Bridging Skill Gaps in Manufacturing Industry : IMTMA, a Torchbearer

Educated but unemployed is the reality of today’s youth who are often victims of the glitches in our education system. IMTMA, with its thoughtfully designed programs, is all set out to iron out these kinks and make the young engineers industry-ready.

You have a degree in electrical and mechanical engineering from one of the premium institutions which is quite commendable. Now what next? Those of you who are looking to gain a foothold into manufacturing industry may feel that the options are limited. This is so as firms often prefer hiring engineers who have experience of working with machines.

However, that is not always true. There are plenty of skill development programs that make students ‘industry-ready’. Indian Machine Tool Manufacturers’ Association (IMTMA) conducts many such programs at its Tech Centers in Bangalore, Pune and Gurgaon.

Leaping the theory-practical chasm

Educated but unemployed is the reality of today’s youth who are often victims of the glitches in our education system and this has been long in the making. The overarching bent towards theory leaves them with almost ‘zero’ exposure to practical knowhow which the industry requires.

“It is no secret that from the millions of job aspirants floating around, only a few thousands perhaps may find their feet in some company. To change this, we need to integrate skill training with the regular mainstream education imparted in engineering colleges,” says P Ramadas, President, IMTMA.

“The organized Indian machine tool industry, comprising IMTMA member companies, employs close to 60,000 people. The gap between demand and supply is significantly wide. Technologies are ever changing, so has to be the skill sets of the engineers engaged in the day-to-day manufacturing process. But this has not been the case. This perhaps necessitates training the manpower to meet industry standards. IMTMA has been in the forefront of doing this since decades,” says V Anbu, Director General & CEO, IMTMA, talking on the skill gaps and the need to bridge them thoroughly.

He further adds, “Many industry segments such as automobiles, auto components, railways, defence, power, electronics, white goods, aerospace and several others are dependent on machine tool industry to supply them with the most advanced technologies required for their operations. It is, therefore, equally important that engineers working behind those machines are well trained and equipped and have the design skills to handle tasks related to production.”

Preparing for the future

Indian machine tool companies are on the lookout for adding depth to their manufacturing through technology, research and innovations to meet consumer expectations. Often they find the going tough due to the lack of trained manpower especially in technical and soft skills required by the industry. The new recruits are not job ready and when employed, struggle to keep pace with the requirements of the industry.

“There is a total mismatch in what they learnt in colleges and what they are expected to do on the shop floor,” says Ramadas speaking on what hampers the new recruits to the industry from performing.

IMTMA as an industry reformer

To progress as a nation, we need to support tech growth and the first step in this is to enhance the skill set of the young engineers and impart in them the knowledge to prepare for the future.

Towards this, IMTMA conducts long-term comprehensive training programs at its centers. Students are trained in production engineering (metal cutting), production engineering (metal forming), machine design (mechanical), and machine design (electrical and electronics), and automation.

IMTMA also conducts several short-term training programs for engineers already working in the industry. The engineers are trained in productivity, design, maintenance, automation, and so on. More than 160 short-term as well as long-term training programs were conducted during 2017-18.

Overall, these efforts have enabled IMTMA to record 16,244 man-days of training and support the manufacturing industry in skill development and upgradation.

The industry has recognized IMTMA as an institution that combines theory as well as practical aspects of training to make engineers “industry ready” from DAY ONE. Employees from end-user segments of various industries such as automobiles, defence, aerospace and others have actively taken part in
the training imparted by industry experts.

Auto industry’s contribution

Speaking on the impact that IMTMA training had on his day-to-day work, a senior official working with a leading automobile company in Bangalore said that the trainings are conducted by industry experts with domain expertise in automotive industries. The programs are highly interactive and participants are able to solicit guidance on specific technical issues which are vital for their industry operations.

It is an open secret that automobile and auto components are the biggest customers of machine tools. IMTMA and Automotive Component Manufacturers Association (ACMA) are jointly working on identifying the skill gaps to address the key challenges that the industry is facing today.

Job aspirants need to stay tuned to make a mark in the employment landscape and IMTMA training programs is the stepping stone for them to survive in the age of Industry 4.0.

Caption for iind page :IMTMA conducts several skill development programs at its Tech Centers in Bangalore, Pune and Gurgaon to make engineers industry-ready.

Highlight:To progress as a nation, we need to support tech growth and the first step in this is to enhance the skill set of the young engineers and impart in them the knowledge to prepare them for the future.