Light Engineering units enhance competitiveness with ILO’s ‘SCORE’ programme
To be held in Ahmednagar on 5 December 2012.
3 December 2012
New Delhi (ILO News) - An estimated 42 million persons in India depend on SMEs for their living, the second largest employer in the country after agriculture. Economic reforms have provided SMEs with flexibility to take decisions on technology, location, size of investment, etc. It has also created a competitive market environment pushing Indian industry to improve quality and achieve cost efficiency. With competition in the air, this sector, will have to continually upgrade its productivity in view of thinning gross margins. In a bid to reduce the vulnerability of SMEs to external shocks and improve their bottom-lines, the International Labour Organization (ILO) since 2010 has been implementing a global programme called SCORE (or Sustaining Competitive and Responsible Enterprises) in India and 6 more countries -, China, Indonesia, Vietnam, Ghana, South Africa and Colombia. In a jointly organised ILO – AAEA (or Ahmednagar Auto and Engineering Association) event ‘Best practices adopted by SMEs in improving productivity and competitiveness’ for the SMEs, on Wednesday, 5 December in Gymkhana Club in Ahmednagar, ILO-SCORE enterprises from Ahmednagar will be sharing productivity gains as a result of ILO-SCORE training. The event will also discuss a few workplace practices such as innovations in work organization, continuous workplace learning, good labour-management relations and respect for workers’ rights as important ways of raising productivity. Good practices adopted by successful enterprises in the other 6 ILO-SCORE countries will also be presented. Dr. Sanjeev Kumar, District Collector, Ahmednagar will be delivering the key note address in the event.
SCORE trained SMEs in India and some other SCORE countries have reported 30% or more improvement towards industry specific benchmark KPIs such as absenteeism, employee turnover, defects, energy efficiency, waste per month, overtime, accidents and labour productivity. ILO-SCORE enterprises are also expected to report employment and sales growth 5% above industry benchmark. ‘Every year more than a million jobs are created in SMEs in India. The ILO is keen to strengthen the ability of Indian SMEs to rapidly respond to changing market needs, reducing product life cycles and compliance with environmental and labour standards to remain competitive in the market. This will help the sector to continue to contribute to more and better quality jobs (‘Decent Work’) particularly for Indian youth’ said Tine Staermose, Director, ILO Decent Work Team for South Asia and Country Office for India.
As a UN specialized agency, the ILO has been working on issues related to the world of work, since 1919, across 185 member states and in India since 1928. The ILO’s mandate of social justice as the basis for peace is expressed today as Decent Work (DW) for all, and is a recognized global goal. The DW concept is operationalized through Decent Work Country Programmes. India’s DWCP is aligned with India’s 11th 5-year plan, which also stresses on enhancing competitiveness of SMEs to achieve inclusive growth in India.
ILO-SCORE programme is supported by the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) and the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD). It is a modular training programme with 5 compact modules covering workplace cooperation, quality management, productivity and cleaner production, organizing people to be motivated and productive, and organizing the physical workplace to be safe and healthy. Workers and managers participate together in 2-day classroom training sessions following which local experts provide on-site coaching to help the enterprise implement what has been learned and meet the specific needs of individual enterprises.
In India, SCORE is presently focusing on the light engineering industry and is implemented in Faridabad, Ahmednagar and Chennai, with plans for extension to other areas. The industry estimated at $ 7 billion engages a workforce of around 4 million persons is currently witnessing high growth and has high job creation potential. SCORE training to light engineering units is delivered in partnership with Ambattur Industrial Estate Manufacturers association technology (AIEMATC), Faridabad Small Industries Association (FSIA) and Ahmednagar Auto Engineering Association on a public-private partnership model (PPP).
Ms. Sudipta Bhadra
National Project Manager – SCORE India
International Labour Organisation (ILO)
SCORE trained SMEs in India and some other SCORE countries have reported 30% or more improvement towards industry specific benchmark KPIs such as absenteeism, employee turnover, defects, energy efficiency, waste per month, overtime, accidents and labour productivity. ILO-SCORE enterprises are also expected to report employment and sales growth 5% above industry benchmark. ‘Every year more than a million jobs are created in SMEs in India. The ILO is keen to strengthen the ability of Indian SMEs to rapidly respond to changing market needs, reducing product life cycles and compliance with environmental and labour standards to remain competitive in the market. This will help the sector to continue to contribute to more and better quality jobs (‘Decent Work’) particularly for Indian youth’ said Tine Staermose, Director, ILO Decent Work Team for South Asia and Country Office for India.
As a UN specialized agency, the ILO has been working on issues related to the world of work, since 1919, across 185 member states and in India since 1928. The ILO’s mandate of social justice as the basis for peace is expressed today as Decent Work (DW) for all, and is a recognized global goal. The DW concept is operationalized through Decent Work Country Programmes. India’s DWCP is aligned with India’s 11th 5-year plan, which also stresses on enhancing competitiveness of SMEs to achieve inclusive growth in India.
ILO-SCORE programme is supported by the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) and the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD). It is a modular training programme with 5 compact modules covering workplace cooperation, quality management, productivity and cleaner production, organizing people to be motivated and productive, and organizing the physical workplace to be safe and healthy. Workers and managers participate together in 2-day classroom training sessions following which local experts provide on-site coaching to help the enterprise implement what has been learned and meet the specific needs of individual enterprises.
In India, SCORE is presently focusing on the light engineering industry and is implemented in Faridabad, Ahmednagar and Chennai, with plans for extension to other areas. The industry estimated at $ 7 billion engages a workforce of around 4 million persons is currently witnessing high growth and has high job creation potential. SCORE training to light engineering units is delivered in partnership with Ambattur Industrial Estate Manufacturers association technology (AIEMATC), Faridabad Small Industries Association (FSIA) and Ahmednagar Auto Engineering Association on a public-private partnership model (PPP).
For further information please contact:
Ms. Sudipta Bhadra
National Project Manager – SCORE India
International Labour Organisation (ILO)