Globalisation
Intense competition has risen with globalisation. The factors across the globe shaping the manufacturing sector today are the revolution in technology, increasing productivity levels and other efforts to bring costs down and existent trade barriers been lifted on manufactured goods. These are making it mandatory for developing nations to make significant investments in ‘skill development'.
Manufacturing processes in organisations are benefiting from the systems such as Six Sigma, Total Quality Management (TQM), Lean Management and Just-in-Time. There clearly is an urgent need for trained man power in the manufacturing sector, but with the country's vocational system being inadequate, efforts should be made to strengthen public-private educational partnerships. Investments should be made in corporate-in-house training programmes and the youth should be encouraged and motivated to take up manufacturing as a career and exposure should be given to them on the various available options and growth prospects. This will help to eradicate the ‘social stigma' associated with the manufacturing sector to a great extent.
The manufacturing sector can create jobs and take the country out of the lingering economic crisis, with labour reforms from the Government, skill development from public-private partnerships, increase in pay and job-security of workers, follow international standards to improve the quality of products and bring in the ‘competitive spirit' to increase exports. With right implementation of the above, our labour intensive manufacturing sector can achieve the same success we have achieved in the IT sector and manufacturing and production will provide further fillip to the country's GDP growth.
Although positive change is occurring in pockets across the nation, in reality, India still has a long way to go, as the centuries' old caste/community-based informal trades are ‘alive' posing a challenge to change for the better and improvise.
The author is Executive Director, LabourNet Services India Pvt Ltd
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