'Mysore industrial sector facing acute manpower shortage'

Mysore, Nov 25 (UNI) Mysore, an emerging destination for industrial investors, has been facing a shortage of skilled and unskilled workforce in the manufacturing and service sector.

Talking to UNI, Hebbal Industrialists' Association General Secretary Suresh Kumar Jain said here today that the shortage of skilled and unskilled labourers in the district had become a bane to industrialists, who were finding it difficult to meet their contractual commitments.

The situation was quite ''grim'', he said.

The Mysore district was home to 22,000 small-scale industries, which currently employed about 1.05 lakh people and there were about 95 medium and large-scale industries, employing another 74,000.

But, the existing workforce was not suffice to meet the industry's requirements.

The present shortage was estimated to be about 40,000, he said.

Pointing out that the city had attracted about 15,000 labourers from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, he said there were still vacancies for the less qualified.

Though, many industries were ready to offer accommodation and a remuneration of Rs 3,000 a month, the response was poor, according to Mr Jain.

The reason for the scarcity had been attributed to migration of people to bigger cities like Bangalore. A large number people had started to set up their own small scale industries, which was another reason for the shortage, Mr Jain said.

The shortage was even more acute in service sectors like courier services, security agencies and hotel industry, he added.

The shortage of workforce had also affected the construction industry and the contractors were struggling to secure their daily employees even after offering increased wages, said Mr Ramanna, a contractor.

UNI