Japan selects Toyota Kirloskar Motor to drive skill development in India

Japanese carmaker Toyota’s Indian subsidiary, Toyota Kirloskar Motor has been selected for the ‘Manufacturing Skill Transfer Promotion Programme’ by the government of Japan to further boost prime minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Skill India’ initiative.

In Tokyo, on November 11, 2016, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, Government of Japan (METI) and Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, government of India (MSDE) had signed a Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) for a ‘Manufacturing Skill Transfer Promotion Programme’.

Toyota Kirloskar Motor has been selected as one of the Indo-Japanese companies to help enhance the manufacturing base of India and contribute to Make in India and Skill India, through training 30,000 persons over the next 10 years with Japanese-style manufacturing skills and practices.

Under the programme, the Japanese government will help establish Japan-India Institutes for Manufacturing (JIM) and the Japanese Endowed Courses (JEC) in engineering colleges designated by Japanese companies in India in cooperation between the public and private sectors. The first three such institutes would start in summer next year in Gujarat, Karnataka and Rajasthan. This was announced after talks between prime minister Narendra Modi and Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe.

With the latest models being launched by auto manufacturers with advanced technology, there is a significant need for highly skilled service personnel.

“Toyota believes that they have a greater role to play in India than just manufacturing world-class cars.  Toyota is focused on not just delivering first-class products and services to customers but also building the right set of talent pool that can create a sustainable business environment,” it said.

As a part of its commitment towards developing a world-class skilled workforce for the emerging industry, Toyota Kirloskar Motor has established Toyota Technical Training Institute (TTTI) in 2007 to impart training to financially challenged students hailing from Below Poverty Line (BPL) families from across Karnataka.
During its three-year residential automobile manufacturing course, TTTI focuses on developing employable skills among rural students of Karnataka and facilitates to improve their quality of life and realise greater employment opportunities. TTTI, which is located within the premises of Toyota’s manufacturing plant at Bidadi, near Bangalore, offers its students four courses which include automobile welding, automobile assembly, automobile painting and plant maintenance.

The students are exposed to the Toyota Way of Manufacturing ‘Monozukuri’ and familiarised with the global concepts of Lean Manufacturing, Kaizen and Genchi Genbutsu. Training at TTTI is not restricted to classrooms and workshops alone. TTTI emphasises on overall development of the trainees as per industry requirements and towards ‘perfecting people’ and thereby contributing young multi-skilled, energetic, ideal students to the nation.

The training curriculum is a unique blend which focuses on the holistic development of knowledge (16%), skill (34%), body and mind (50%) of the students.  Since inception, around 448 students have successfully completed their training and are working in TKM, Toyota Group companies and component supplier partners.

Expressing his thoughts, Akito Tachibana, managing director, Toyota Kirloskar Motor, said: “It is a privilege for us that Toyota Technical Training Institute has been selected as a part of this partnership between Japan and India for human resource development. We are confident that TTTI will set a benchmark amongst the proposed JIM schools. It will serve as the ideal image for future skill development initiatives in the industry. We have always given top priority to nurture young talent and convert them into world class skilled workforce to match up with the ever changing auto industry. . We further look forward to contributing to India by passing our global manufacturing skills to budding talents across the nation.”

Acknowledging the partnership between India and Japan for HR development, Vikram Kirloskar, vice- chairman, Toyota Kirloskar Motor, said, “We are honoured to have been given the opportunity to be a part of this collaboration between Japan and India to enhance skill development in our country.  We hope with the ‘Manufacturing Skill Transfer Promotion Programme’, more and more skilled talents in India will be able to get global exposure.  This will prove to be a great initiative for knowledge sharing between the training institutes of both the nations.”

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