Toyota sets up third Centre of Excellence in Karnataka

Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM), which is among the prime drivers of skill development in the domestic automotive industry, inaugurated the Toyota Centre of Excellence at the Global Academy of Technology in Bangalore, its third in the southern state of Karnataka.

As part of its skill development program, TKM provides engine kits – one cut section of the vehicle engine and an assembled engine – to enhance practical knowledge among engineering students. This enables in-depth knowledge of engine composition at the grass-root level as well as comprehensive learning opportunities for the students, offering them a first-hand experience of the vehicle engine.

The engine cut section showcases the component setup in an engine and its related functioning. The engine assembly section enables students to gain an insight of the real orientation of the assembled engine including dismantling and re-assembling techniques, thus achieving high-quality skill sets in engine operating mechanism.

TKM says this initiative is essentially aimed at pursuing Toyota’s main objectives to promote, set up, monitor, govern and regulate institutions and academies for skills excellence for development of core employability skills, competency standards and for promoting technology that meets the demands of various industries globally.

The facility was inaugurated by Lepaksha S, Secretary – National Education Foundation; Mr Venkatappa, Additional Secretary – National Education Foundation and Ms. DKS Aishwarya, Secretary - National Education Foundation. Also present at the event were B. Padmanabha, vice-president and Naveen Soni, vice-president, both representing the senior management team of Toyota Kirloskar Motor.

Commenting on this initiative, Dr N. Ranapratap Reddy, principal – Global Academy of Technology [GAT] said, “Toyota has always stood for quality and excellence through the years, pioneering in manufacturing cars with global standards. We are delighted to partner with Toyota through for this initiative in imparting quality education amongst engineering students. Through this program, we are confident that the students would gain a better insight of the high-level skill techniques associated with the engine, which is an essential part of a vehicle, while enriching their learning experience at our Academy of Technology.”

Naveen Soni, vice-president - Toyota Kirloskar Motor, said: “Through our established Centre of Excellence in association with various colleges and institutes across the country, we are striving to aid comprehensive learning among the students at the base classroom levels in our mission to provide India a highly skilled workforce to match with evolving skill demands of the automotive industry. We believe such practical exposure would enable the students to cope with different levels of operations associated with functional mechanisms.”

Training ‘em young
In line with its commitment towards developing a world-class, skilled workforce for the emerging Indian auto industry, Toyota in 2007 established the Toyota Technical Training Institute (TTTI) which offers a three-year rigorous full-time training in – Automobile Assembly, Automobile Paint, Automobile Weld and Mechatronics  to financially challenged students hailing from Below Poverty Line (BPL) families from across Karnataka. This institute exclusively emphasises on overall development of the trainees as per industry requirements and towards ‘Perfecting people’.

The training curriculum focuses on the holistic development of Knowledge (16%), Skill (34%), Body and Mind (50%) of the students. Last year, Toyota’s TTTI was selected for the ‘Manufacturing Skill Transfer Promotion Programme’ under the MoU signed by Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, Government of Japan (METI) and Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Government of India (MSDE).

Some of the key highlights of TKM’s other skill initiatives are:

- Three-year rigorous full-time training in Automobile Assembly, Automobile Paint, Automobile Weld and Mechatronics.

- Gurukul, a well-equipped learning centre at TKM, imparts diverse training to employees at all levels which helps them to improve their abilities and thoroughly fulfill their roles.

- Toyota Technical Education Program (T-TEP) provides technical know-how training to ITI students across India along with providing hands-on real-time experience at Toyota dealerships.

- Toyota Tantrajna, a skill development project in association with the Automotive Skills Development Council (ASDC), involves a comprehensive 13.5-month training module consisting of an induction and fundamental skill training, on-the-job development and classroom training and trade knowledge training. After completion of course evaluation and certification by ASDC, TKM helps connect the trainees with prospective employers. Toyota also provides an attractive stipend, free commutation and canteen facility for the trainees during the training period.

- Under the Toyota Apprentice Scheme (TAS), TKM has trained over 12,000 Apprentice Members (ITI, Diploma and Engineer) since 2002, which makes it one of the largest sources of providing such manpower to the industry.

 - National Skill Contest, which was launched in 2014, enables TKM’s dealer sales and service personnel to showcase their skill levels with a view to identify gaps and improvise. Held at three levels – across dealership, regional and national levels – the contestants are evaluated on various parameters such as knowledge, process demonstration, soft skills and role plays among others. Continuous training skills are imparted to hone the dealer personnel skill sets to meet the growing customer expectations.

Also read: Toyota India opens admissions to Technical Training Institute for FY2019

Toyota Technical Training Institute celebrates 10 years of skilling in India