By Mr. Avinash Mayekar, MD- Suvin Expo LLP
Lost in Nostalgia!!!
Just a few weeks back during TMMA AGM, a hot discussion happened on career opportunities in the textile industry. This topic is close to my heart, the fond memories and the excitement of making a name all feel like just yesterday. My mind goes back to 1987, the year when I passed out from the prestigious textile institute “VJTI”. I am reliving those bubbles of exploration, eagerness for learning and a sense of becoming responsible. But for almost 6 months I was searching for a job from “mill to mill.” But the story of myself becoming a Textile Engineer from VJTI is quite different. My dream was always to be any speciality engineer from VJTI. Textile Engineer was the feather that landed on my cap, unknowingly.
I got admission to VJTI in 1983, during those times, the textile mills especially in Mumbai were on the verge of shutting down mainly because of the high increasing real estate costs as well as operating costs in Mumbai to run a textile mill. That period witnessed too many “planned” labour strikes, due to certain unions like the most famous Dutta Samant union. Although the mills were producing export-quality fabric, the infrastructure costs in Mumbai were skyrocketing, making it difficult for the mills to survive.
For reference, during the 1990s the operating cost in Mumbai consisting of the main components like the power was more than Rs. 7.50/KWH and average labour wages were more than Rs. 13,000 being experienced personnel. Whereas, the same cost at other newly developing textile locations of Maharashtra like Kolhapur was less than Rs. 3.50/KWH for power and labour was also cheaply available at Rs. 2,000 per month being fresh employees. Due to these operating cost burdens and huge land parcels owned by the mills in Mumbai inclusive of huge factories, labour colonies, ponds, large garden areas and a lot of other facilities contributed mills not to be profitable. At the same time, these land parcels were in huge demand by real estate players and the prices were increasing day by day. This made textile mill owners a much more attractive proposition to partner with real estate organisations than to run the textile operations. This was the main reason for the shift of manufacturing from Mumbai to other locations. That’s why the then Government joining hands with the mill owners came out with a policy that the textile mills are allowed to shift to new locations provided they share the earnings with the Government & labour unions.
With this scary textile scenario, when my application got accepted into VJTI College, my decision to select textile engineering as a career was questioned and quite bluntly laughed at by all family members & friends. Saying that mills are closing down and this chap is going for textile engineering!!!
However, that is history…But the driving motive for me was VJTI. My ultimate dream was to become an “Engineer” at VJTI. And that’s when I jumped into the textile ocean, without knowing the “warps and wefts” of textiles. This part of my story is important for today’s youth to keep an open mindset and learn facts before they start their career. They need to know how things are happening in the particular industry of their choice, not just what is visible to their eyes but also in depth study of the textile industry if they want to enter into. This I am emphasising because of my experience, after I got admission I came to know that though 65 -66 number of textile mills from Mumbai started closing down. However, a textile career was not a bad decision. Because, new operations and new set-ups, especially 100% EOU units, were coming up in huge numbers in different parts of India like Coimbatore, Kolhapur, Ludhiana, Indore etc and at many other locations. So although people were laughing at me, the reality was different in favour of the textile industry. It was an opportunity with ample scope all over India other than prominent cities like Mumbai, Ahmedabad etc. If I had not taken up the challenge, my dream would never have turned into reality and I would have never got an unexplored & unheard opportunity to excel in my life… I feel it was a real blessing for me as a young chap who left everything in life only to enter VJTI, and I got almost everything in life that I had even not dreamt of!!!
Nowadays, most of the students from textile engineering, switch over to other disciplines for white collar jobs like IT, the Automobile industry or any marketing firm of consumable goods, insurance or even a Government job (One of my colleagues chose to become a clerk in Municipal corporation after completing Textile Engineering & he will be retiring now as a clerk only) etc. Most of the time the work offices are in posh localities, especially in metropolitan cities which is another added attraction for the new generation. Whereas for a textile engineer, especially at the plant, one has to operate and work in shifts in unhygienic conditions and at rural & remote locations.
