.

Set up in Bangalore in the early nineties at the initiative of the Consultative Committee of Plantation Associations and the Union commerce ministry, IIPM’s objective is to create and maintain a pool of people qualified for employment in the plantation sector, including tea, coffee, rubber and spices.

Prabhat Bezboruah, a member of the board of governors of the IIPM’s Northeast chapter, said the satellite branch would be a boon to the region’s tea industry. “Proper management is required to help put the crisis-ridden sector back on track.”

Tocklai director Mridul Hazarika, another member of the governing board, said IIPM would extend logistical support to the satellite institute. “We have vacated one of our buildings to temporarily house the institute,” he said.

Hazarika said IIPM’s main task would be to train tea estate executives to become better plantation managers. “Tocklai will remain the first choice for whoever requires technical advice, while IIPM will teach them how to manage large plantations.”

Bezboruah, a former chairman of the Assam Tea Planters’ Association, said the centre would initially train only tea estate executives. “At least five professionals will be recruited to conduct the course.”

The Bangalore institute offers a postgraduate diploma course in agri-business and regularly conducts executive development programmes for the plantation industry. Most of the participants in these programmes are from south India.

Apart from adding an IIPM satellite branch to its facilities, the Tocklai research station in the world has begun organising special training sessions for small tea growers from across the region. Small growers produce 120 million kg of tea annually and are emerging as big players in the industry.

“It is time we paid special attention to small tea growers and helped them benefit through our research and development activities,” a senior official said.

The institute has already set up about 160 self-help groups.