Students participate in Smart courses at the Apparel Training and Design Centre in Bhubaneswar. Picture by Sanjib Mukherjee

Bhubaneswar, May 10: In order to respond to the growing demands for skilled workforce in the garment industry, the Apparel Training and Design Centre (ATDC) here, which is run by the ministry of textiles, is conducting Smart (skills for manufacturing apparels through research and training) courses.

As part of the central government sponsored Integrated Skill Development Scheme, the ministry has identified skilled workers such as weavers, tailors and others whose skills need upgrade. Moreover, new skills would also be imparted to those who have no experience in these fields. “We have skilled people at every level of the society. But in most cases, their skills are not evaluated and not recognised. The ATDC has been chosen as the nodal agency to impart skills in the garment sector,” Lopamudra Das Ghosh, principal of ATDC, Bhubaneswar, said.

Das Ghosh, who is also the project leader for ATDC-Orissa, said Smart courses were being conducted throughout the country. The target was to train around 1.72 lakh people in two years at a cost of Rs 1.72 crore. “As part of this project, we are giving a lot of emphasis on Orissa as the rate of unemployment and poverty here is a bit higher compared to many other states,” she said.

At present, the second batch at ATDC, Bhubaneswar, comprising 30 candidates from poor and disadvantaged sections, is being trained by two experts. Most of the trainees are girls. The Smart courses, which were launched in February, are conducted for 30 days. While the fees for general students range from Rs 1,200 to Rs 7,000, training is provided at free of cost to candidates belonging to the scheduled caste, scheduled tribe, below poverty line and handicapped categories.

After a seven-day training in soft skills, yoga, orientation in banking and Hindi language, the candidates are taught sewing machine operations to stitch simple garments like shirts, trousers, blouses and skirts. “All this training is imparted on modern, imported machines to familiarise the trainees with the latest machineries and to enhance the rate of output,” the principal said. Any candidate, who has passed Class V, can enrol for the Smart courses. “The entrance requirements have been kept low to give Class V pass students a chance to gain blue-collar jobs.

“After the training, one can set up his or her own apparel unit,” she said. While 75 per cent of the course fee is being borne by the central government, rest 25 per cent is being paid either directly by the candidate or indirectly by a sponsoring agency.