ASDC invites young India to participate in World Skills 2021 contest

The biennial event will be held in Shanghai next year and application process is open for top skilled personnel from various trades including automotive.

By Mayank Dhingra

28 Dec 2019

14801 Views

Freudenberg India provides theoretical and practical training in welding, fitting, machining, motor mechanics and electrician as per the German dual vocational system for a period of one or two years. Most students find employment immediately after completion of the course.

Maruti's JIM offers 8 trade courses with fitter and electrician also attracting girl students. A miniature assembly line and virtual welding simulators mock a real manufacturing setup. JIM Gujarat's last two batches saw full placements at dealers, vendors and inside Suzuki Motor Gujarat.

In FY2019, over 23,000 dealer staffers received training and 625 students were absorbed into the Hyundai ecosystem. The OEM has set up 24 skilling centres — 8 regional training centres and 16 training academies — to train employees and impart different skill sets. It has also tied up with 54 ITIs and polytechnics for enhancing worker skills.

The Layam Group in Chennai is actively engaged in skilling young India across several automotive-related skills.

India Yamaha Motor has an automotive service technician (Two-Wheeler) course at 42 Yamaha Training Schools across India where 1,643 men and 55 women have been skilled so far.

After proving its mettle at World Skills 2019 in Kazan (Russia), India and its skilled workmen again stand a chance to participate in the next edition of the competition set to take place in 2021.

The 46^th World Skills competition will take place in Shanghai, China in September 2021 and will see youth from all across the world vie for top honours in various fields such as electronics, web technologies, aircraft maintenance, floristry, jewellery and automotive.

Within automotive, the many categories that are open for entry include auto body repair, automobile technology, car painting and prototype modelling. The Automotive Skills Development Council (ASDC), the Indian apex body undertaking India's participation in the automotive category, has invited candidates to apply, if they fulfil the below-mentioned requirements:

Eligibility Criteria: Less than 22 years as on competition year, which translates into the participant being born on or later than January 1, 1999.

Qualification: No formal qualification is required for participating in the World Skills competition.

Skill Category: ASDC will coordinate participation and is directly involved in the following skill categories:

Skill No. 13: Auto Body Repair
Skill No. 33: Automobile Technology
Skill No. 36: Car Painting
Skill No. 45: Prototype Modelling

Candidates will go through a chronological selection process ranging from District level, State level, and Regional level. The shortlisted participants from the regional round will undergo a final competition at the National level and winners will be eligible for representing India at the World Skills 2021.

The selection process will begin January 2020, and its flow will be:

Timelines
State level: January ~ March 2020
Regional level: April ~ June 2020
National level: September 2020
World Skills 2021: September 2021 in Shanghai, China

India Auto Inc scrambles to fill yawning skill gap and create future-fit workforce
With a skilled workforce always translating into better efficiency, higher quality as well as output at the shopfloor, be it at a dealership, component supplier or an OEM, the role of these hardworking individuals is of utmost importance in the future growth of the automotive ecosystem.

According to an E&Y draft report commissioned by the ASDC, the Indian automotive industry is set to face a massive challenge of witnessing as many as 41.5 million vacant positions across its value chain between 2019 and 2025, due to the major disruptive forces playing their role in the coming future and deeming these people unfit to adapt to a dynamic change in the way how the industry functions.

According to Nikunj Sanghi, chairman, ASDC, "There will definitely be some amount of job losses coming in because of automation. However, certain new things like AI and robotics will create new perspectives of employment as well."

Citing his views on the continuous need for upskilling people, he added, "A lot of upskilling is required to keep people relevant in the industry. We should not look at retrenching people, but try upskilling them to keep them employable and a part of the automotive ecosystem."

Entries for the World Skills 2021 will close on December 31, 2019 and interested candidates can register through the IndiaSkills-2020 using this link – https://www.asdc.org.in/world-skills.

Autocar Professional's December 15-2019 15th Anniversary Issue has a comprehensive 9-page feature on skilling in the Indian automotive industry