PROGRAMMES DEVELOPMENT FOR ALTERNATIVE

EMPLOYMENT FOR GRADUATES OF FISHING COMMUNITY

1. Introduction

We, Jyoti Mishra and Rajpreet Kaur, students of the Institute of Rural Management,
Anand (IRMA) undertook the study “Programmes Development for Alternative
Employment” for the graduates of the fishing community with South Indian Federation of
Fishermen Societies (SIFFS), Trivandrum as part of our PGDRM (Post Graduate
Diploma in Rural Management) course. OTS (Organisational Traineeship Segment) is
one of the three field training semesters of the PGDRM course and has two components,
Organisational Understanding (OU) and Organisational Action Component (OAC). The
study undertaken, constituted the OAC segment of OTS and was done in the light of the
needs of the organisation.

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2. Background

South Indian Federation of Fishermen Societies (SIFFS) a non-governmental

organization working in the marine fisheries sector, has its activities concentrated in a
large part of southern India. Although the functioning of the organization is on the lines
of a cooperative, the registration has been done under the Travancore Literary, Scientific
and Charitable Societies act of 1955. It got registered in December 1980. The
organization arose as a result of a need for an apex body for the various primary societies
that were working at the village level as the fish marketing societies. Though initially
established as a fish marketing organization, SIFFS is now diverged into a range of
services and has reached an approx number of 50,000 fish workers through its activities.

The organization is working with a mission to protect and enhance livelihoods in marine
fishing. Its vision is to have a sustainable fishery and a developed fishing community. On
lines with the vision, the organization over the years has taken up several activities like
boat building and repairing, R&D, import and supply of outboard motors, micro credit
programmes, providing information services, post harvesting and marketing of fish and
several other services.

With the increasing pressure on fishing, along with a decrease in the average catch it has
become important to provide the people of the community with other opportunities for
employment. To address this problem SIFFS has started a new department for alternative
employment. This department has undertaken programmes to provide training to the
youth with different educational qualification from the community. A few programmes
that are currently in progress are carpentry training fibreglass training and IT training.
Training in carpentry is basically for the uneducated youth, both male and female, so that
they can make their livelihood in the near future. C-EOT (Centre for Employment
Oriented Training) has been set up to provide IT training for students with some technical
knowledge. So far the majority of the programmes have been targeted at the school
dropouts, but now initiative is being taken to focus on the graduates. Though there are
several NGO’s working in the area of alternative employment, significant among them

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being TDFF, Padma social center, Cheru Rashmi Center, SNVF, Loyola Poovar, the
programmes being run by them are basically targeted at providing skills that are not
specific to the educated youth. There thus exists a need to tap the potential of the large
educated and graduated youth that is not being harnessed adequately.

The idea of the alternative employment department is to give training to the ordinary
graduates from the fishing community in certain technical and vocational training that
would equip them and make them competent for the job market. The objective is to
identify the most suitable training that can be imparted to the graduates, which would not
only cater to the needs of the students but also give them a stand to be able to look for
jobs in the open market.

2.1. Need for alternative employment

The fisheries sector has been recognised as a powerful income and employment generator
as it stimulates growth of a number of subsidiary industries and provides employment for
a large population of the economically backward population in the country. About 6
million people in the country depend on fisheries and aquaculture for their livelihood.
India stands as a major figure in the global scenario in fisheries as it stands 3rd in total fish
production. India’s share in the world production of fish has increased from 3.2 percent
in 1981 to 4.5 percent in 2001.

India has a coastline of 8118 km and an EEZ of 2.02 million sq km. About a million
people are involved in fishing operations. With the absolute right on the EEZ, India has
also acquired the responsibility to conserve, develop and optimally exploit the marine
living resources within this area. The growth in marine fisheries during the 1980s and
1990s has been slow as compared to the previous two decades. During the last decade
(1990s) the marine fish production has reached a plateau. While on the one hand demand
for seafood has been growing, signs of overexploitation have been seen in several of the
fishing zones. This can also be seen in the continuous decline in the growth rate of annual
fish production. While in the period of the eighth planning commission a growth rate of

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4.8 percent was seen, a growth rate of only 2.5 percent has been targeted in the tenth
planning commission, the total production being estimated at around 8.19 million tonnes.
Kerala having the richest resources in fishes faced overexploitation of its waters in the
1960s. Use of mechanised crafts, use of nylon nets and increase in the use of trawlers
were a few factors that led to the fall in the overall fish harvest. Over fishing not only led
to the fall in the fish harvest but also led to skewed distribution of the benefits and costs
of the fish economy. The depleting fishery resources have decreased the scope for a larger
number of people continuously entering this occupation. Thus there prevails a need for
exploring newer avenues of occupation to accommodate the younger generation of the
fishing community.

3. Methodology

3.1. Decision Problem

To look for the best possible training alternatives that can be imparted to the graduates
and equip them with them so as to make them competent in attaining jobs in the current
market.

3.2.Research Problem

To identify vocational and technical training that can widen the job opportunities
available.

3.3.Research Objective

• To identify needs, interests and trends among graduates for jobs.

• To identify the training opportunities available in the preferred job sector and to
assess its market potential.
• To suggest suitable training programmes that is implementable.

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3.4.Working Definitions

• Programmes: Programmes for the purpose of our study refers to a coherent set of
activities including training, assistance (financial and technical) and guidance that
SIFFS can take up for the graduates of the fishing community, the aim of the
program being to equip the graduates to make use of the job opportunities
available in the market.

• Alternative employment: Alternative employment in the context of our study

refers to those occupations except fishing, which can be taken up by the members
of the fishing community especially the youth as the source of income generation.

• Graduates: Graduates for the purpose of our study refers to students who have
completed their graduation (12+3 education system) in fields like arts, commerce,
science, computer science, engineering, etc. these graduates include both males
and females, employed and unemployed but below 28 years of age. However only
non-professional graduates from the fishing community are being taken as the
target population i.e. for whom the programmes have to be developed.

• Fishing community: Fishing community in the context of our study refers to

those members of the community, in whose families fishing has been a major
occupation, either in the present or in the recent past.

3.5.Scope of the Study

The scope of the study was limited to the graduates of the fishing community. The
decision problem of the organization SIFFS being to provide the graduates with some
technical training that would increase their absorption in the industry, graduates have
been the target of the study. The aim of the organisation in the current scenario is to start
the training programme as a pilot project, and then widen the scale of the project
depending on the success of the pilot project. With this in mind the scope of the study has

5
been limited to the three districts of operations in the southern western coast of the
country, namely Quilon, Trivandrum and Kanyakumari.

3.6. Limitations

• As the study was restricted to the three villages lying on the southern west coast
of India the observation might not be representative of all the coastal villages
even in Kerala. The reason being that there is huge socio-cultural difference
prevailing between the different coastal regions.
• As the trend of education and people going for non-fishing occupation is
increasing the observations made might not have time validity.
• The limited time available for the study was a constraint in conducting a much
more comprehensive and in depth study.
• Due to lack of proper documentation of educational status among students of the
community identifying graduates was a difficulty. Hence we resorted to snowball
sampling, which might not be a true representative of the population.
• The employed category may not be having complete representation as we could
get opportunity to talk to only those employed who were working in the village
itself or near by and mostly engaged in privates tuition or teaching jobs.
Inspite of all these limitations major insights were gained about the graduates and their
status.

3.7. Sources of Data

Both primary and secondary data had been collected for the purpose of the study. Both
structured and semi structured tools of data collection were adopted for the same.

Primary data
Primary data was collected basically from four different sources
• Graduates: Students both male and female who had completed their graduation in
any of the streams but with age between 20 to 28 years of age were taken as

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 sources of data. These graduates included both, presently employed and
unemployed. However a survey with the help of a questionnaire was conducted
only on the graduates from the fishing community. In-depth interviews with
checklists were done with graduates from the non-fishing community. Data from
graduates was largely collected on the trends in preferences for subjects, place,
job sectors, and problems being faced in getting jobs and their aspirations and
expectations.

• Professors: Data was collected from professors of various colleges and training
centres about the various trends in students, their weaknesses and strengths, job
seeking tendencies, problems that need to be addressed, difference in performance
among students of various communities etc

• Professionals from different sectors: Based on the results of the survey, open
ended discussions were held with professionals, especially related to the IT sector
to understand the market scenario, assess the market potential and to understand
the opportunities available for the graduates in the IT sector.

• Key persons like priests and other researchers: Unstructured discussions were
held with resourceful people like priests and researchers who were closely
associated with the fishing community. Data was gathered from them on social,
cultural, psychological and economical aspects of the fishing community.

Secondary data
Secondary data was collected from various studies and researches done on the fishing
community and the IT sector. The major sources of concerned literature were

• Studies done at SIFFS

• Studies done at PCO
• Internet

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3.8. Information Requirements
Table 1: Information Requirements
Graduates Professors Professionals
 Educational profile  Student preferences  Different types of
 Work experience for different courses jobs available
 Additional and reasons for it  Qualification
qualifications  Job sector requirement
 Area of interests preference for  Experience
 Job preference students and reasons requirement
 Problems in getting  Difference in  Additional
jobs aptitude among qualification
 Awareness about various communities requirements
different alternatives  Problems faced by  Remuneration
 Readiness to avail students of fishing  Growth
training and look for community opportunities
jobs henceforth  Important features  Recruitment
 Dependency on or attributes that procedure
external assistance help in getting jobs  Direct recruitment at
for seeking jobs  Awareness among different levels in
 Areas presently students about the organization
engaged in different job /internal promotion
 Expected alternatives  Job security
remuneration  Opportunities and
 Attrition rate threats in the market

3.9. Structure of the Study

Both qualitative and quantitative data collection was done through primary and secondary
sources. The sampling of the graduates was done to know the preferences, orientation and

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competencies of the graduates. The FGD’s were aimed at generating different ideas about
the employment opportunities available for graduates, the needs of the graduates and
various problems being faced by them in getting employment. In depth interviews with
professors were done with an aim to know the general trends and preferences among
graduates for jobs and to understand the strengths and weaknesses among students.
Unstructured discussions and interviews with the Priests and the researchers of the related
field were done to get insights about the various socio, economic, cultural aspects of the
fishing community. Based on the results obtained through FGD’s and sampling in depth
interviews were conducted with Professionals of the related fields to get information
about the demand in the market and other details regarding the requirements for different
jobs.

