Garment units pitch for Sri Lankan talent

COIMBATORE: Garment units in the region have started recruiting senior level personnel from Sri Lanka, especially to manage production.

K.P.R. Group of Companies that plans to set up a garment unit is recruiting 12-15 executives from Sri Lanka including industrial engineers, quality assurance heads, trainers and line production supervisors. The efficiency level of the Sri Lankan personnel is high. They hold degrees in specialised courses such as industrial engineering and will train those in the industry here.

The personnel are taken on contract for two or three years, says C.R. Ananda Krishnan, executive director of the mill.

R.M. Subramaniam, an industry consultant, says that some of the leading companies are recruiting personnel from Sri Lanka mainly for production and processing, as they have the experience of working in large-scale factories.

Further, it solves the problem of attrition of senior executives in the factories here. T. Parthasarathy, an exporter who recruited two executives from Sri Lanka recently, says garment units in Sri Lanka follow a scientific production method. Executives from that country are employed in garment units in the European Union and West Asian countries.

Trained in production planning: The units here recruit them as heads because they are "well trained in production planning."

They also help in maintaining delivery schedules and achieving higher productivity. On an average, the employees are paid $ 1,000 a month. Priority is given to experience and efficiency during recruitment.

At present, only a few units have gone in for recruitment of employees from Sri Lanka, but many more are expected to join them, says Mr. Subramaniam.