Asokakumar K, a support staff at Technopark for some years now, makes no effort to hide his happiness about his daughter, Amalu AM, working in one of the companies on campus. “We owe it to the training and guidance given by eWIT,” he says. Amalu was among 10 graduates, all of them wards of support staff, who attended Future Ready, a programme organised by eWIT, a networking platform for women in IT and IT-enabled services, on the campus. Six of the ten have been placed in companies on the campus.
Empowering the support staff and their families have become integral to the work culture on Technopark with many companies rolling out training programmes and welfare initiatives. While forums such as eWIT, Prathidhwani, Techfriends and Technoparktoday have been contributing to this effort, companies are doing their bit as well.
Students who took part in Future Ready programme of eWIT with eWIT members
Aditi Radhakrishnan, a governing body member of eWIT and an HR consultant, says that the initiatives are a way of expressing gratitude to the support staff. “These employees have high hopes for their children. Graduates in various disciplines, they need motivation, guidance and training. In our Future Ready programme we used our own resources, that is employees from various companies in Technopark itself, to lead the sessions. There were classes on setting goals and preparing a resume that is relevant, besides mock interviews. None of the trainers charged for the sessions,” says Aditi.
Raymond Roblin Donston, one of the trainers, explains: “There is a joy in sharing with others whatever little you have and knowledge is no exception. The programme was one of its kind to empower the trainees to be future ready and I enjoyed my role as a trainer.” The next Future Ready session is in August.
IBS Software conducts regular training and grooming sessions for its support staff deployed in housekeeping, security, engineering, office, pantry service and transportation. “There are about 200 of them, with their academic qualifications ranging from class five to under-graduation. Besides giving them financial security, we empower them to be professionals, which is important while interacting with internal and external clients and staff members in office,” says Prashanth Pillai, head – facilities (Maintenance, Planning & Development) at IBS.
Professional approach
He adds that the programmes include on-the-job training, personal grooming that cover basic communicative skills in English, etiquette for interacting with guests and basics of writing and note-taking.
Babu J, a support staff in housekeeping at IBS since 1997, vouches for the efficacy of such sessions. “I joined the company as an office boy and have risen to the level of a senior supervisor because of the training and confidence I have achieved over the years. We have classes pertaining to our work, such as using new equipment, cleaning materials and safety measures conducted by professionals from outside Technopark. Over the last three years, I have also learnt to use the computer, especially MS Office for data entry and for communicating about daily activities and snags via email,” says Babu, who heads a team of 60. Sheeba T, a housekeeping staff, adds, “We learn about many new aspects of our job in these classes. We are trained to become professionals and we are addressed not as housekeeping staff but as support staff. They hold sports and cultural events for us and make us a part of celebrations such as International Women’s Day.” The company also rewards best performers and team motivators.
Workshop organised for children of support staff by Kutti Seminar
School-going kids of the support staff are given assistance by several companies. Recently eWIT and Technoparktoday organised a session by Kutti Seminar for this age group. Kutti Seminar, launched by five friends of which four are techies, is a “fun and interactive learning programme to develop language, communication and social skills in children”. Surya Nair, a member of the team, explains, “Our focus is on making children shed their inhibitions and learn new things via art, theatre, games and physical activity. English is taught through activities.” Another session will be conducted in August or September.
SunTec has been providing scholarships for children of support staff for the last three years, ranging from primary school level to college, through SunTec SNEHA, its Corporate Social Responsibility wing.
“Those pursuing professional courses on merit get their full tuition fee as scholarship. There are special scholarships for differently-abled children. Counselling is given to children who lag in their studies,” says a statement from the company.
At UST Global, besides giving school kits to all children of the support staff, the company sets aside a day for employees and their families to indulge in a whole lot of activities. We are also planning for a sponsorship/ scholarship for the brightest student this year, says Shilpa Menon, centre head, UST Global.
In addition, eWIT is also building a Learning Space for kids of Technopark employees, which will be open on weekends for children of the support staff as well.
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