3.10. Sampling plan

3.10.1. Sample size

A total sample size of 120 was taken for the study.

3.10.2. Variables
• Boat owners and crew members: This variable was considered to represent the
different income levels in the households of the fishing community
• Employed and unemployed graduates: This variable was taken so as to help in
identifying the problems faced by the graduates and know what could be the
enabling factors that helped some of them to overcome the problems.
• Location: This variable was considered to take into account the variations in
strengths and weakness and needs arising due to spatial differences.

The Kanyakumari federation (KDFSF), Trivandrum federation (TDFF) and the

Quilon federation (FWS), were the three locations chosen for sampling.
Considering that the initial training programme shall be a pilot project only
limited districts were chosen for the study. The choice of these three districts was

9
 made due to the close proximity to each other and their being in the vicinity of the
SIFFS headquarters.

Another reason for the choice of the three federations was the number of members
in the federations. The number of members in these federations being relatively
high than other federations these areas were selected for sampling. In these three
federations, namely the Kanyakumari federation (KDFSF), Trivandrum federation
(TDFF) and the Quilon federation (FWS), the villages were selected on the basis
of the concentration of degree colleges, assuming that the number of graduates
would be relatively high in such villages.

3.10.3. Sampling plan

Table 2: Sampling Plan
Boat owners Crew members
Employed Anjengo: 9 Anjengo: 13
Kollam: 8 Kollam: 16
Tutoor: 5 Tutoor: 9
Unemployed Anjengo: 7 Anjengo: 11
Kollam: 6 Kollam: 10
Tutoor: 5 Tutoor: 21

On the overall basis we wanted to have equal number of employed and unemployed. So
for achieving this we altered the number in the villages based on the availability of the
requisite number. Having equal number was for having proper representation of both
groups. So that we would be able to better understand their views. The ratio between
graduates coming from boat owners’ family and crew members’ family was kept 1:2
based on our survey. The number of graduates in these categories was highly fluctuating
in different areas, ranging from 1:10 to 1:3. But based on our survey and availability we
took an average of 1:2. We had not taken sex as one of the variables, but fortunately we
got almost equal number of male and females so for better analysis we considered this
also as one of the variables. The method of sampling adopted was snowball sampling,
due to the limited number of graduates in the concerned areas.

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3.11. Methods of Analysis

For a comprehensive understanding of the data that we collected through survey we first
did simple tabulation of the data. This tabulated data was then coded and different multi-
response tables were made. For analysis we performed simple percentages, indices and
took frequency counts. For qualitative data we tried to analyse it by correlating our
observation with the results obtained from discussions with students, priests, other
researchers and professionals.

4. Supply Side

4.1. Findings

Based on the survey of the graduates’ information was collected on the various aspects
and trends among the students.

• Choice of subjects
Entry into Pre degree after the completion of secondary level of education, is the most
crucial moments of the lives of the students, it is here that the student has to make a
decision about the choice of the subject that he or she would like to pursue. However the
decision is not always guided by the interest in a subject. Several other external factors
join in to play a crucial role on the stream that the students opts for, either in pre degree,
or while pursuing higher studies.

At 12th level of education, out of the total surveyed sampled, only 10 percent of the
students had gone in for technical courses i.e. computer sciences and electrical &
electronics. Among the rest 90 percent of students, a majority of 42 percent had taken up
sciences, followed by 30 percent taking arts and 18 percent taking commerce.

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 pre degree

8% 2% sc
18% 42% arts
com
comp sc
30% elec

Fig 1: Subjects taken in Predegree.

Of the three districts surveyed, there were substantial variations in the trend of subjects
being opted for. A striking feature to be noted was that the 11 respondents in the whole
sample who had gone for technical courses were from Tutoor.

anjengo tutoor

0%
13% 30% 23% 5%
0%

57% 10%

0% 62%

0% kollam
In graduation 0%
33%
there was seen 34%

substantial sc
difference in the arts

subjects chosen. 33% com

Observations comp
sc
e&e
show that in the science group a maximum of around 40 percent of the students had
Fig 2:Subject Choice In Different Regions

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mathematics as their main subject. On the same trends as in pre degree, the trend of
taking technical subjects has been low.

Graduation

2% 20% sc
35%
arts
4%
comp sc
engg
39% com

Fig 3: Choice of Subjects in Graduation

In graduation not much significant difference was seen between males and females in the
choice of subjects. The difference seen was in pursuing of the technical subjects where 11
percent of the male respondents had subjects like BCA, computer sciences and
engineering, while on the other hand only 2 percent of the female respondents had taken
up these subjects.

A similar trend of preference of arts, followed by science was seen among the students
from the boat owner and crew member families. However results in choice of subjects
among students belonging to the boat owner family and the crew member families show
that a major difference existed in the choice of commerce as the graduation subject.
While 27.5 percent of the students from boat owner families had opted for commerce
only 16.25 percent of the students from the crew member community had commerce.

This difference in percentage can be attributed to the difference in the choices made by
the male members of the two backgrounds. Amongst males while 40 percent of them
from the boat owner families had taken up commerce, making it their first choice, only
14 percent of the males from the crew member families had taken commerce, which was
the third preferred subject. Also a larger percentage of males in the crew member families
had opted for arts and science the difference being that of 23 percent higher in the crew

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member community. The trend of choice of subjects between females of the two
backgrounds follows very similar trends.

A place wise observation shows that a similar trend as in pre degree follows in the
choices of subject in graduation. In Kollam village arts, commerce and science have an
equal appeal among the students. In Tutoor 59 percent of respondents had science, and
around 18 percent had taken up technical subjects like computer sciences and
engineering. The trend of taking arts remains the highest in Anjengo with 69 percent of
respondents going for it. This is also in lines with the trend of taking arts in pre degree.

Among the 120 graduates that were sampled only 39 had gone for post graduation. A
maximum of 36 percent had arts in their post graduation, followed by 26 percent taking
up science. The maximum number of students doing post graduation was from Tutoor,
which constituted about 51.2 percent of the total postgraduates. Of the total post
graduates girls outnumbered the boys. There were 61.53 percent female postgraduates
and only 38.46 percent males. A remarkable difference was seen in the percentage of
postgraduates from the boat owner families and the crew member families. Most of the
postgraduates were from the crew member family constituting 69.2 percent of the total
postgraduates.

An increase in trend of preference of arts has been seen from predegree to post
graduation. It is seen that there is an increase in 30.55 percent of arts students in
graduation from predegree. The major drift has been from the science stream to the arts
stream. Negligible change of stream was observed among students with commerce
background. A similar trend of drift from science and commerce to arts was seen at the
post graduation level. 50 percent of the postgraduates in arts did not have an arts
background at graduation level. It was observed that all postgraduates in comp sciences
had a science background at the graduation level.

Other courses:

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Besides the conventional system of education that had been undergone by the
respondents, questions were asked about the different kind of vocational and technical
training that they had undergone. It was noticed that about 68.33 percent of the
respondents had undergone some or the other training or short-term courses. Of these 68
percent of students having additional qualification, the maximum of 40 percent belonged
to Kollam, followed by Anjengo from where 34.1 percent of them belonged. While 77.5
percent of the total students from the boat owner family had taken additional training,
63.75 percent of the students from the crew member family had taken them. Also the
difference in the proportion of males to females going for extra training was insignificant.
Only marginal difference was seen in the proportion of students taking up different
courses across the three different villages. Among all students taking computer related
courses Kollam constituted of 46.55 percent of them.

Of the various kinds of technical training that had been taken up by students, maximum
number of courses were related to computers, for e.g. DCA, multimedia, tally course,
PGDCA, etc. 18.18 percent of the trainings undertaken were that related to teaching and
this forms the second choice for students. While 57 percent of males have gone for
computer related training, 46 percent among females had taken up computer training.
However amongst those taking teaching training 64.2 percent were females.

Additional training

10% comp related

7%
tech trng
teach trng
18% 52%
adv trng
13% others

Fig 4: Choice of Courses for Additional Training

Of the total students who took technical training, amongst crew member students 57
percent went for computer related training while 19 percent went for training related to
teaching. There is not much difference in these percentages in the boat owner category

15
when compared to the students from the crew member families. The trend for taking
training in computers followed by that in teaching is seen across all categories.

• Decision for choice of subject

When asked about what were the guiding factors or reasons that made them chose a
particular subject in predegree or graduation or for undergoing some kind of training,
varied responses were obtained. In many cases the respondents gave more than one
reason for the choice of a particular subject. The most frequently sighted reason was
interest in the particular subject. Respondents going with interest as the reason
constituted 43 percent of the total responses. A substantial number of 22 percent gave job
orientation as the reason for choosing their subjects. Other reasons like financial
condition of the family, grades obtained in previous exams, non-availability of desired
subject and direction from parents contributed to a negligible figure towards the choice of
the subject. While in Kollam and Anjengo more than 50 percent of the people claimed
interest to be the guiding force for the choice of the subject, in Tutoor most of the
respondents (31.25 percent) said job orientation to be the reason.

It was noticed that the tendency to choose subjects with getting a job in mind was higher
among students from the crew member families (33.75 percent) as opposed to students
from boat owner families (17.5 percent). Not much significant difference was seen
between males and females choosing subjects with job orientation in mind.

