Chennai (PTI): The SC and ST youth should be brought into the mainstream economy for achieving an inclusive growth, Confederation of India Industry's National Affirmative Action Council Chairman Jamshed J Irani said on Saturday.

The advantages of SC/ST manpower is that the rate of attrition is much lower, people are hard working and determined to prove themselves. Considering this, it is the responsibility of the industry to provide opportunity for socially disadvantageous youth, he said.

At an interactive session organised by CII, here, Irani said the SC and ST youth should be educated through measures like skills training and through conducting entrepreneurship development programmes.

The HR professionals in industry are also expected to play a key role in engaging the SC/ST youth by providing skills training to enhance their employability, Irani, who is also the Director of Tata Sons Ltd. said.

Referring to the shortage of skilled manpower in the country, Irani said educational institutions should run relevant courses, especially on soft skills, matching the requirment of industry.

"Under the Affirmative Action initiative, CII would provide skills training to 10,000 socially disadvantaged students and promote entrepreneurs by linking them with industry supply chain," CII National Committee on Skills and Human Resources Chairman B Santhanam said.

There should be more thrust on dveloping ITIs with more number of SC candiddates so that the industry grows at a rapid pace, he said.