A Kerala-based human resource development organization named Sign, which has branches in Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries, has provided training to more than 40,000 people during the past six years, said its director Rashid Ghazali.

Sign, which was formed in 2008, has established a permanent campus in Wayanad, a hilltop city northeast of Kerala to conduct HR development programs for students, youth, expats, business people and community leaders. Syed Munawar Ali Shihab Thangal is its chairman.

Ghazali emphasized the significance of HR training to accelerate community development. “We have prepared tailor-made training programs for different groups. We conduct workshops for quality enhancement in addition to providing special coaching to students annually to help them overcome the fear of exams,” he told Arab News.

Ghazali said the study conducted by Sign on the social and economic impact of Gulf returnees had received applause from the government and the community. “The Kerala government has taken steps to improve the welfare of Gulf returnees on the basis of our research findings,” he said, adding that the study was conducted with the financial support of the Al-Abeer Medical Group.

He said the majority of Keralites who had gone to work in the Gulf countries were not highly educated and only five percent of them were satisfied with their jobs. About 19 percent of Gulf returnees were suffering from various diseases. “We have presented the study to the central government as well,” he said.

Ghazali, a corporate HR consultant and a former Farook College union chairman, described Sign’s knowledge village in Wayanad as first of its kind in Kerala. It comprises training and research facilities, a masjid, residential buildings and an agricultural farm. “It’s a home away from home for living and learning,” he pointed out.

Sign’s training programs are conducted by its own trainers, Ghazali said. “Those who get training from our campus, impart their knowledge and skills to other members of the community,” he added.

Sign intends to introduce a Fulbright-style global scholarship program in the name of Shihab Thangal for the benefit of outstanding students in Kerala and enhance capacity building.

“We have introduced an international abode program for future scholars and we provide specialized education and training to selected students,” Ghazali said. “We also conduct trainers training programs after every six months. There are resource persons from different communities,” he said, adding that about 13 percent of its beneficiaries were non-Muslims.