Progress Report of MITI for the Year 2010
Memon Industrial and Technical Institute (MITI) which came into existence as a result of the philanthropic vision of the WMO-PC, its erstwhile President and whole-hearted support of the then CDGK Nazim, Syed Mustafa Kamal successfully completed its first phase of development which involved the inauguration of the Center in May 2009 and inauguration of the first teaching session from July 2009. These were important landmarks in the short history of MITI.
Leveraging on the successful completion of the first phase of its creation, MITI embarked upon its ambitious and challenging expansion plan of 2010. This plan involved
a) Induction of new courses in the Boys’ Wing
b) Opening of Ladies’ Wing
These were ambitious projects but were made possible due to the lessons learned from the first phase and the commitment of the management and personnel of WMO/MITI.
Launching of Phase II
Expansion of Boys’ Wing
The fast-paced development work which started in the middle of November 2009
was completed by the end of December 2009. The New Year started with the induction of
9 new courses in the Boys’ Wing as follows:
New Courses in 2010 Courses carried over from 2009
1. English Language 1. Mobile Phone Repairing
2. Auto Mechanic 2. UPS Installation & Repair
3. General Electrician 3. CNG Kit Installation/Tuning
4. Motor Rewinding 4. Welding
5. Passenger Lift Technician 5. Industrial Electrician
6. Auto Electrician 6. Generator Operator
7. Auto Air Conditioning 7. Refrigeration & Air Conditioning
8. Plumbing
9. Computer Hardware Repairing
This brought to 16 the total number of courses being offered at MITI with effect from January 2010.
The details of admissions, etc from inauguration to-date are as follows:
Session | Total Admission | No. Of Students Appeared | No. Of Passed Students |
July – October 2009 | 454 | 228 | 188 |
January – April 2010 | 756 | 335 | 297 |
May – August 2010 | 869 | 344 | 283 |
Sept. – Dec. 2010 | 438 | Session in progress | |
Total | 2517 | 1027 | 768 |
Quality Assurance & Acceptability
As per the founding theme of MITI, the new courses are also of 12 weeks duration split into a morning and an afternoon session, 6 days a week. Special care is taken to maintain quality in the training and in that respect admissions are restricted by the capacity of the course facilities available.
That is the reason MITI graduates are finding high acceptance among prospective employers and more than 40% of them have landed jobs within a couple of months. The Industrial Relations Department at MITI has facilitated this process by assisting in the preparation of resumes and getting them introductions in relevant industry. It is also no surprise that a sizable number of passing graduates again take admission in another course at MITI. A new trend has also been seen in that graduate engineers and diploma engineers are taking admission at MITI to enhance their practical experience. These persons are usually not interested in taking exams but only in getting good practical knowledge for which they selected MITI.
Ladies’ Wing
Women empowerment in the less privileged section of society is another cherished goal of WMO and MITI is now set to achieve that objective.
As soon as MITI launched Phase I for male candidates, the demands had started from the community for female training facilities at MITI. Responding to the demand WMO-PC decided to accelerate the development of a dedicated facility for females on the 2nd floor of MITI which has sufficient space to accommodate more than 1200 students. After studying the other organizations working in the female vocational training arena, MITI has come up with the most demanding and opportunity driven courses for women which include technology based courses for females in addition to conventional courses and
thus continued to follow the tradition of MITI of introducing unique programs as done for existing male section. As per MITI philosophy, these courses are also designed on a three month training platform.
The Ladies Section is unique in the respect that it has a fully equipped Demo Hall with a seating capacity of about 250. It has complete facilities for holding classes, workshops, seminars, etc. equipped with audio visual facilities such as multimedia projectors, CCTV, recording and editing facilities.
The activity in Ladies Wing started with free Demo classes in related courses to generate interest among the ladies of the area. These sessions were used to introduce MITI philosophy and the courses being offered. These sessions also included presentations by renowned personalities from related industries who delivered technical demonstration and commercial information to prospective students.
Needless to say that as soon as admissions were opened, we were overwhelmed by the demand and against our will had to refuse some students for the time being. They were however promised admission in the next session. Thus, by the Grace of Allah the first session of ladies started functioning from June this year.
The courses offered in the Ladies section are as follows:
1. English Language
2. Fine Arts
3. Textile Designing
4. Sewing and Cutting
5. Interior Decoration
6. Cooking and Baking
7. Hand and Machine Embroidery
8. Beautician
9. Computer Graphics
10. MS Office
The details of admissions are as follows:
Session | Total Admission | No. Of Students Appeared | No. Of Passed Students |
July to October 2010 | 1211 | 454 | 450 |
The admissions are now open for the next session and it is expected that the receipt of forms may go up to almost 2000.
Other Activities
Affiliation with City & Guilds of the UK:
As reported earlier, MITI was engaged in discussions with City & Guilds of U.K., an internationally acclaimed name in vocational and technical education, for affiliation. This process is now over Alhamdolillah and after a series of external evaluations, MITI has now been recognized as a City & Guilds Approved Center.
Following courses for which we had applied have been approved:
1. Welding
2. Refrigeration and Air Conditioning
3. Electrician
4. Plumbing
5. Auto Mechanic
6. English Language
This will give MITI an international recognition and students’ acceptability in international job markets will be enhanced many folds.
Support from Pak Suzuki Motor Co.
Pak Suzuki Motor Co. has also indicated their support to our Automotive Training facilities in 2 and 4 wheelers. This support will be in the form of staff training, training
materials, 4-wheeler and 2-wheeler components, manuals, charts, posters, etc. This will go a long way in upgrading our automotive training facilities.
Support from Dawood Yamaha Ltd.
Dawood Yamaha has agreed to set up a Motor Cycle training facility in our premises and a 2-wheeler automotive course will soon be introduced.
Future Direction
From early 2011, MITI is geared to introduce the following new courses for which there is a great demand:
1. Motor Cycle Mechanic
2. Auto Body Work & Refinishing
3. Wood Working
4. Aluminum Fabrication
5. Machining – Turning & Milling
Appreciation from Private Sector as well as Government:
MITI is now an established name in Vocational Training and a number of visitors from Government and Private sector have appreciated its infrastructure, facilities and course design. Many NGOs have also shown great appreciation for MITI systems and may copy its model in their set-up. Even the Army set-up in Sindh has visited and taken inspiration from MITI to build a vocational training center for the children of their veterans and retirees and requested us for advise and assistance.
Problems
In the wake of such achievements, one tends to forget the problems and we have our share of them some of which are as below.
Human Resource Planning
MITI has strived to induct the best possible manpower for its staff. It may be of interest to know that trained teachers in vocational training are hard to find. As such we have taken our teachers from industry who have good practical experience. During their stay at MITI, they develop into good teachers and instructors. Nowadays, there are many similar institutes coming up in Karachi. This has inevitably given rise to the problem of turnover of trained staff which has started affecting us also. This is a phenomenon to be reckoned with in future.
Cost of Construction
The cost of future development work is increasing day by day and bound to be a constraint in the development activity.
We at WMO-MITI are humbled by the above achievements and grateful to Allah for choosing us as his servants and giving us strength. It has increased our resolve and commitment to excel in the field of vocational education and to make MITI a premier institute in the country and continue to help the destitute people of our society for a quick upward economic mobility.
