Jalandhar | Sports industry to teach women to stitch footballs
In the first batch, 25 women affiliated with different self-help groups (SHGs) in Wariana village will receive a month-long training.
With the sports industry reeling under shortage of skilled workers after the mass exodus of migrant labour during the pandemic, the Sports Goods Manufacturers and Exporters Association (SGMEA) will be training at least 1,500 women to stitch footballs.
In the first batch, 25 women affiliated with different self-help groups (SHGs) in Wariana village will receive a month-long training. Deputy commissioner Jaspreet Singh said, “This initiative will create a collaborative ecosystem, which will ensure economic development and social welfare in the district, while providing manpower to the local industry.”
An official, who did not want to be named, said, “These participants will be able to earn around ₹15,000 a month once they are trained.”
SGMEA chairperson Rajesh Kharbanda, who owns Nivia sports, said, “Our skilled workforce, comprising migrant workers, left during the pandemic, but did not return. We expect to see a 38% increase in demand for footballs, but we lack skilled labour. This initiative will provide a local workforce for the industry, while allowing women to work from the comfort of their homes.”
“We will hire some graduates, who will work as a bridge between self-help groups and industries. The administration has assured us that it will also provide a designated space for stitching footballs in villages,” he said.
Ask him how the industry is managing without skilled labour and Kharbanda says, “At present, many industries send footballs to Meerut (Uttar Pradesh) for stitching due to unavailability of skilled labour. However, once we start training women, they too will prefer to get footballs stitched locally. It will be a win-win situation.”
