Bridging the gap

Updated on: Monday, November 09, 2009

Training in core skills has been at the heart of polytechnic education for years now. But the gap between the technical know-how of students and industrial requirements has for long been a matter of concern. According to academics, steps to synchronise this imbalance needs greater participation from the industries. While the question of quality skill training looms large over polytechnic education, steps to enhance the overall capability of students — in both domain knowledge and interpersonal skills — needs a closer look considering the huge demand for skilled workforce and industrial requirements in the present day scenario.

It is with this realisation that polytechnic institutions have started to call for increased involvement from industries. “The 11th Five Year Plan has outlined the need to introduce 1,000 additional polytechnics to create a skilled workforce. Polytechnic students occupy the supervisory posts in industries. The products of polytechnic institutes have been enormous but what has been lacking is that the skills have not synchronised with the industrial needs,” said G. Rani, principal in-charge of Women’s Polytechnic College (WPTC).

There exists an imbalance between industrial requirements and products of the institutes, she said, adding, “Trade skills on one hand, the students need soft skills. But many lacked communication skills. They might be specialised in one subject but the industrial needs will be completely different. It is to remove this mismatch that we are taking steps to bring in add-on courses to enhance the overall ability and skills of students.”

As part of the initial step, WPTC along with Integra Software Services has launched a three-month course in e-publishing for the students. “By working more closely with the industries, we will be able to understand their requirements. We can also introduce elective subjects in each discipline to suit the industrial needs,” she added.

A. Gnanam, former Vice Chancellor of University of Madras and Pondicherry University, and former chairman of National Assessment and Accreditation Council, said that industries should provide feedback to polytechnic institutions.

“Industries should specify what kind of persons and skills they need so that the institutes can train accordingly. On the other hand, polytechnic education should try to move beyond just engineering related courses and also look at the job potential in the service sector. A re-oriented approach is needed,” he insists.

In fact, a number of polytechnic colleges have started training programmes on the lines of finishing schools. At Motilal Nehru Government Polytechnic College, a communication lab has been established as an integral part of the curriculum to train students of second and third year in spoken English skills.

“There is a changing environment in industries. We should inculcate soft skills training in students to enable them to be better placed, and interact with the management. Industries should participate in a bigger way. With an autonomous status in academics, we can ask industries to also provide equipment,” said C. Parthasarathy, principal of the college.

With polytechnics focussing on 60 per cent practical and 40 per cent theory, content pertaining to industrial needs could be brought into the syllabus, he said. “Industries could play a vital role in assisting the technical institutes. Tie ups with industries will benefit the students to a large extent as they are the stakeholders. Such an interface is essential in the light of the changing technology and to keep in tune with the requirements of the industry from time to time,” he insisted.

The Directorate of Higher and Technical Education, Government of Puducherry, is taking steps in a big way to upgrade the skills of students. Programmes in soft skill training have been launched for polytechnic students. There are plans to set up an international language laboratory for providing training on various foreign languages at a tentative cost of Rs. 30 lakh.

Bridging the gap

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