Green hilly slopes populated with tea plants was a sight that 27-year-old Amarjyoti Buraghosain looked forward to everyday. For it was in Assam?s tea gardens that he earned his livelihood as a supervisor. The salary was meagre, but there were not many choices of a job in Margharita, a small town in Assam, where Buraghosain lived. So he was happy. That was until he saw an advertisement in the newspapers for free training in air-conditioning and refrigeration in distant Mumbai. ?The training was being sponsored by Voltas, and I decided to give it a try.? Buraghosain cleared the interview and was selected for the course. Now, dressed in a blue uniform in the technical school at Lower Parel, he is pleased with the change in surroundings. ?I am learning a technical skill,? he says, which will enable him to conjure up a life beyond the tea plantations back home.
Along with Buraghosain are 10 other young men from Assam in Mumbai, training at the Voltas? programme. The boys look part diffident, part relieved to be learning a technical skill. Not yet fluent with either Hindi or English, they smile when questions are put forth. ?I miss home,? says shy Pankaj Bhuyan. Food is not much of a problem, he says. ?But the faces are all so unfamiliar. Not many Assamese faces to be seen in Mumbai, and so we prefer each other?s company.?
These young men from Assam are paid a stipend of Rs 6,000 besides being given?free boarding. This initiative of Voltas is part of its corporate sustainability spirit and aims to provide a source of livelihood. In fact it has its roots in The Tata Group, which has business interests in Assam. ?Our programme for the youth is in keeping with The Tata Group?s initiative of creating ?employability? among the youth of Assam. The?Tatas have short-listed around 100 youth and they have been split up for training in various Tata companies,? says Anil Gole, VP, HR and head, corporate sustainability, Voltas. ?Of these 11 have been sent to Voltas to be trained at the Joseph Cardijn Technical School, Dadar, with whom Voltas has a tie-up. On completing the course, the company will explore the possibility of providing them employment with their dealers, adds Gole.
For the boys, Mumbai is a ?dream come true? and intimidating as well. Bhuyan, who has appeared for his final year B.Sc exams in Assam, says: ?Mumbai is a big city and a far cry from our small homes in our village in Margharita. Over there we know everyone and everyone knows us. But in this big city, we can easily get lost. Since our boarding and lodging, besides our training is being taken care of by Voltas, we don?t have to worry about where to stay and other sundry details. But Mumbai is very expensive.?
Sitting on the work benches in the classroom, the only confident and smiling boy in the group, 23-year-old Mukesh Singh, says this city does not ?enthral? him. ?You know I have seen other cities. Delhi, for instance. So Mumbai does not really come as a shock or surprise either.? Singh, who is also a final year B.Sc. student, decided to join an MCA course in Delhi on completing his graduation, but decided to take up the training in Mumbai. Education vs job? He laughs. ?Yes, it certainly was not too difficult to choose between the two. I would have to scour afresh for a?job even after my MCA, while after this training, I am sure to get a job here. It secures my future immediately,? he says. ?
Voltas provides the equipment to teach the course and a retired employee teaches and trains the boys. Providing a job for the boys is not a matter of concern, for the principal John Almeida. ?The demand for mechanics far outstrips the supply. I find these boys very dedicated and am sure they will be absorbed anywhere on completion of the course.?
For the lanky, quiet, 23-year-old Babul Das, who hails from Guwahati, it will be a dream come true to get a job in Mumbai. ?This is a big city. There is so much scope for getting work here than in Assam, though I come from a city,? he hastens to add.
It must be goodbye to Assam for a long time now. Laughs Mishra, ?if we get a good job here, it sure is.? It won?t be difficult, then, settling down in a big city like Mumbai. ?Of course not. It is not even cold here like back home,? he points out.