World of opportunities at skill test

Thiruvananthapuram: The uninitiated might think that industrial skills can be developed through training; that a degree or diploma from a renowned school can help one mend engines faster; that experience makes one invincible. However, nothing could be farther from truth as some of the participants at the district-level competitions of 'India Skills Kerala 2018' at ITI, Chakkai, found out. "I always wanted to be a mechanic like my father. I have more than two years of experience at a workshop at Kallara. But however much you know about engines, in the end, it is all about luck," said S. Al-Ameen, whose colleague, G. Shiju had been taking unusually long to finish his task.

According to the notice issued by Industrial Training Department and Kerala Academy for Skills Excellence (KASE), the objective of the competitions is opening up a world of opportunities for its participants. Many participants hoped to get certificates that will open up more job prospects. Some said that if they can impress assessors at the competition, they might get a job then and there. Some of the competition benefits, however, may not be tangible. Al-Ameen talked of the experience of performing at the competition being different from their regular work. They have seen hundreds of engines. Unlike the Maruti-800-like engine that they had to deal with at the competition, they have to repair the latest engines. Still, he found the competition difficult, and perhaps, in the process, developed a new skill to perform faster. "You are pitted against so many others here. It is not the same," he says.

The skills that take to mend faulty automobile engines and chipped floor tiles are not easy to come by, revealed the skill fest. These need not be dependent on the age of the participant either.  J.S. Aakhila Shafi, who will be in class IV in the new academic year, was an example.  As she struggled to create the perfect circle during the painting and decorating competition, onlookers remarked, "Oh look! She is only slightly bigger than her compass!" By saying so, they were not discounting her ability.

At the web design competition, quite a few participants were from school. One of the assessors, T. Sandhya Devi, said, "sometimes a school student can design web pages way better than engineering graduates. Many self- learners do very well." There was a time when the skilled employees passing from ITI were not valued so much, but now things have changed for the better, according to Chakkai ITI principal P. Rajan. "We have come across engineering graduates who want to perfect their skill at ITI," he says.

All over Kerala, district-level competitions testing 20 skills have started. There are more than 7,500 registrations, according to Rajan. In Thiruvananthapuram, four venues are hosting the competitions, including Kazhakkoottam Women's ITI, Attingal ITI and Dhanuvachapuram ITI. Ten winners will get to participate in zone-level competitions. Two from each zone will compete at state-level. The winners will participate in the national level-skill competition. If they do well at the national level, they can head to the city of Kazan in Russia for WorldSkills Competition 2019.

Web designing is no child’s play

The topmost officials of a company which makes web pages for small businesses in Vamanapuram are in classes VIII and VII. They had come to Chakkai ITI to participate in the district-level web page designing competition at ‘India Skills Kerala 2018.’ “The job allows me to think up new ideas,” says Haleela Fathima, CEO, Grolius. She will be in class VIII at GHSS, Kumil.

Chief officials of Grolius

The school students learnt their ABCs in web designing when an IT Park was set up at KV UPS, Pangode, Kallara, Thiruvananthapuram, by a private company called Talrop. “Our training in HTML and Cascading Style Sheet Coding continues before and after school hours. So it doesn’t affect our studies,” says chief creative officer Mohammad Siyad, who is in class VII at KV UPS. They designed the web page for KVUPS – www.kvups.in. It would have cost the school Rs 50,000 in international market, according to Talrop operating officer N.J.  Ajmal. The nominal fee they charge when they design other pages is used for their own development.