CHENNAI: With an aim to boost overseas employability, the Directorate of Technical Education (DoTE) will soon introduce foreign language training, including German and Japanese, for students in government polytechnic colleges.
DoTE commissioner J Innocent Divya said they are in talks with appropriate agencies to facilitate the training. “We have received a positive response from the Japan consulate and things are sorted. However, the training charges for German language is bit costly, we are working on it,”said Divya.
DoTE officials said the state government has been receiving interest from various German companies for hiring skilled manpower from polytechnic colleges. Recently, Germany’s Free state of Saxony had also expressed interest to sign a memorandum of understanding with the state government to create a skilled talent pool.
The move comes at a time when 44 government-run polytechnics are being upgraded into centres of excellence (CoEs) in collaboration with Tata Technologies. Officials say that the addition of international language skills, on top of industry-ready labs, will significantly widen global job opportunities and attract more students to diploma programmes.
The project involves a massive investment of Rs 2,430 crore, with the Tamil Nadu government contributing Rs 430 crore and Tata Technologies investing nearly Rs 2,000 crore.
DoTE officials said the upgraded polytechnics will house advanced laboratories to train students in Industry 5.0 technologies. These include automation and robotics labs, EV and battery-technology centres, CNC and precision-manufacturing workshops,
Internet of Things (IoT) and sensor labs, additive manufacturing facilities, CAD/CAM design suites, and metrology and testing centres. Faculty will also undergo intensive upskilling to align teaching with emerging industrial standards. Officials say language training will complement this technical exposure.
Divya said many overseas employers are interested in hiring skilled manpower especially in manufacturing, automotive, mechatronics and electronics sectors. By integrating language learning into the diploma curriculum, we hope to make polytechnic graduates more competitive globally. She said the language training will be imparted from the next academic year.
The timing of the initiative is significant. After years of declining interest, admission in government polytechnic institutes have improved substantially this year, with more than 90% of the seats filled.
Academicians believe that the promise of global opportunities, combined with hands-on training in modern labs will draw even more students to the diploma pathway in the coming years.
“If students start getting better job placements with attractive pay packages globally, it will definitely boost the morale of polytechnic students,”said S Viswanathan, faculty at a polytechnic college.