The centres will have a capacity of churning out 1,000 trained workers in the industry per year. “Depending on the success of the first initiative, we are going to set up 10 similar institutes in various parts of the state,” said Ghanshyam Sarda, chairman of the Sarda Group.

According to company officials, the recruits will be trained in all kinds of shop floor applications required to work in a jute mill. “The duration of the course is six months. No fee will be charged. Rather, each candidate will be given a stipend in addition to a meal per day. On successful completion of the course, all trainees will be absorbed in our factories and given a certificate as well,” Sarda said.

The faculty will be sourced from the Institute of Jute Technology and the company’s own engineers. Each training institute will be built at a of cost around Rs 3 crore, claimed company officials.