siliconindia | | March 20208An alumnus of University of Delhi, Gayathri has over 22 years of experience in both national & international organizations and has been extensively involved in policy issues & community mobilizations relating to livelihoodsTHE NEED FOR THE SPECIALISED WORKFORCETHE NEED FOR THE SPECIALISED WORKFORCEraditionally, carpenters made kitchens, which massively relied on the individual's carpentry skills & craftsmanship. Carpentry is a skilled trade that requires carpenters to work with mechanical tools & wood, and needs artisanship. Due to the technological advancements that took place in the past 20 years, they have graduated from hand tools to power tools.Home is where the heart is, and a kitchen is what makes a house, a home. In older homes, kitchens were tiny and crammed. It was a space used almost solely for cooking that could be closed-off to conceal the mess, and the family & friends would assemble and eat in the din-ing & living rooms. Kitchens were utilitarian, and that was about it. The traditional expertise of the carpenters catered just right for the then functional requirements of the kitchens. Today, kitchens are much more than just cooking ar-eas. They have with times evolved into spaces that foster interaction between the families & their guests. There-fore, more sophisticated and sleek kitchens which are aesthetically appealing and are conducive for sociabili-ty have acquired a greater need and demand. As opposed to the traditional jam-packed kitchen setups, modernised modular kitchens have earned popularity for their space optimisation, ability to meet the fast-paced lifestyles and the flexibility to customize - according to one's needs & style with a whole new horizon of features. This upgrade in the whole concept of how the kitch-ens are perceived today requires a distinctly different set of skills in the carpentry sector. The carpentry trade has transformed into manufacturing and fitting which in-volves workers like joiners, fitters and CNC operators. This requires high-skilled human resource who can han-dle computer-programmed machinery that performs a va-riety of functions like drilling, cutting, or shaping materi-als. The catch here is to train the workforce in the specific disciplines according to the market demand. The fundamentals of designing the kitchens have al-tered phenomenally to match the shifting architectural en-vironment. Modular kitchens have caught on a rage and have revolutionised the idea of kitchens not just concern-ing design aesthetics & functionality, but also the dynam-ics that people maintain with their kitchens. The composite style of designing cabinets, shelves, racks, drawers to hold accessories, cookware, and crockery ease-out the process of cooking and make it more fun & enjoyable experience. They offer the wholesomeness and enhance the therapeu-tic experience that cooking innately has. The shift has not been only one of aesthetics, but one which has trans-formed an industry and the skills that people require in this changed environment. Skilling, re-skilling and life-long learning are the cornerstone for workers who want to make beautiful kitchens. Gayathri Vasudevan, CEOin my opinionT
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