• Trend of job sector preferences

The trend comes in favour of teaching. As can be seen from the data around 43 per cent
respondent have teaching as their first preferred job sector. On second place comes the IT
sector with 22 per cent going for it. Rest all job sectors are below 8 per cent meaning
there by that these all sectors are negligible.

Table 3: Percentage of People Opting for Different Job Sectors

Overall Tutoor Anjengo Kollam Male Female
Finance 7.5 5 5 12 4 11
IT 22.5 44 14 7 35 12

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 Research 5.8 9 0 8 5 6
Teaching 43.3 27 47 54 24 59
Social work 5.8 3 15 0 7 5
Others 15.1 12 19 19 25 7
100 100 100 100 100 100
All figures in percentages. (Source: survey)

When compared sex wise we can see that it is the female population whose first
preference is teaching. Male population has IT as their first preference. Within the crew-
member and boat owner category the sex wise trend of job sector is same as is on overall
basis.

• Place preference
When asked about place preference for doing job around 34 per cent of the respondents
shown willingness to work in the same district. 20 per cent of them did not have any
preference they were willing to work any where in the world. Only criteria for them, was
the salary. The sex wise scenario of place preference is a little different.

Table 4: Percentage of People in Terms of Place Preference

Preference for place Overall Tutoor Anjengo Kollam Male Female
Village 7.5 10 10 3 7 8
District 33.3 24 42 32 20 44
State 19.2 17 22 18 13 24
Country 10.8 13 8 13 18 5
Abroad 8.3 18 3 5 16 2
No preference 20.8 18 15 29 26 17
All figures in percentages. (Source: survey)

When seen village wise then the results are almost same as the overall. Only remarkable
thing is in the Kollam district where preference for same district and no preference are
equally given importance. Among the boat owner and crew member category the place
preference is not significantly different.
• Job searching tendency
On over all basis 63 per cent of the respondents have searched for jobs. Among the
villages this tendency was found to be more than average in Kollam and Anjengo. In

17
Tutoor region it was less than average.The male respondents were much higher than
average in this job-hunting behaviour. Among the females it is far less than average. This
can be seen from the data that 75 per cent of the males have searched for jobs while
among females it is only 53 per cent.

Among the boat owner and crew member category this tendency is near to average. The
boat owners a little low with 60 per cent and crew member a little higher than average
with 65 percent. If we further analyse then we can see that male population of crew
member category has much higher tendency to search for jobs than the boat owner
category. About 63 per cent of the population, who has searched for jobs, is of crew
member category. The same is the situation among the females with 75 per cent of the
female population who have searched for jobs being from the crew member category.

The medium for searching is invariably same across all categories. It is the newspapers
wherein people look the most. Then next come the friends and relatives, from whom
people generally ask about different opportunities.

Table 5: Percentages Showing Medium of Search for Jobs

Medium of Search Overall Tutoor Anjengo Kollam Male Female
Newspapers 50.8 36.8 64.7 52.5 52.63 49.09
Internet 6.25 13.1 5.8 0 7.01 5.4
Friends/Relatives 33.9 39.4 20.5 40 31.5 36.36
NGOs/Institutes 5.3 7.8 5.8 2.5 3.5 7.27
Others 3.5 2.6 2.9 5 5.2 1.8
All figures in percentages. (Source: survey)

Out of 76 who have searched and applied for jobs, 14 per cent did no extra preparation to
get it. 44 per cent of the respondents who did extra preparation read more of newspapers
and magazines. 25 per cent did group discussions with their friends and discussed with
their professors. The situation is almost same across all the categories. Only 20 per cent
had taken any kind of coaching. And this trend percentage wise is highest in boat owner
female category.

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• Recruitment procedures
Among the graduate respondents, there was one category that was presently employed
and another large number of students who had worked earlier. Of the various recruitment
procedures undergone by students the majority of them faced written tests and interviews.
Almost 38 percent of the students faced interviews and a similar percentage of students
faced written tests. Similar trend was seen among boat owner and crewmember category
and among males and females. Of the total respondents who had undergone some or the
other recruitment procedures 44 percent of them said that they felt a need for
improvement in preparation and hence had made an attempt in that regard. Most of them
expressed a need for improvement in communicative English. To improve their
performance most of them had resorted to an increased reading of newspapers and
magazines.

• Job possibilities after graduation, post graduation and technical training

For analysis of this part indices were formed. Based on the indices we can say that
graduation along with some kind of technical or vocational training is considered to be
most important for getting jobs. It has an overall index of 0.905. Doing post graduation is
also considered important. Only graduation, according to the survey would not help in
getting jobs, some additional qualification is required.

Table 6: Indices for Job Possibilities after Different Level of Education

Boat Crew
Level of education Overall Anjengo Kollam Tutoor Male Female owner member
Graduation 0.77 0.775 0.82 0.725 0.76 0.785 0.76 0.78
Post graduation 0.815 0.785 0.81 0.85 0.793 0.834 0.825 0.81
Technical training 0.905 0.92 0.9 0.895 0.898 0.91 0.905 0.905
All figures as Indices. (Source: survey)

If we see across the regions then we will find that Kollam region gives highest
importance to graduation. For PG Tutoor region and technical training Anjengo region
gets highest importance. Sex wise and boat owner and crewmember category wise the
situation is same as found for overall basis.

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• Factors affecting job possibilities:
For this also we prepared indices and we took 0.70 as cut off index for any factor to be
considered important. Based on this rule we found that confidence, quality of education,
guidance, external support and awareness are the most important factors that help in
getting a job. Among these factors also respondents feel confidence to be the most
important factor that got an index of 0.9.

Table 7: Indices showing Importance of Factors for Getting Jobs

Boat Crew
Factor Overall Anjengo Kollam Tutoor Male Female owner member
Grades 0.695 0.67 0.69 0.72 0.698 0.692 0.71 0.688
Skill 0.861 0.875 0.865 0.845 0.876 0.849 0.835 0.875
Confidence 0.9 0.9 0.9 0.9 0.92 0.883 0.945 0.878
Finance 0.67 0.72 0.585 0.715 0.658 0.686 0.675 0.673
Quality 0.81 0.855 0.81 0.77 0.818 0.806 0.795 0.82
Guidance 0.87 0.855 0.85 0.905 0.876 0.865 0.895 0.858
Place preference 0.636 0.595 0.52 0.795 0.596 0.535 0.54 0.575
Job sector
preference 0.581 0.52 0.545 0.68 0.615 0.622 0.665 0.595
External support 0.78 0.765 0.735 0.84 0.793 0.769 0.755 0.793
Awareness 0.855 0.875 0.825 0.865 0.865 0.846 0.84 0.863
All figures as Indices. (Source: survey)

As hypothesised, that finance may be considered important, our finding was different. It
was not considered important even by the crew member category. Within boat owner and
crew member category the only difference from overall scenario was that boat owner
category considered grades also as one of the important factors for getting jobs. Sex wise
there was no difference from the average.

• Low awareness
Low awareness featured as one of the major reasons for not getting jobs. When asked
about the general level of awareness among students about job opportunities and other
information 86.66 percent off them said that the awareness level in their villages was low.
Various reasons were sighted for the low level of awareness among students. Lack of
guidance and lack of interest among the students together contributed to around 50
percent of the answer given by the respondents. Only a negligible 7.1 percent sighted lack

20
of infrastructure as the reason for the low level of awareness in the community. Even
among the boat owners and crew members and among males and females the same trends
of reasons were given for low awareness level.

• Mindset for technical training

In the last phase of the questionnaire the respondents were asked to select the most
preferred alternative after graduation among the given options.
a) Take up some time and look for jobs
b) Take up higher studies and continue looking for jobs
c) Complete higher studies and look for jobs
d) Take up some employment and look for jobs
e) Take up some vocational training and look for jobs
A mixed kind of response emerged out of this question where no one situation was given
any substantial preference. The last four options were preferred by almost an equal
percentage of the population. Only the first option had a minimum level of respondents
(6.15 percent) implying that very few people were of the opinion of going for hunting
jobs just after graduation.

Difference was seen in the first preferences among the boat owners and crew members.
While the first preference among the boat owners was choice (b), where 32.5 percent
opted for it as the first option. On the other hand 30 percent of the members from the
crew member families opted for (d), which was the highest sought out preference. The
males gave their first preference to (b), i.e. taking higher studies and continue looking for
jobs. Females on the other hand preferred to take up some employment and then continue
looking for better jobs.

A Likert scale of 5 was used to get the respondents opinion on whether after receiving
some kind of technical training; assistance was required from the training institutes for
placements. 0.7 was taken as the cut off index for considering that placements were of
substantial need to the students after technical training. An overall index of 0.593 was
obtained showing that placements were not desirable among the respondents. The indices

21
obtained across boat owner categories and crew member categories and among male and
females were around 0.6 showing that placements were not considered important among
the various categories. Similarly the index found in the villages was substantially low to
consider placements as a preferable option.

The expected remuneration among students after some kind of minimum technical
training ranged between 2000-7000. A maximum of 45 percent of the respondents said
that their expected salary ranged between Rs. 2000-4000. Another 44 percent of the
respondents said that the salary should range from Rs 5000-7000. Negligible difference in
choice between the two salary ranges was seen amongst various categories. On overall
basis Rs. 5008 came as preferred salary. But in Tutoor region it was highest with people
aspiring for Rs 6000. Among the male and female category males had aspiration higher
than females. Among the boat owner and crew member category the difference was very
low but it was higher for boat owner category.

4.2. Observations

During the course of our study it was observed that a lot of factors in the surrounding had
either a direct or indirect bearing on the prevailing situation with regards to education and
employment status among the students of the fishing community. Certain prevailing
aspects were observed during the course of FGD’s and discussion with researchers and
key people in the area.

