3 min readMumbaiJul 23, 2024 09:34 PM IST
First published on: Jul 23, 2024 at 02:38 PM IST
The KJ Somaiya Industrial Training Institute (ITI) in Mumbai has found a unique way to bridge the industry-academia gap. As the ITI has landed the annual maintenance contract of Somaiya Vidyavihar University, its students get hands-on training with over 3,000 computers, 1,000 air conditioners, plumbing and electrical equipment, solar and LED lights and water coolers, among other equipment.
The private ITI runs 15 courses in trades such as electrician, refrigeration and air conditioning technician, computer hardware and networking, CCTV technician, welder and plumber, among others.
Apart from classroom and workshop training, the 11-month course includes responding to repair calls made from different buildings on the campus.
A practice that started with just 30 computers of the institute a few years ago has grown to cover equipment from the entire university campus.
Shaji Mathew, principal of the ITI, said, “We have developed a help desk to effectively run the AMC (annual maintenance contract). Anyone can actually generate a ticket of any issue they might be facing related to the services offered. Accordingly, we have on-call trained professionals who will visit the site to examine and repair the issue. These are students pursuing respective courses, who are guided by their instructors and supervisors who have experience in repair works.”
He continued, “For example, if a particular building on the campus has generated a ticket of trouble with an AC, students from our AC technician batch will visit the site, examine the issue and work for its repair under able guidance…This way they get an actual opportunity to put their course knowledge to use in the practical world along with getting training in soft skills such as communication while dealing with actual clients.”
This unique approach has led to 100 per cent placement every year, including some in foreign countries, according to the institute.
Sunny Sheikh, a student of the AC technician course, said, “Today even if a house is small, there will be an AC. And they will require repairs, which means I have ample job opportunities. I am glad that apart from the theory knowledge, I am actually able to work with different types of ACs, including the latest ones in the market, multiple types of wires and compressors—a variety of problems otherwise unlikely to be offered in an institute’s workshop. I also get training to talk to users while responding to tickets generated on the help desk.”
The institute also conducts classes that cover behavioural science, emotional intelligence and etiquette in the service industry.
“Ethics and communication or behavioural skills are very important for these jobs. A troubled customer may be angry or may react to his/her frustration. A technician who is troubleshooting also needs to be trained to calmly handle the customer. After all, even though these are technical jobs, they are part of the service industry and people skills are very important,” principal Mathew explained.
This unique approach has led to 100 per cent placement every year, including some in foreign countries, according to the institute. 
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