Irrespective of all this one has to understand that almost all industries are going to shift from metropolitan cities to remote locations in the near future, only trading houses will stay in big cities. So whatever has happened with the textile industry in the past, is going to happen with all other engineering-related or manufacturing-related industries. And that’s why if at all, you are planning to make your career in textile engineering, you need to get acquainted with the thought of being placed and stationed at factory locations that may neither be near to cities nor your hometowns. Most of the job opportunities are available in the production area. Then maybe after 3 – 4 years, they need to change their job location for better opportunities. So shifting from one location to another location is the only way to succeed. So you need to be open to getting to work anywhere irrespective of any geographical boundaries. The competition is less because very few people opt for textile engineering. Thereafter, very few people stay in textile engineering and succeed.
And once you are in the textile industry, then you have all the best opportunities present in this industry. If at all, you have a good IQ level with leadership qualities, you can excel in most management-related activities and win over the competition easily. One more aspect of textile engineering is that one unit gives you very huge sales turnover for the company. So though the profitability is low, we say that it is about 5 to 6% of net profit or 20% to 25% of the gross profit which varies as per the products. However, you are likely to generate more revenue from one unit. And that is the key factor for the success of the company and an excellent career opportunity. If you see the textile operation heads like the CEO or President or Vice President, you will find that their salaries are much higher than any of the other industries as the number of management staff members are less.
So the opportunity in the textile industry can lead you to be a more successful leader with higher compensation benefits in the long run. It is the competition of smartness among the limited people from the post of managerial staff. Let’s take an example, consider either an integrated plant with a spinning, weaving, processing and garmenting unit. So you would be heading one of the departments. And such types of people in that particular organisation would be only four. That’s why for the managerial post, candidates who are efficient with operational skills & labour management will be chosen because the textile industry is labour-intensive. But you will find that almost 90% of people fall into the worker categories & around 10% are the people who are coming in the managerial category. What we call the unexplored opportunity is the “Showman”- The post of managing the entire show of textile manufacturing. At the same time, the operational knowledge gained by you gives you much better mileage to win over and get higher responsibilities in a lower time span.
Some of the key positions for textile engineers are:
- Process
- Raw materials – Fibres/Yarn/Fabric/Finished Fabric/ Garments /Technical Textiles etc.
- Technology
- Capital Goods- Technologists/Marketing experts/Service Engineers
- R&D – Innovations, Testing, Quality Control
- Spare parts – Spare part suppliers
- Auxiliary services – Accessories/Dyes/Chemicals etc.
- Certifications- ISO, factory inspection, Safety, Green etc.
Career Cycle:
- Management trainees: Research Associates/ Market research Analyst/ Marketing Assistants/ On Shop floor trainees
- Site Engineers/Project managers
- Process experts: Ginning/ Spinning/ Weaving/ Knitting/ Processing & Finishing/ Garmenting/ Technical textiles/ Retail etc.
Qualities for a Process Expert
- Process knowledge
- Technical know-how
- Material Science
- Machinery specifications
- Machinery comparisons
- Technology evaluation
- Processing parameters
- Process management
- Waste management
- Machinery layouts
- Infrastructure requirements
- Engineering designing inputs
- Utility requirement
Qualities of a marketing expert:
- Market research orientation
- Data management
- Resource knowledge
- Strategic thinking
- Logical analysis
- Knowledge of Statistic
- Presentation skills
- Analytical Thinking
Challenging opportunities as a Consultant:
- The business of giving expert advice to other professional owners OR Government bodies
- It provides external advice for organisations for their business
- Ensuring return on investments
- Creating a space for experts
- Mentoring businessmen to achieve higher goals
New Possibilities for Textile Experts:
- Government Super Tanks
- Recently the government has been seeking assistance & hiring third-party help
- To create concept plans for better developments
- To complete & implement government projects
- Review development plans & provide knowledge on specialised fields
- Reviewing work done by the allotted contractors
- Business opportunities
- In all the above sectors
Conclusion
Textile engineering is a challenging and aspiring job opportunity. Those who excel with their smart and hard work hold key positions in the industry and get compensated with much higher packages & are rewarded with great opportunities.
The new generation should think seriously before joining this versatile textile industry and they should stick to their area of expertise and excel in their career, then the sky’s the limit for them. It will also give them an opportunity to be an entrepreneur in various streams of the textile industry.
Be an Expert…Conquer the World!!!