• Quality of education
The mobility of the students being relatively low in the initial stages of the student’s life,
most of them attend schools in the vicinity of the village. Though quality is a problem in
the whole state, it is more intense in the coastal areas. Instances were noticed where
students having attained their 10th level of education were not able to read and write
properly. At another occasions it was observed that students with an M.A in English and
those with courses in communicative English, were unable to speak in the language. One
of the major reasons for the quality not being of a certain standard is the recruitment of

22
unqualified teachers. It was noticed that the donations rather than the calibre ensures a
job in this sector.

• Economic constraints
The fishing community remains one of the most marginalized and backward societies of
the state. Most of the families live in a state of economic backwardness. The tendency to
save money for the future is almost negligible among the fishermen. A trend of spending
a large amount of money on alcohol was seen on a hike. Thus there always exists a need
for money. The need for quick money leads to students leaving education after class 10th
and pre degree. Most of them either take up some kind of industrial training or engage
themselves in unskilled labour activities.

For those students who go in for higher studies, decision to take up the subjects is
influenced by the economic condition of the family. It was noticed that the trend of taking
technical subjects was negligible among fishermen youth. At the times of searching and
preparing jobs, financial constraints put them at a disadvantaged condition.

• Social isolation
The concentration of the fishing community is largely in the coastal belt of the region.
Almost all people inhabiting in this belt are either presently engaged in fishing or had
their forefathers engaged in the occupation. The mobility of these people is restricted for
the purpose of fishing, and this too is seen among the richer fishermen. This leads to a
much reduced interaction of the fisherfolk with the outside communities. Also the schools
located in these regions do not have students of different communities coming together.
Thus at the initial stages of their lives itself the children are concentrated to the people of
their own areas and localities.

Also most of the government policies that are made for the up-liftment of the backward
classes do not reach the fisherfolk. Programmes run by government for providing
employment either do not reach the students or have a negligible impact on the
community.

23
The newspaper reading habits, inquisitiveness to know about the outside world, interest
in watching informative programmes on television is all on a much reduced scale. This
keeps them away from the happenings of the world outside them and adds to their being
socially isolated. They remain ignorant about their rights and hence development of the
community is marginal.

• Cultural aspects
The fisher folk have a strong affinity to the sea. They do not show much interest in
working too far away from their hometowns. If at times people tend to move out it is for
a short duration of time. Though trends of moving out for jobs have been increasing but
this number is very negligible. This aspect reduces the opportunities of the youth getting
jobs in the outside world.

Due to immense pressure on sea for fishing the cluster of houses can be seen in these
areas. Generally the houses were also noticed to be small with not many rooms. As the
fishing job is a highly risky job, each successful return from the sea is a celebration for
the family. Also small functions are celebrated with a lot of pomp and show. All these
create an environment that is not conducive for studying. These enormous sources of
distraction have an adverse effect on the performance of the students. Enormous spending
is done during the very frequent celebrations that happen in the community. At times
even loans have to be taken to meet these expenses. This adds on to the economic
constraints faced by the families.

• Psychological aspects
Due to their economic background and social isolation, the students from the fishing
community restrain from mingling with people of the other communities. Even when
studying with students of other communities, a lot of inhibition is shown in interacting
with them. A sense of inferiority prevails in them because of the fishing occupation in
which their parents are engaged.

24
• Political aspect & low bargaining power
Past experiences and observations have shown that a socio political movement is a need
for any kind of reform to succeed. Though political movements have taken place among
other communities in the regions, the fisherfolk have remained alien to it. The fishing
community has taken no political initiatives on a large scale. They thus have not been at
the receiving end of any educational reform or scheme. The educational growth of this
community thus remains hindered. Even at the local level inadequate representation in
the various councils and committees reduces their bargaining power and hence puts them
at a disadvantaged position. For instance, the managing committees of most of the
schools run in the coastal areas do not have a representation from the community. The
policies and rules framed are mostly not in favour of the fisherfolk.

• Guidance
The social isolation of the community generally keeps them unaware of the outside
world. The various alternatives available, the suitability and scope of the various courses,
the benefits and long term advantages of particular courses are generally not known to the
students. The parents being not very educated are unable to guide their children in their
future plans. Not only this, not much interest is shown by the parents in educating their
children. The teachers and the professors also not being very qualified and with less
knowledge about the industry are unable to give proper guidance to the students. Lack of
guidance leaves the students taking decisions that may not lead their career in the right
direction.

• Gulf factor
A large demand for unskilled and skilled labour in the industries in the gulf countries has
given rise to the trend of fisherfolk going to these countries for jobs. Going to the gulf
countries to earn quick money has become the dream of the large youth population in the
community. This leads to the students leaving education after predegree. Even students
completing graduation do not show much interest in searching for jobs as the fascination
of going abroad persists. One person going to the Gulf facilitates their relatives back in
the country to get jobs there.

25
A major reason for the people going to the Gulf is the large sum of money that can be
earned even in an unskilled labour work as compared to the salaries paid in India. People
work in these countries for a period of 4-5 years and having earned a good amount of
money return back. Another reason for people going to the Gulf is that this increases their
value in the marriage market. A better spouse and higher dowry is assured.

4.3. Analysis

Several interesting and substantial data and facts emerged from the study that had been
conducted. The various observations that were made among the students including the
differences observed across various categories in the sample had insights to offer. Several
relations could be seen between the various dimensions of their lives each influencing the
other in some or the other fashion.

The tendency to take up additional training, after or before graduation was seen to be on a
high. Around 68 percent of the students taking up some extra training showed that the
students realize the need for such training for getting jobs. This was also seen during the
survey where an index of 0.9 was attained for the option of the possibility of getting jobs
after attaining some level of technical or vocational training. This high index implies that
the students give more importance to graduation accompanied with some technical or
vocational training over simple graduation or post graduation.

Another aspect to such high number of people taking up trainings is that despite poor
financial background, there is not much hindrance posed by this problem in taking up
such value added courses. One reason for this could be the tendency of parents to provide
assistance to their children if they have completed graduation, till the time they get some
employment. This is also an indication of the tendency to look for white collared jobs
after graduation.

26
We observed that the tendency to look for jobs among students was not very high;
wherein only 63.3 percent of the respondents had made an attempt on their own to look
for jobs. One reason for this trend could be the support provided by the parents till a large
period of time. The other reason observed for the above trend was the attitude among the
fisherfolk to wait for their relatives getting some jobs for them in the Middle East
countries. When asked about the medium where the students searched for jobs, 33 percent
of them agreed searching with friends and relatives. A large proportion of these were in
the gulf countries.

However the choice of the kind of training undertaken is random, which is reflected in
the kind of jobs that they are engaged in. even with some training students are hardly
engaged in jobs that make use of the training that they have undergone. Neither do the
students have preference for jobs that are related to the training that they have taken.
Many have done training to make use of the time when they have to sit idle at home
without any kind of engagement. Because of this attitude the seriousness towards the
courses taken is very low. This also reflects in the minimal knowledge that they have
gained from the course.

The random selection also reflects the level of guidance that the students have. Most of
the students agreed that guidance is the major factor that influences in ones getting jobs.
The index for this was 0.87. However in the tutor region the index for guidance was still
higher meaning thereby that in that region it was the biggest factor. This was inspite of
the fact that Tutoor had a college in the village itself and access to teachers and professors
are relatively easier. This reflects the inadequacy in the part of the teachers to provide
students with proper guidance. This situation prevailed in the other villages as well. The
major reason for this is the recruitment procedure of teachers and professors in the
institutes. A handsome sum of money played major role in getting jobs in the teaching
sector. This leads to incompetent people getting into the profession thereby drastically
affecting the quality of education being imparted to the students.

27
Inspite of the lump sum amount that is being asked for, for entering the teaching
profession, it still stands as the first preferred job sector, with 43 percent of the
respondents willing to take it up as employment. One reason for this is the job security
that is ensured in this profession. Secondly, the students prefer to work in their own
districts. 33.3 percent of the respondents expressed their willingness to get employment
only in their own district. This trend was found to be high amongst the female population,
where 52.7 percent of them had this district preference.

As already observed, quality of education was another major factor that affected
possibilities of getting jobs. People who have done advanced studies in English language
are not able to communicate in the language. Even though this problem of quality of
education prevails in the entire state of Kerala, it becomes more profound in the coastal
regions as the community stays socially isolated from the main stream.

Because of this isolation and also the social taboo attached to the fishing occupation, the
fisherfolk shy away from mingling with the outside world. This has lead to lack of
confidence. As already seen confidence was the most important factor for getting jobs.
Lack of confidence is seen in the inhibition that they have in interacting with people from
the outside world. Even people with adequate knowledge in English are unable to speak
fluently in the language and find it difficult to face interviews.

Amongst all recruitment procedures interviews were found to be the toughest. Even
though the students realise that interview is the major hurdle, most of them do not make
any extra attempt to overcome the difficulty faced. This figure constitutes around 56
percent of the respondents. Lack of confidence stands as the major reason for this as well.
Also it was seen that the tendency of making continuous and persistent efforts was low
among them.
It was observed that the respondents were not very well versed with the happenings of the
outside world. Not only this they did not have adequate awareness about the various
opportunities that were available and the scope of the various courses that they had taken
up. Reasons for these were the social isolation of the community, laxity on the part of the

28
students and also finance. Many of the students did not have access to good newspapers
and magazines because of their financial condition. Interesting to note here that unlike in
the case of technical training where lump sum amount is required, people are not ready to
spend on daily basis. This could be because of the nature of fishing as an occupation
where income is irregular.

4.4. Conclusion

From the above observations and analysis the following conclusions can be drawn
• There is need for a program for diverting youths of fishing community from fishing
activity to some other employment.
• Just after graduation chances of getting job are low. Graduation with technical
training has more job opportunities. So they should be provided with technical
training.
• Teaching and IT are the two preferred fields so the training program should be
developed in either of these sectors.
• Based on the results, there should be similar program for all the categories as the
differences between them are not significant.

