Dr Gurudas Aras: Low starting salaries continue to deter top engineering talent

The textile industry faces a growing talent paradox—acute skill shortages alongside low starting salaries that deter top graduates. This interview explores the disconnect between academia and industry, gaps in training and internships, and the urgent need for collaboration to build job-ready talent. It also examines how automation, sustainability, and evolving skill demands are reshaping the workforce, with insights from Dr Gurudas Aras, Independent Director and strategic advisor.

Factories often complain about a lack of skilled graduates, yet starting salaries in textiles remain among the lowest for engineering streams. How can the industry expect to attract top talent without improving compensation?

This is a major concern in my opinion. The textile industry’s growth is hindered by low starting salaries, which deter top talent. The textile industry faces a significant talent paradox, where a critical skill gap exists alongside some of the lowest starting salaries for textile engineering graduates.

Factories struggle to attract top talent because of both perception and reality. The reasons are not far to seek. Many students view textiles as a traditional, “sunset” industry rather than an innovative, tech-driven field. Textile Engineers on the shopfloors often face long working hours and high pressure to meet production targets, which, coupled with low wages, leads to high attrition. Other engineering streams offer far better wages than in textiles, making it difficult for the sector to remain a first-choice career. Moreover, the working conditions in the other industries are better than those in the textile manufacturing units.

To attract skilled graduates, factories should offer competitive salaries, aligned with industry standards and reflecting the value of textile engineers’ skills. The industry should invest in professional development, training, and career advancement of the newly joined engineers. While joining, they should be shown the potential career growth path, so that they are motivated to take the plunge. Improving the work environment in terms of safety, offering modern equipment to work on, and maintaining workspace hygiene are also important factors to attract talent. The industry must come forward to partner with textile institutes and universities to develop relevant curricula and internships so that the passed engineers are skilled enough to take on responsible jobs.

Industry leaders say graduates are not ‘shop-floor ready’. But how much responsibility does the industry take in training, internships and curriculum collaboration with institutes?

While industry leaders often point to a lack of “shop-floor readiness” among graduates, the responsibility for this gap is increasingly seen as a shared one. Traditionally, a “distant relationship” has existed between academia and industry, with both sides operating in isolation. However, this is shifting as both sectors realise that a “producer-consumer” model alone is insufficient for modern industrial needs.

There is a clear gap in what the industry wants and what the institutes offer. The Fresh textile graduates lack hands-on skills in modern textile machinery, digital tools, and processes. They have good theoretical knowledge, but limited exposure to industrial setups.

As I said above, the industry must take responsibility in partnering with the institutes in building an industry-contemporary curricula, which is a true reflection of the on-ground reality of the industry. Companies, while taking on fresh textile engineers, can make a professional training and orientation programme for them instead of putting them directly on the job.

The industry’s role in such a scenario is as follows:

1. Internships: Many textile programmes mandate internships, but quality varies. Some companies offer structured programs; others treat interns as “extra hands”. Industry must seriously look at internships as a mould to prepare engineers for the industry.
2. Curriculum Collaboration: Limited engagement with institutes means syllabi might not reflect industry shifts (e.g., technology, sustainability, automation, digitalisation, etc.).
3. Training Investment: Firms often expect “ready-made” talent, but aren’t always willing to invest in upskilling fresh hires.
4. Live Projects: Leading institutes like NIFT are inking MoUs with industry partners for live research projects and technology transfers, allowing students to work on real-world problems like automation and sustainable production. This needs to be done in all the textile institutes.

A way forward has to be through “Shared Responsibility”:

Institutes: Need to blend theory with practicals, case studies, and industry projects. They should invite guest lecturers from the industry, arrange student visits to manufacturing units and encourage students to take shopfloor projects in the industry. Mentorship Programs can help where experienced professionals mentor students on live projects.

Industry: Should offer internships, guest lectures, and R&D partnerships to shape the curriculum. A major hurdle remains the high investment and running costs of industrial-scale machinery in college labs. Industry partners are beginning to fill this gap by providing access to state-of-the-art equipment, cutting-edge tools, and software during training. Some companies also sponsor the installation/ modernisation of laboratories and workshops in institutes. Industry can think of introducing ‘Paid Apprenticeship Programmes’ for students during their course years.

In conclusion, the industry leaders can’t just point fingers. By co-creating opportunities, they can shape a workforce that’s actually “shop-floor ready. They should be seen as true stakeholders in grooming the talent.

Many young engineers avoid textile factories due to long hours and challenging working conditions. What concrete steps are companies taking to make factory careers more attractive?

To address the “brain drain” from factory floors, textile companies are shifting from traditional management to employee-centric models that prioritise well-being and modern career paths. To keep young engineers from jumping ship to IT or retail, forward-thinking textile companies are finally moving away from the “industrial age” mindset. The shift is moving from seeing an engineer as a machine operator to seeing them as a tech manager.

Companies are taking several steps to make factory careers more attractive to young engineers. The following are some initiatives:

• In-House Training and Workshops: Many companies offer training programs to help employees learn new processes and technologies, enhancing their skills and making them more valuable to the industry
• Embracing Technological Advancements: Companies are adopting automation, IoT, and data analytics to improve production efficiency and sustainability, making the industry more appealing to tech-savvy engineers
• Soft Skills Training: Some companies are providing training on teamwork, communication, critical thinking, and integrity to support workers’ career growth.
• Modernising the physical and digital environment makes factory roles feel more like high-tech engineering careers
• Using AI and sensors to monitor machines reduces the need for constant manual troubleshooting, allowing engineers to focus on data-driven decision-making.
• Investing in state-of-the-art facilities with better lighting, ventilation, and ergonomic workstations to reduce physical strain
• Encouraging employees to take on cross-functional projects
• Mentoring the young talent through hand-holding by seniors
• Using AI to analyse market trends and proactively adjust salaries to prevent “salary-driven exits” before they happen
• Exit interviews to understand the gap between employee expectations and the company’s understanding
• Implementation of updated labour codes aiming to provide a unified framework for workplace safety, social security, and regulated employment conditions