Empowering Skill and Knowledge: Key to Industry Growth, Features - Personality

Prabuddha DasGupta
Group Leader (South-East Asia)
Packaging Development (Foods) Hindustan Unilever Ltd. Research Centre, Bangalore

I understand that enough has already been said on how polymer industry is on the fast track and is finding more and newer applications in the fast expanding economy of India through these columns. However, I will like to focus on some other major issues which need to be addressed through both, Government policies and the Industry Government initiatives.

I will like to mention here the issue of trained manpower development. It is roughly estimated that over 90% of the manpower employed in the area of polymers are in the area of plastics processing, the rest being in the areas of design, marketing research, development and education. So going by these figures, which were collected by Plastindia Foundation, our dreams for a large Plastics industry rests on our operators and supervisors on the shop-floor. With the per capita consumption of plastic products in India moving towards 8% GDP growth, training becomes an emerging need for industry success, the need for operator and supervisor training is even more acute as plastics machinery and processes are fast evolving in terms of materials, technology and know-how and training is a major emerging need.

Here, the state Governments and industry can play a major role by revitalising the PPOT (Plastics Processing Operator Training Courses) which are being run in Polytechnics. These courses need to be well funded and course structure modernised. With good training provided on modern processing equipments by trained professionals, these polytechnics will be able to produce operators needed for plastics processing.

CIPET has been doing an exceptional job in this area which needs to be extended to all the states in the country.

The next need is for training and up-skilling of supervisors. This training which is required at a higher level than operators can be provided by part time courses run by engineering colleges or industry associations like IPI as is being currently done through the IPI courses. Supervisors are employed professionals and so development of appropriate e - learning courses by associations with Government support can effectively meet this need at the National level. Also, at the National level, there is a need to establish centres of higher learning and research typically as below.

• Indian Institute of Additives
• Indian Institute of Engineering Plastics and Design
• Indian Institute of Plastics Recycling and Sustainability

All the three institutes will be of immense help in the new emerging areas in polymers which can catalyse new understanding and expertise leading to significant growth opportunities.

Empowering Skill and Knowledge: Key to Industry Growth

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