5. Demand side

5.1 Teaching sector

The situation in the teaching sector is not very promising. It is one of the sectors,
especially in Kerala, which is almost saturated. That aside, it is not that the graduates are
not capable to get it but it is the system which is preventing them from getting employed
in this sector. The system of paying some hefty amount in the name of school
development hinders the path of the capable graduates. The qualification required is
being possessed by almost all the students. The various courses in teacher’s training were
among the most sought after courses. The survey results revealed that of the total
additional training courses that were undertaken, 18 percentages of them were related to

29
teaching. In spite of being equipped with such skills the graduates of the fishing
community face several problems in entering this field. The major hurdle is that the
management committee in most of the schools comprises of people who are not from
fishing community, so there politics plays a role and competent aspirants from the fishing
community are bereft of jobs. SIFFS as an organisation cannot help in the politics. Also
graduates have the required capability so the chances for SIFFS to intervene are again
limited in this field.

5.2 Indian IT sector

The overall IT industry can be classified in the following groups based on the
requirements of investment and the expected returns.

High

Consultancy Software and

Services Programming
RETURNS

IT Enabled
Services

Low
Low INVESTMENT High
Fig 5: The IT Industry
The software and programming sector is the highest return fetching but involves high
investment also. Mostly people of B. Tech and MCA background are preferred in this
segment. In consultancy services the returns are very high but the investment is very low.
Qualification required to enter this segment is specialisation in some area or MBA. The
IT enabled services is the segment which is the major target for the graduates. Here the
investment is low but the returns are also low.

30
The Indian Information Technology industry with its initial success in the exports in the
software industry is now being recognized globally. With the rise in the convergence of
different technologies and the penetration of one technology into another the need for
integration has been high. Also the growth of internet in the last decade created a number
of problems each of which are developing into new areas of opportunities. The growth of
internet has fuelled another area of opportunities for different service sector
organizations. The spread of the Internet are providing significant benefits to individuals
by enhancing employment opportunities.

Demand for an IT workforce - covering workers in IT development companies and IT

occupation in other industries is rising. Over the past decade, these industries have been a
powerful factor in the world economy’s rapid and sustained growth. Likewise, IT
employment has also grown faster than overall employment in the last few years.
Demand for IT workers has increased with the spread of networked computers, the
Internet and the associated growing demand for high-quality digitised products and
services. Jobs in the IT industry, witnessed a dramatic rise from 1995-96 onwards.

Visioning these opportunities initiatives were taken to diversify into IT enabled service
sector besides the software export that India has been involved in. though initially the
business related to IT industry in India was the concern of some private representatives,
even the government now has realized its potential and entered into the field. By framing
a long term national IT policy, the government has given way to change in the macro
environment that would help transform Information Technology Business in India from a
small sector to a large and growing industry.

Until a few years back, IT was being dealt with the same rules of the conventional
manufacturing industries. However support is now being provided to it as a non-
conventional industry and both the government and the industry are working in tandem to
form suitable strategies to capture the global IT market and to add value to it.

31
With the special efforts being made, the Indian IT sector is now becoming one of the
fastest growing industries in India. It has recorded a production of Rs. 97,400 crores
during the year 2002-03, as compared to Rs. 26,640 crores during 1996-97, a CAGR of
26 percent.

Table 8: Production Details of Indian IT Industry, 2002-03

Value Growth CAGR (5 years)

IT & Electronics Rs. 97,400 crore 22% 25%

Hardware Rs. 37,500 crore 15% 11%

Software &
Services Rs. 59,900 crore 26% 43%

(Source: Interim Report of the Task Force on HRD in IT, 2003)

A considerable growth rate has also been seen in the exports made by the Indian IT
industry. The growth figures for the last 5 years show that a considerable increase in
exports have been made in the software and services sector.

Table 9: Growth in Exports of Indian IT Industry, 2002-03

Value Growth CAGR
(5 years)
IT & Electronics Rs. 53,100 crore
($11.2 billion) 26% 41%

Hardware Rs. 5,600 crore

($1.2 billion) -3% 14%

Software & Services Rs. 47,500 crore

($10 billion) 30% 49%

32
 ITES (Part of S/w Rs. 11,700 crore
& Services) ($2.5 billion) 65%

(Source: Interim Report of the Task Force on HRD in IT, 2003)

5.2.1. The future of IT industry

It is estimated that total size of IT industry in India will be over US $ 87 billion by 2008.
A large part of it would be from the IT Services. The major segments contributing to this
industry are Software Products, IT Enabled Service and E-Business. By 2008, IT Services
is expected to become the single largest contributor to the GDP of the country. One of the
key issues in achieving and sustaining this level of growth will be the availability of high
quality IT professionals in adequate numbers. As per NASSCOM study, this would
require 22 lakh IT professionals – 11 lakh in the hard core IT sector (i.e. software design,
software development and software management) and another 11 lakh for the IT enabled
services.

Further, it is estimated that nearly 20,000 teachers in the formal tertiary education sector
with PG or research qualifications would be required. Assuming a very realistic target of
all secondary schools providing computer education by 2008, requirement of teachers for
school sector would be in the range of 100,000. BCA and equivalent degree holders
would largely feed this. It is expected that there will be significant use of computers and
Internet even at the primary and pre-primary level by 2008. There would be additional
teacher requirement for the purpose.
(Source: Interim Report of the Task Force on HRD - December 2000)

5.2.2. IT Industry by the Year 2008

The Tenth Plan Working Group on Information Technology has projected a total
production of Rs. 90,900 crores in 2006-07 corresponding to a CAGR of about 22 percent
for the overall Manufacturing Sector. Also it has projected the Indian exports of IT

33
services to rise considerably, constituting it to form 35 percent of the total exports in 2008
as opposed to its percentage being only 20.4 percent in the year 2002-2003. The IT
software and services are projected to form 7 percent of the total GDP the country in
2008. According to projections being made the IT industry will lead to a remarkable
increase in jobs opportunities. The total employment that would be generated through this
sector is targeted at 9 million.

5.2.3. Employment Generation

Table 10: Employment Generation-present and projected
Year 2002-03 Year 2008
Software & Service Sector 650,000 2.2 million
ITES 250,000 3.2 million
Indirect Employment 2-3 million
Hardware Sector

Direct Employment 385,000 1.6 million

Indirect Employment 250,000 3.2 million

(Source: Interim Report of the Task Force on HRD - December 2000)

Government of India as well as other state governments have started providing thrust to
the IT enabled services. It has been recognized as a key thrust area for India in terms of
employment generation. The existing advantages that the country has in terms of
manpower are now being made use of. With the largest number of English speaking
manpower in the world, the country has substantial advantage in this sector.

5.3 ITES and BPO Industry

Of all the four segments identified in the IT industry the qualification demand in the
software and programming and the IT consultancy services are very specific and
technical. The people getting jobs in this sector are generally those with some kind of

34
high level research or training. The ITES industry stands as the segment that can be
explored for the training for graduates as it does not requires specific qualifications.

The ITES-BPO industry in India is a relatively young sector, with its presence in India
for only the past 5 years. Despite its recent arrival on the Indian map as a major part of
the software sector, the industry has shown amazing growth and future potential. The
BPOs came into operation in India largely on the initiative of the MNCs. Large
companies like GE, American Express and British Airways after establishing their base in
the core areas, started expanding in different parts of the globe. Thus arose the need of
outsourcing and offshoring. A number of leading industrial groups in the country have set
up ITES-BPO facilities with a view to participate in this emerging opportunity.

The ITES-BPO market today is characterized by the presence of companies such as Dell,
HP, EXL, WNS, Sitel, HSBC, the Standard Chartered Bank, Convergys, Wipro
Spectramind, AOL, Daksh, MsourcE, among others.With growth rate in excess of 50
percent the ITES sector is showing prospects of continuous growth. According the report
of NASSCOM, there are about 200 companies working in this sector, and the number is
on a rise.

The positive growth of the ITES /BPO sector can be seen by the following data

• During 2003-04, the ITES-BPO segment is estimated to have achieved a 54

percent growth in revenues as compared to the previous year.
• The ITES-BPO segment also proved to be a major opportunity for job seekers,
creating employment for around 74,400 additional personnel in India during
2003-04.
• The number of Indians working for this sector jumped to 245,500 by March 2004.
• By the year 2008, the segment is expected to employ over 1.1 million Indians,
according to studies conducted by NASSCOM and leading business Intelligence
Company, McKinsey & Co. Market research shows that in terms of job creation,
the ITES-BPO industry is growing at over 50 percent.

(Source: NASSCOM – McKinsey Report, 2002)

35
According to the study done by NASSCOM-McKinsey 2002, Indian companies deliver
better in the quality of services that puts them at a strategic advantages in the ITES/BPO
sector. Thus India is becoming the preferred destination of most of the IT companies in
the world. India with its vast base of English-speaking, Graduate-level people, is geared
up in terms of manpower for the ITES-BPO industry, is all set to make advantage of the
existing opportunity. The sector promises to deal with the major evil of unemployment
prevailing in the country to a large extent. However extra efforts ought to be made to
make the Indian manpower suitable for the requirements of this industry. Professionals
with both core and soft skills will find a fit within this industry.

ITES-BPO companies are offering customers a range of outsourced services including

customer care, Web sales/marketing, billing services, database marketing, content
development for distance education, accounting, transaction document management,
transcription, telesales/telemarketing, tax processing, HR hiring, biotech research,
animation and technical writing. The traditional service in which the ITES is expected to
experience growth is customer care, finance, HR services, payment services,
administration and content development. Call centres is another large sector that is
emerging and offers high opportunity for jobs.

However it may not be possible for an academic institute to impart all the above skills
essential for a quality IT professional. Special programmes for training the youth need to
be developed to meet the requirements of the ITES companies. Graduates can be
equipped with the technical skills to meet the demands of the emerging industry.

