Toyota Kirloskar Motor Employees Win Five WorldSkills Awards

Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) employees have secured five Medallions for Excellence at the 48th WorldSkills Competition 2026, held in Shanghai, China, from September 22 to 27. The five employees accounted for five of India's 20 Medallions for Excellence across the competition. 

The TKM employees competed in three skill categories – Mechatronics, Additive Manufacturing and Robot Systems Integration. The WorldSkills Competition brought together more than 1,400 young professionals from around 68 countries and regions across 64 skills. 

The Medallion for Excellence is awarded to competitors whose performance scores fall below those required for gold, silver or bronze medals. TKM employees Tejas B.S. and Praveen Yankappa Hunakunti also represented India in the Auto Body Repair and Welding categories at the 2026 competition. 

TKM Employees Win WorldSkills Medallions

The five TKM employees recognised at WorldSkills 2026 were:

• Mechatronics: Deepu Mudigerepalya Srinivasa and Jayanth Kariyappa
• Additive Manufacturing: Pavan Bhadravati Suresha
• Robot Systems Integration: Abhishek Somanna Shignalli and Vinay Muttayya Hiremath 

TKM Chief Strategy Officer G. Shankara said the results reflect the company's focus on skill development and continuous learning, with the five employees receiving recognition across three categories.

Toyota Kirloskar Motor's Skill Development Initiatives

TKM established the Toyota Technical Training Institute (TTTI) in 2007. The institute provides a three-year, free residential training programme, primarily for students from rural Karnataka and economically challenged backgrounds, with a focus on technical skills and broader development. 

The company said TTTI alumni have previously participated in IndiaSkills and WorldSkills competitions, including securing a bronze medal in Mechatronics and Prototype Modelling at WorldSkills 2022 and multiple Medallions for Excellence at WorldSkills 2024 in Lyon, France. 

Beyond TTTI, TKM said its skill development initiatives have trained more than 1,40,000 young people through partnerships with over 120 ITIs and more than 30 Government Tool Room and Training Centres (GTTCs), as well as programmes including the Toyota Technical Education Program (TTEP) and Toyota Kaushalya.