Car major Toyota has cautioned that the Indian automotive sector might suffer a huge skill mismatch if proper initiatives are not taken to bridge the growing talent gap. Every year, 12 million people in India are expected to join the workforce across segments, including automobile, but the country’s training capacity is only for 4.3 million.
‘No access’
“That leaves some 64% of newcomers with no access to skill development and training programmes,” cautioned Vedprakash Tiwari, vice-president, Customer Services at Toyota Kirloskar Motor.
With increased pressure to meet customer demand for more personalised designs and to remain competitive, global automotive manufacturers are trying to create a more flexible production environment with reduced engineering time, reduced cost and better speed to market.
Wiselin Sigamany, principal of Toyota Technical Training Institute (TTTI) said, “The global automobile industry has gone through radical changes in the past few decades both in terms of overall demand for cars and changes in technology. The effects of these movements are felt in India as well. In fact, the country is one of the most dynamic and closely watched automobile markets.”
Toyota currently works with 43 industrial training institutes (ITIs) and diploma schools across the country to impart specialised training in all kinds of automotive repairs from setting right scratches and dents to completely rebuilding cars that are damaged in accidents. The company has already trained and skilled over 5,000 students in India for various trades such as body shop, assembly and paint technology in the last five years.
“We are trying to bridge the skill gap that exists in the Indian automotive sector. Every year, we are adding more technical schools under this programme to make training accessible to more number of students across the country,” added Mr. Tiwari.
In addition to this, TTTI offers intensive, three-year residential courses in assembly, painting, welding and mechatronics to students from economically challenged families. Some 250 students are trained under four different courses every year.
According to Mr. Sigamany, most of these students trained by Toyota are employed by the company, its partners, OEMs and dealers.
The National Skill Development Corporation has projected that there is an incremental requirement of 347 million skilled personnel in 21 high growth sectors in India by 2022, and automotive sector is one of them.