5.4. IT and Kerala

In lines with the general invasion of IT into almost all existing sectors throughout the
country, Kerala too has not been untouched. Recent trends in the convergence of
technologies have thrown up new opportunities and new services for the State, such as IT
enabled services, e-commerce and multimedia. With high awareness and literacy levels,

36
its superior telecom connectivity, and its propensity for quick technology absorption,
Kerala stands as a fertile ground for absorbing and making complete utilization of these
technologies. Kerala’s core competence is it’s near universal literacy and awareness
levels, and this can be transformed into economically rewarding and employable skills by
deploying the tools offered by IT.

The Kerala government has thus framed an IT Industry policy in year 2000 for harnessing
the opportunities and resources offered by Information Technology. The IT policy of the
state aims at framing rules, measures and incentives that will make Kerala one of the
most attractive places for investment in the IT sector.

To achieve this broader objective, the state has certain immediate objectives like making
Kerala as the leading IT destination in the next 5 years, achieving a minimum growth of
100 percent in this sector. One of the major short-term objectives is to significantly
enhance direct and indirect employment in the IT sector. Establishing ITES as the
definitive core competence of the State stands as another immediate objective of the state.

5.4.1. IT Enabled Services

According to the new IT policy the Kerala govt shall promote the state as the most
favoured destination for the ITES in this part of the country and try to make ITES as the
core competence of the state. With a large pool of English speaking population, low
attrition rate, low costs of operations and other infrastructural advantages, Kerala is in a
position to realize the same.
English being the universal language of business, Kerala Govt. realizes that an
upgradation in the quality of English language being imparted in the various colleges and
universities to internationally accepted standards would help equip youth better for
employability.

The high quality of manpower available in Kerala can be a lever not only for attracting
high value IT investments into the State, but also for widening and disseminating the IT

37
base into small towns and outlying and isolated areas like the coastal regions. This factor
can thus act as a binding thread for the different communities of Kerala, some of whom
have till date been cut off from the main stream. It can also provide opportunities for
employment for the youth in this sector that is already thrusted by a large population
depending on it. The government is thus focusing on providing a basic level of IT literacy
and upgrading the skills and knowledge of the youth. This would enable the state to meet
the manpower requirements of the state. For meeting the long-term objectives is the
government planning to establish specific centres of learning and institutes for IT
education. Also understanding that basic IT skills have become a necessity to excel in any
field the policy aims at incorporating fundamental IT module as an essential component
in all degree colleges in all streams of studies including arts and humanities courses. The
Govt also plans to undertake career aptitude assessment programmes in cooperation with
private organizations with proven expertise in the area to help develop cost effective
programmes that provide appropriately trained human resources for the IT industry.

5.5. Observations

• Requirements:
Discussions on ITES with professionals working in this field revealed that this is one area
where there exist possibilities of jobs for graduates. For the wide variety of job areas like
technical writing, data processing, billing services, database marketing, content
development for distance education, accounting, transaction document management etc,
the requirements that the industry wants amongst the students are largely generic. A
fluency in English speaking, adequacy in handling computers, familiarity with typing and
internet, comprehension abilities are among the necessary requirements for a job in the
ITES. For different kind of jobs some level of additional training specific for each job is
needed. However the companies do not pose this as a compulsory requirement.

• Preference of In-house Training

Most of the companies that take up the outsourced work of other companies work on the
various projects. Each kind of project has some specific requirement. Thus inspite of the

38
large expenses it incurs on training the companies prefer to provide in house training to
its employees. Another reason for providing in house training is that the quality of
training provided by institutes generally do not meet the requirements of the companies
and are not up to their standard. However for people applying for jobs in this sector, an
additional training is always an added advantage in getting the job.

• Growth Prospects
The starting salaries for employees working in the ITES sector was around Rs 6000 to
7000. In smaller companies the starting salary varies from around Rs 3500-4000. The
sector offers a lot of scope for growth and improvement in career even in a short span of
time. The quality of the work performed is the parameter on which the employee is
judged and his chances of growth depend. There have been instances where employees
starting with salaries of Rs 6000 have gone upto-earning salaries to the level of 25000.

• Placements
As there is a high need for trained workforce in this sector, the companies are ready to go
for placements to organisations providing them with the labour force. However the
quality of the trained individuals remains the biggest concern of these companies. For the
purpose of recruitment the companies conduct some basic level of aptitude test and also
the English writing and speaking skills.

5.6. Analysis

From the above observation it can be seen that there is lot of opportunities in the IT
sector. When we are talking of absorbing the graduates in the IT sector then the ITES
sector stands alone as the major area. Core IT that is software development and
programming requires people who are either B.Techs or MCAs. The consultancy area
also requires people who are specialists in their area of operation. Also number of
consultants required is very low. So after taking all the factors into account only ITES

39
seems to be the most potential sector for the graduates with some kind of technical
training. The political and social environment is also favourable for this sector. The
Kerala government wants to make ITES as the core competency of the State. Because of
this demand for such graduates will increase many fold. If not going by government
speeches but by industry standards, every year they can employ around 2500 people.
Basic infrastructural and operational advantages are already there. The only challenge is
to meet the industry standards.

Right now the industry is providing in house training but that is a costly affair for them.
Out of 10, they are hardly getting one who can be up to their expectations. So to reduce
this cost they are also looking for institutes that can provide good training to the
graduates. But the problem is of quality. Many a time they also do not come to know
about some of the good training institutes and the courses being offered, as advertising
being done by them is low. So when they do not know the course contents and the faculty
they have grave doubts on the quality of education being given to them. According to
them many applicants who come up for interviews would be teaching some where in
some institutes. But when they themselves are found incompetent the reputation of the
institute also gets affected.

5.7. Conclusion
• There is increasing demand in the IT sector especially in Kerala where the
government is thinking of making it an IT hub. Not only for the programmers and
developers but also for the support staff the demand is going to increase.
• IT itself has two sectors one is the core IT and other the ITES (IT enabled services).
Core IT requires a very high level of training and mostly engineers and MCAs are
preferred for that. ITES is a sector where graduates with some minimum level of
computer knowledge are required. Other requirements include a good knowledge of
English and listening comprehension.
• ITES industry does not give much importance to different training institutions. They
consider it better to provide in house training. They want some outside agency to

40
 provide the training so that they can reduce their expenses but not at the cost of
quality.

6. Recommendation

Based on the above supply side and demand side analysis we recommend or suggest
following strategies. It is not one program but a comprehensive package that may help in
attacking the various problems faced by the graduates of fishing community. This cannot
be treated as an answer to their problem as there are many facts, which cannot be targeted
by this program. Those problems like problem of quality of education can be targeted
starting right at the primary school level. But this program may help in getting atleast
some people employment and by looking at them others can follow their path as we have
already seen that people

6.1. The Main Program

An ITES related program should be developed. This program should include some basic
knowledge of computers so that students should become familiar with computers. They
should be helped to become acquainted with keyboard so that they can do fast typing.
Then skills development for listening comprehension along with good knowledge of
English preferably American English should be imparted to them. This American English
is just a preference but good knowledge of both written and spoken English is a must.
Some kind of basic management skills, dealing with people and personality development
should also be given importance. This will help them in getting jobs in various ITES
sector jobs. Different ITES related jobs require some additional skills but that cannot be
given by the organisation as for every job requirements are different. Also they are given
in house training in the companies so no need for those special skills like for medical
transcription’s job one should be well acquainted with all the medical terminologies. This
course would be of one-year duration because as we have observed in 6 months it is not
possible to equip the students with all the necessary training.

41
• Advertising: SIFFS will have to make the course known not only to the students’
community but also to the industry. For this the best medium it can use is the
newspaper and the associated primary societies. Among students also the reach of
newspapers is good. But the advertisement should be in the most popular papers like
Malayalam Manorama, the Hindu, etc. In the advertisement special mention of
placements should be done to attract the students. As church has an influence in the
society so advertising there and getting their help will help in catching the attention of
students.

• Affiliation: This is not a must thing to do as credibility can come with experience. But
if its possible to get the course affiliated from some university or institution or people
related to IT industry then it would help in getting proper recognition in the industry
in the initial year itself, which would further help in placements.

• Trainers: this is the most important link of the course to get proper recognition.
Industry is claiming that many of the trainers in various institutions of this kind are
themselves not much competent then what they will teach the students. So for
avoiding this kind of situation SIFFS will have to get trainers who are well known in
the field or have good knowledge of the subject. They should be working in this area.
Also it will have to keep assessing the trainers also time to time to assure that they are
not just teaching but imparting proper knowledge. Because when we are talking of
something like spoken English then it cannot be just theoretical it has to be practical
also. And the students who are not coming up will have to be motivated by the trainer
only, which requires not only the mind but also the heart of trainer in the course. He
should also feel an onus for the course.

• Entrance Tests: The organisation will have to conduct entrance tests to screen those
people who are genuinely interested in the training. Entry based on the basis of
recommendation might lead to such students entering the course who might not be
able to adapt to the kind of training supposed to be imparted to them. Also the
organisation has to build its credibility within the IT industry so that it would be able

42
 to search a job for all the students. For that to happen it would need those students
only who have that bend of mind.

• Loan for Completion of Study: SIFFS will have to charge some nominal fees for this
course to eliminate people who are not very keen to join this. Also this helps in
increasing students’ stake in the course so that he/she is more motivated to learn the
things carefully. When taking some extra course and students has to pay for it then
definitely they tend to learn better. Anything free of cost is generally not taken
seriously. Past experiences of NGOs working in this field have shown that if some
course is free of cost then students do not take it seriously. Students who are very
keen towards studies tend to look down upon these kinds of course. Only those
students come who have nothing to do at home, thinking it better to do something
rather than sitting idle. But due to this mindset they do not take the course seriously
and hence the output is negligible. For the sustainability of this program it is very
necessary to stop building of such notions. But at the same time charging of fees
should not hinder the path of students who have financial problems. For students of
those kinds instead of providing stipends SIFFS will have to arrange for education
loans may be at low or no interest rates.

