As demand for Indian technicians is rising in the developed countries, Maharashtra Government, in a timely decision, has given nod for establishment of a foreign language centres at each of the Industrial Training Institutes (ITI) in six Revenue divisions. Currently, ITI Diploma holders are hot in demand as finally, the sunshine days for technicians has risen in the country. The reason being rise in usage of technology that is keeping pace with turnaround in economy, and the market dominated by sophisticated materials. On top of that, in European and other developed parts of the world also, the technical know-how of Indians is finally getting recognised. So, the State Government decided that students while pursuing the ITI Diploma, should also be acquainted with foreign language. This would help them in bettering their employment prospects.

 

The language these students will be imparted are German, Japanese, Spanish, Hebrew and Korean. Each of these countries are known industrial powerhouses, and Indian technicians now form the backbone. After taking a detailed view of the handicap the students face on reaching offshore, the officials from Skill Development along with their counterparts from Employment, Entrepreneurship and Innovation Department deliberated on the feedback received from the foreign embassies and came up with a decision to offer foreign language courses at ITI. Each of the divisions, namely, Nagpur, Mumbai, Pune, Nashik, Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar, Amravati have one Government-run ITI where any one of the foreign languages will be taught.

 

The foreign language chapters would be operated through Maharashtra International Centre (MIC) and the respective embassies would provide the technical know-how as to curriculum to teach their country’s language. So apart from honing the respective trade skills, the students would get to learn one of the foreign languages and based on their curriculum, the Employment Department would provide them opportunities to serve in that particular country. The idea is to better the employment prospects of the ITI Diploma holders, plus ensure they are not at sea when they land jobs in some other countries. The advantage of knowing local language would greatly enhance the capabilities of Indian technicians, plus help the students get acclimatise with the culture of respective countries where they get posted for work. For employers also, the prospects of hiring foreign technicians with proficiency in local language is of immense benefit as they need not be dependent on translators.

 

The Skill Development Department has approved an outlay of Rs 1.95 crore to establish the foreign language centre through MIC at the six ITIs. Apart from regular trades, the ITIs over the last few years have tried to keep up with the market and introduced several new subjects. This has yielded good results and now, many of the students are opting for technical studies rather than going for Commerce, Science or Arts stream. Still, the growing demand for technical manpower would require the ITI courses and the curriculum updated to ensure that it matches with the requirement of industry.