The free computer centre for women set up in October 2012 on Velachery Main Road in Sembakkam by the Sembakkam municipality in association with the Rotary Club of Madras, has evoked a great response. The three-month course, which teaches the applications of complete MS Office package and basic Internet-based software,has attracted many housewives. The centre’s timings — from 9.30 a.m to 3.30 p.m. — have made it convenient for them to attend these classes.
Vasundhara, a homemaker, says, “Thanks to this course, I have found employment in a private company and am earning Rs.10,000 per month.” More significantly, the computer course and her subsequent employment have boosted her self-confidence.
There are over 100 other women who can come up with similar testimonies. Armed with just a class X pass certificate, several women walk into the centre, get trained in computer operations and get jobs. The municipality and the Rotary Club help them find suitable openings. With the success of the basic computer course, there are requests to introduce advanced courses such as Tally and page designing. Depending on the demand, the municipality will decide whether to go in for these courses.
Besides the computer centre, the municipality runs a tailoring training unit for women, which was started in 1986 with 18 machines. Now, there are around 60 women students for the sixth-month tailoring course at any given time. The course is offered in two batches from 10 a.m. to 12 noon and from 1 to 3 p.m. on weekdays only. Training is given on how to stitch all womenwear including nighties, churidhars, salwar kameez, blouse and frocks. There are also classes on how to stitch school uniform. As requests were more for stitching boys’ school uniforms, training is also given for stitching shirts. Embroidery and designing are also taught as add-on services. Over the years, several women have undergone training and over 1,000 women have landed jobs, several others have started their own tailoring centres.G.M. Santha Kumar, chairman, Sembakkam municipality, says that preference will be given to the physically-challenged women for admission to both tailoring and computer courses. Also, plans are on afoot to introduce spoken English classes.
