The fifth Apparel Training and Design Centre (ATDC) in Tamil Nadu was commissioned in Perambalur district by the Union Minister for Communications and IT, Mr A. Raja

Sponsored by the Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC), Union Ministry of Textiles, the Perambalur ATDC, is the 38th in the country. The four other ATDC centres in Tamil Nadu are at Tirupur, Dharmapuri, and Guindy and Mugappair in Chennai

Alongside fostering entrepreneurship, the fifth centre commissioned on the premises of the Poomalai Marketing Complex with machinery and teaching equipment worth Rs. 30 lakhs provided by the district administration, would offer sewing machine operator training that suits the needs of readymade garment manufacturers in Tirupur, Coimbatore, Erode, Salem and Chennai

The district administration has planned to train 600 to 1,000 persons in 2008 at 60 per batch. While the district administration would spend Rs. 1,600 per trainee, besides providing training kit and offering daily stipend of Rs. 40 each, the centre would bear the recurring expenses

Mr Raja announced that steps have already been initiated to open the sixth such centre for the newly-formed Ariyalur district within a year. The opening of three industrial training institutes and such centres in Perambalur and Ariyalur districts, against the backdrop of the impending creation of a massive Special Economic Zone on a 3,500-acre expanse, would prepare the locals in the backward districts to make the most of future opportunities in a few years' time, Mr. Raja said

The President of Tirupur Exporters' Association and Chairman, Technical Sub-Committee, AEPC, Mr A. Sakthivel, said the trainees have been guaranteed jobs with monthly earnings of up to Rs 7,000, based on their skills

Source: Business Line