The student should pay this loan back after he/she gets job in equal monthly
instalments. This will ensure that student take up responsibility of the investment
being made on them and increase the seriousness towards the course. It would help in
keeping a record of the students related to their work, which would further help the
organisation to see the impact of their course. Also this would help in decreasing the
attrition rate, as the student will have to stick to the job till he pays back the loan
amount. Otherwise what has been observed, that students just after 1-2 months of
joining leave the job. SIFFS has to build credibility in the IT industry also; if students
leave jobs at this rate then no company would accept students who have done course
from here. Then SIFFS will have problem in placing all the students.

43
• Training to go hand in hand: All kinds of training that the organisation is talking of
have to go hand in hand. It cannot be like first equip them with spoken English and
then with computer handling. Everything has to be included like one package instead
of two three loose items. As we observed in the secretarial training given by Loyola
Poovar, segregation of secretarial training and computer course is not helping the
students much. The trainers also feel that both should be given together. Some of the
subjects like spoken English and computer handling will have to be year round and
other courses should be distributed in between.

• Practical Training: It is a bit difficult to achieve but if we can get associated with
some organisation that can float some live projects for the students then at the end of
9 months the students should be given this opportunity for one month. This will help
in increasing their confidence and worth for a job and also in knowing the problems
being faced by them like where is their weak point, where more training is required,
etc. Then in the next 2 months the student and faculty both can address those
weaknesses.

• Placements: SIFFS will have to help the students in initial years atleast to get jobs.
Once the credibility is built then students themselves can go for searching. To build
credibility among the students also it is necessary as they know many institutions
giving these kinds of trainings but after that nobody is able to get jobs. So to motivate
them to join this course, organisation will have to project and implement the
placements after the end of the course.

• Follow Up: SIFFS will have to keep a follow up of the students who have done this
course and got jobs. This will help SIFFS in two ways. One is that it would be able to
know the impact of its course, that any changes are required or what all can be
included in the course, where the students are facing problem, etc. This will help in
keeping proper records of the past students so that organisation can highlight it to
motivate other students.

44
6.2. Guidance Centre

Besides starting of this program SIFFS will have to start a guidance centre so that from
class 10th onwards they should be guided as which subject to take and what is the
possibility after that. Right now as we have already discussed students are taking subjects
aimlessly. There is no proper orientation because of that they keep on switching from one
subject to other if their grades allow them. Also, even if they have proper orientation in
mind they do not know all the opportunities that they have. As many of them have
financial problem they cannot go out and search for jobs. Many a times they get cheated
also as they do not have an idea about the industry. This guidance centre should guide
about
• Different subjects and opportunities after that.
• Various kind of jobs available
• Qualification required for each kind of jobs
• Directing them to proper institutes or centres to equip themselves with
necessary skills
• Information about different loan facility available to students.
• Keeping track of all the students who get jobs through the help of this centre.

6.3. Role of Church

As church is the most influential institution in these villages, SIFFS will have to
collaborate with them and work with them for better results in case of education. SIFFS
for its further study on profiling of villages can take help of churches as they already
doing it on a small scale. Their profiling is not comprehensive so that SIFFS can use it.
Every year they renew it so at that time if SIFFS can make them agree to use their
method for profiling then at very low cost SIFFS would achieve its target. The churches
can provide the required manpower. Many a places on church’s announcement people
themselves come to the church to give the necessary details. Then church can help in
orientation program for both parents and the students. It can also help in improving the

45
quality of education as they are running most of the schools. It can also help in publicity
of nay kind of programs or courses that SIFFS is planning to undertake.

6.4 Organisational aspect

As alternative employment has not been the core area of operation of SIFFS as an
organisation, implementation of such kind of program needs a varied and different
approach. To ensure the success of such a program, there is a need to focus on not just the
technical aspect of the program but also the various managerial and supervisory aspects.
At present neither the organisation nor the department has people with any kind of
expertise in running employment generation programs. As was seen in the case of
carpentry training and OBM training, the success rate in getting employment has been
substantially low. The IT sector being a very specialised, technical and dynamic one, any
program in such a field requires personnel with special technical and managerial
expertise. Initiative will have to be taken on the part of the head of the department to keep
a check on the industry and the course and respond appropriately to the changing needs
of the market. Thus there is a need to deal separately with such kind of a program.
Mingling it with the current employment generation trainings would reduce the
effectiveness of the program. This is because the considerations or the needs of other
programs like carpentry and OBM are very different than an IT related program.
Organisation will have to take this course separately, preferably as a separate division.
The CEOT division of SIFFS can be taken as an example.

7. Sustainability

Starting of any new program is not difficult; the most difficult is its sustainability in the
long run. For getting support of people and their faith in the programs run by the
organisation it is of utmost importance that whatever program it starts, should be of

46
sustainable nature. In making this program sustainable the challenges which organisation
will have to face are

• Proving its credibility among the students and in the industry also. This is one of
the critical tasks in hand. Among the students credibility can be gained by giving
them placements and between the industry people by giving them bunch of
students who can meet their expectations. It is the quality, which the industry
people require if they are assured of it then the organisation will not have to think
for the placements. Companies themselves will come to hire people.

• Success in providing jobs in the initial years is imperative. To gain students faith
in the course and also to know the follow up of their course it is very important
that all the students get placed somewhere or the other. The difficulty in hand is
that not many people in the industry know about SIFFS. It has not started this
kind of program earlier. So to prove its quality in the industry and to get the
students placed would be really difficult.

• Keep on revising the syllabus according to the changing demand of the industry.
As this ITES sector is emerging only and there are so many new entrants, every
now and then requirement of the industry is changing. So the challenge at hand is
to keep on revising the syllabus according to the needs of the industry.

Even though the task is difficult but SIFFS has some advantages or strengths by which it
can make the program sustainable. Its strengths are:

• Name of SIFFS: SIFFS has already a significant presence among the fisher folks.
So getting students would not be of much a problem. Besides funding should not
be a major problem as it has good contacts and credibility with the funding
agencies. A few players in the IT sector also know about SIFFS so with help of
them it can gain a name in the industry also.

47
 • Word of mouth: As regards students’ enrolment, it should not be a problem as it
has already been noticed through the survey that information through word of
mouth is highly influential. If it is able to give jobs to students in the initial year
then students will flow for this course. Also if the students who would take course
and then job feel that the course has helped them a lot them they would definitely
tell their friends and relatives to join the course.
• Increasing demand in the industry: This ITES sector is just emerging so the
growth rate is very high. Demand for skilled people in the near future will
increase manifold. So the need for such kind of training will also increase.

• High familiarity with English: The fishermen youth may not be able to speak in
English properly but at least they are familiar with this language. So giving them
training would not be much difficult. It is their confidence level that the
organisation will have to improve. It would be like brushing up their skills rather
than teaching them from scratch.

8. Limitations

• English language
The kind of English that is required in the ITES sector is not followed in India. It is
mainly because of the presence of a trans-national community that some places in
India have still managed to get that particular accent. Keeping in mind that the folk of
the fishing community have only been recently exposed to English as a language and
also that inspite of a decent understanding of the language, people still are hesitant in
conversing in English, imparting “American” accent would be a major challenge that
SIFFS will face. It is also a limitation because getting such people who can impart
such knowledge is difficult to find.

• Social positioning of fishermen

Socially fishing community is isolated from the mainstream. So trying to make them
mingle in the society where they not only have to compete with fellows from the

48
 same state but from different states and nations would be a tough task. This may
prove a limitation on the viability of the course. Thus SIFFS while running the
program will have to make attempts to help students to become a part of the
mainstream society. However the acceptability of the fisherfolk in the mainstream
requires the sensitization of the mainstream community, which can prove to be a
roadblock in the path of the development of the fisherfolk.

• Dynamic nature of ITES sector

ITES is a sector in which almost everyday some or the other changes are taking place.
It is very dynamic in nature. So the extent to which the graduates would be able to
adapt to these changes is a big question. The changing needs would require the
students to show a certain level of interest and enthusiasm to cope up with such
changes. The general attitude of the fishermen is that of being highly dependent on
nature and they generally do not make extra efforts to adapt to the changing scenario.
Thus there remains a challenge with SIFFS of inculcating an attitude of proactiveness
amongst its trainees.

9. Conclusion

Given the present scenario that prevails in the coastal areas, the initiative taken by SIFFS
to focus on the youth comes as some light of hope for the socially isolated fishing
community. The study throws light on the various aspects that go on to decide the future
of the youth. Assessing their needs and their aspirations reveals that many of them still
prefer to stick to the traditional course of study and also job sectors especially teaching.
However with changing scenario, these sectors have already reached level of saturation,
which indicates that newer especially the non-conventional sectors of employment like IT
have to be considered. The study also reveals that trends are changing with people
opening up to such areas. Also the trends in the industry reveal that there is going to be a
hike in the demand of employees in this sector. ITES especially is one sector that is
showing high prospects for growth and is one area that can be considered by simple
graduates, as technical training is not a major requisite for entering it.

49
However for any organisation to take interventions so as to make students ready for this
sector, it should ensure that the steps are taken at the primary level itself. Not only this,
there are several other factors like social, economic, cultural and political that play an
important role thus the organisation should take up parallel steps to make these factors
work in favour of the students. This study is just a step towards achieving the higher goal
of strengthening the hands of the fishermen to achieve a better livelihood. Much requires
to be done to ensure a brighter future for them.

References:

1. Rajan, J. B. “Employment diversification of fishing community: Potentials,

Problems and Possibilities”, 2002, Fisheries Research Cell, Programme for
Community Organisation, Trivandrum.

