Toyota Kirloskar announces eighth T-TEP program in Maharashtra

Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) announced its second institutional tie-up in Pune and third in the state of Maharashtra with the launch of its training model Toyota Technical Education Program (T-TEP) under Body & Paint Repair category at the Samarth Group of Institutions in Pune. Aimed at generating talented and technically skilled professionals for the automobile industry in Pune, the first T-TEP program in the state was established in 2006 in collaboration with St. Joseph's Industrial Training Institute, Kurla [Mumbai].

This association is aimed at providing a platform to Samarth Group of Institutions to train and equip their students with the best knowledge to thrive and succeed in the industry with right skill sets towards achieving employability status.

The main objective of T-TEP training module (launched in the year 2006) is to enhance and augment the technical abilities and employability of Industrial Training Institute (ITI) students in the age group of 16 to 18 years. In its first year, the program was implemented in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Hubli. The program was subsequently introduced nation-wide covering Bengaluru, Mysuru, Lalru, Pune, Cochin, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Ghaziabad, Kolkata, Jaipur, Jalandhar, Indore, Vizag, Ludhiana, Cuttack, Haldwani, Nalbari, Gurgaon, Satara, Paramakudi, Chalakudy, Mangaluru, Calicut & Nashik. The program has been successfully introduced in 508 institutes across 55 countries by Toyota, which includes USA, Australia, Italy, South Africa, China, Vietnam and India.

The 'Body & Paint repair', a 1-year syllabus has been developed in collaboration with the Department of Training and Technical Education, Government of NCT Delhi. The syllabus imparts training on basic body and paints repair skills in addition to dealer specific requirements, to students - thereby improving their knowledge of repair techniques and facilitating the adoption of latest technology in body and paint. At present, ‘Body & Paint’ technicians have limited knowledge base and hands-on-experience under repair operations and techniques, forcing dealers to recruit manpower from local garages. Toyota in association with its dealer partners will provide all the necessary support to the institute such as training consumables, visiting faculty, training material, tools, equipment and more.

Commenting on the new partnership,  Vallabh Shelake, Trustee - Samarth Group of Institutions said, “It is an honour to be associated with Toyota through this unique program – T-TEP. Our institution's mission is to give quality education and we see this partnership as a great opportunity to train students to become highly skilled potential employees. Toyota Technical Education Program is an interactive curriculum and we are confident that this platform will provide the desired opportunity for the aspiring students of our institution to excel and attain a successful career opportunity."

Commenting on the need for skilling India, N Raja, deputy managing director - Toyota Kirloskar Motor said, "There is a growing need to enhance the quality and build relevance into the current skill development programs. As per the figures released by the National Sample Survey, out of the 470 million people who are in the working age group, only close to 10 percent receive any kind of training or access to skilled employment opportunities. Through this Toyota Technical Training Program, we aim to scale-up the students’ skill levels with the required theoretical knowledge and practical exposure to confidently function in a seamless manner and effectively contribute to succeed in their designated tasks. Our focus is not only to support rising demand for skilled talent, but to match the skills programs with the future industry requirements."

Till date, TKM claims that around 7,900 students have successfully completed this program, out of which, around 4,900 are employed at various dealerships of Toyota across India. This is the 8th T-TEP in Maharashtra including all 3 trade categories offered – Body & Paint Repair (BP), General Technician (GT) and Service Advisor (SA).