50
2. Kumar, B. Self Employment Opportunities for Educated Unemployed, 1980, Anuj
Publications, Lucknow.
3. Pande, P. N. Self Employment Programme in India: A study of self employment
scheme for educated unemployed, 1988, Ashish Publishing House, New Delhi.
4. George, M. K. “Educational backwardness among marine fishworkers of Kerala,
India” Loyola Journal of Social Sciences, Vol.XVII, No. 2, July-Dec 2003.
5. Salim, A. Abdul. “Educational development at micro level: Case study of two
villages in Kerala” Kerala Research Programme on Local Level Development,
Discussion paper series, No.7, Dec. 1999, Centre for Development Studies,
Trivandrum.
6. Lalaji, R. P. IT Enabled Services, Trivandrum.
7. Jose, Sunny. Atlas NGOs and the welfare of marginalized social groups: A case
study of fishing community in Kerala, India.
8. Ahuja, Shiri. “ Information technology in India:The shift in paradigm”
www.emergence.nu/events/budapest/ahuja.pdf
9. Report of the working group on Fisheries for the tenth five-year plan,
Government of India, Planning Commission, June 2001.
www.planningcommission.nic.in
10. Background note for task force on human resource development in information
technology, 2003.
11. www.keralaonline.com
12. http://www.nasscom.org/artdisplay.asp?Art_id=1225

Annexure I
Questionnaire

1. Name:
2. Age:
3. Sex:

51
4. Father’s occupation:
4(1). Boat owner/ crew member:
5. Person from the family who is / was engaged in fishing:
6. Educational qualifications:
Exam passed Place from Year of passing Stream
th
10
Pre degree
Degree
Post graduation
Any other
Any special training
6(i). Decision to choose a particular subject in graduation was due to:
a) Low grades b) No other option left
b) Financial condition of family d) Non availability of option
e) Job orientation f) Took randomly
g) As guided by friends/relatives h) Any other

7. What are your hobbies and interests:

8. Extra curricular activities engaged in:
10. Employed a) yes b) no
11. If yes, type of employment:
12. Experience (if any):
13. No. of jobs changed.
14. Reasons for leaving jobs:
a) Did not like the job b) Less remuneration
c) Distance of job location d) Did not match personal profile
e) Any other f) Contract basis

15. Remuneration in first job.

16. Present remuneration.
17. Job sector preference:
a) Finance b) HR c) IT d) Marketing
e)Research f)Teaching g)Customer care h)Tourism
i)Hospitals j) Electrical k) Social work l) Library
m)Others

18. Type of job preference:

 Govt. / Pvt. / Self

19. Place preference for jobs:

a) Same village b) Same district
c) Same state d) Same country
e) Abroad f) No preference

20. Did you search for jobs? a) Yes b) No

21. If yes, where?

52
 a) In newspapers
b) On internet
c) Asked friends
d) Asked NGOs working in that area
e) Any other
22. How many jobs did you applied for?
a) 1-3
b) 4-6
c) 6-8
d) More than 8
23. Location of these jobs:
a) Same village
b) Same district
c) Same state
d) Same country
e) Abroad
24. Preparation done for getting jobs:
a) No preparation
b) Read magazines and newspapers
c) Took coaching
d) Had discussion with friends and professors
e) Enquired about that company and the requirements
f) Any other
25. Possibility of getting jobs just after graduation is low.
a) Strongly agree
b) Agree
c) Cannot say
d) Disagree
e) Strongly disagree
26. Taking higher education after graduation is important for getting jobs.
a) Strongly agree
b) Agree
c) Cannot say
d) Disagree
e) Strongly disagree
27. Some technical training along with graduation is important for getting jobs.
a) Strongly agree
b) Agree
c) Cannot say
d) Disagree
e) Strongly disagree
28. Recruitment procedures faced by you: (pl tick wherever applicable)
a) Elimination by grades
b) Written test
c) GDs
d) Interviews

53
 e) Extempore
f) Any other
29. The most difficult process amongst all these for you:
a) Elimination by grades
b) Written test
c) GDs
d) Interviews
e) Extempore
f) Any other
30. Did you make any attempts to overcome the difficulty faced in that process?
a) Yes b) No
31. If yes, what attempts?
32. If no, why not?
33. Following were important factor in not applying for or getting a job.

Factors a) SA b) A c) CS d) D e) SD
1) Grades
2) Skill/talent
3) Confidence level
4) Financial background
5) Quality of education
6) Guidance
7) Place preference
8)Job sector preference
9) External support
10) Awareness

34. Reasons for lack of awareness about jobs:

a) Less accessibility to outside world
b) Lack of guidance
c) Lack of interest
d) Any other
e) Lack of infrastructure

35. Which is the most preferred by you amongst these:

f) Take up some time and look for jobs
g) Take up higher studies and continue looking for jobs
h) Complete higher studies and look for jobs
i) Take up some employment and look for jobs
j) Take up some vocational training and look for jobs
36. Training programmes should be accompanied with placements.

54
 a. Strongly agree
b. Agree
c. Cannot say
d. Disagree
e. Strongly disagree
37. Expected remuneration after some basic level of training:
a) 2000-4000
b) 5000-7000
c) 8000-10000
d) > 10000

Annexure II
The Program

1. Duration of the Course: 1 year

55
2. Strength of batch:
a. Maximum of 20 students
b. A mixed batch of graduates from both member and non member families
3. Course content:
a. MS Office: A course in MS Office to make the students well versed in
computer handling and apt at performing the basic operations.
b. Internet: Knowledge about the Internet, its utility, techniques of getting the
maximum information from it and having quick access to the data
available.
c. Comprehension Skills: Training, to be able to carefully listen (both on
phone and in person), comprehend the meaning and produce the details of
the conversation without missing any relevant information.
d. Communicative and Written English: Training in spoken English to
achieve fluency in speech and have a strong hold on the language.
Additional training in written English so as to have articulate and crisp
writing skills.
e. Personality Development: A course in personality development,
accompanied with practical training in it, teaching them about how to
carry oneself, basic etiquettes, showing them the larger perspectives of life
and adding meaning to their existence. The aim is to help graduates attain
confidence and be able to face the world vibrantly.
f. Inter personal Skills: Training to enhance Inter personal skills like proper
ways of interaction with people both in private and professional life and
handling the Human Resource
g. Business Skills: Training in business skills like helping develop an
understanding of business, some knowledge about business and interaction
with clients.
4. Practical Training: A practical training of duration 1 month on some live project
with some companies working in the related field. The training to take place at the
end of 9 months of the course. This would help the students and the trainers assess

56
 the utility and learning gained through the course. Any drawbacks or loopholes
identified to be corrected in the 2 months after the training.
5. Course Handling:
a. Regular Group Discussion: Discussions to be held in groups of sizes
varying from 5 to 10 so as to help students overcome their inhibitions and
gain confidence to speak within a group. Also it would enable students get
larger perspectives on various issues and appreciate viewpoints posed by
others.
b. Debates and Extempore: Debates and extempore on diverse issues to be
held regularly. Not only would it help achieve fluency in the language and
confidence in making public speeches but would also open them up to the
wider world and make them aware of the happenings. It would help
develop a critical mind.
c. Simulation Games: Various kinds of innovative games both indoors and
outdoors, to be conducted from time to time to involve students in all
kinds of activities and make them interested in various activities. These
games should be oriented towards making students shell their inhibitions
and take active participation.
d. Regular Assignments: To make the students get used to the actual working
conditions when they are employed, regular assignment be given to them
with strict deadlines to be met. Evaluation to be done of the quality of the
work so as to make students take their work seriously.
e. Interaction with Personalities: Interactive sessions with professionals
related to the targeted sector to be held regularly to make students aware
of the happenings in the sector and also make them aware of the needs in
the industry. Also to help them mingle with the world which they consider
as alien to them.
f. Mock Interviews: At the time of placements 2-3 rounds of mock
interviews to be held which should be a replica of the actual interviews.
Interviews to be preferably conducted by professionals in the IT field.

57
 Mock interviews would reduce the anxiety at the time of interviews and
make them more confident.

Annexure III

Resource People
Contact No.
(As on 29 July 04)

58
 1. Dr. J.B Rajan, Former Researcher in PCO. 2500635
2. Dr. M.K.George, Principal, Loyala College, Shri Karyam
Trivandrum 2592059
3. Father Payas, Director, Loyola College, Shri Karyam,
Trivandrum 9847027120
4. Mr. Arculas, Loyola Poovar, Trivandrum 2210046
5. Father Eugin Perara, Cheria Thura, Trivandrum 9447461851
6. Jesuits, Anjengo, Trivandrum.

Annexure IV

Calculation of Indices

59
The data on some variables were collected on Likert scale. This data after tabulation was
given a number based on the importance level. The following point system was used to
codify it

5. Strongly agree
4. Agree
3. Cannot say
2. Disagree
1. Strongly disagree

Then the index was calculated based on the following formula

Index number = Total points gathered / Maximum points that can be gathered

Total points gathered (the numerator) was calculated by firstly multiplying the number of
responses in each category with the value given to that option and then adding up the
value attained in each category. Maximum points that can be attained is calculated by
multiplying the total number of respondents that is the sample size with the highest
possible attainable value. Here that value is 5.

If suppose that 12 persons have said strongly agree, 10 persons agree, 12 cannot say, 21
disagree and 3 strongly disagree then the index would be
Index = (12*5+10*4+12*3+21*2+3*1) / (58*5)
= 0.624

Annexure V

Calculation of average salary

60
By first multiplying the number of responses in each category with the average salary of
that category, then summing them up and taking the average, average salary was
calculated.

Category Anjengo Kollam Tutoor

2000-4000 25 19 10
5000-7000 12 20 21
8000-100002 1 6
>10000 1 0 3
40 40 40

The average salary of each category was 3000, 6000, 9000 and 10000 (for the last
category 10,000 was taken the number to calculate on random basis).

Now, average salary for Anjengo = (25*3000+12*6000+2*9000+1*10000)/40

= Rs. 4375.

61