Siddesh Gajrare could have never imagined in his dreams that he could become a part of a reputed organisation like Royal Enfield. Being from a rural family in a far-flung area of Maharashtra, he could only imagine his bleak future due to the poor financial condition of his family. Despite numerous financial hurdles, he somehow completed his 8th standard. After the completion of his meagre education, his parents wanted him to be a software engineer. But, destiny had other plans for him. He then enrolled himself in a vocational course for automotive engineering at CEDP (Council of Education and Development Programmes) and there was no looking back for him after that. He is now not only employed at Royal Enfield as Sr. Service Advisor but has also won numerous national and international skill tests. “My happiness knew no bounds when I received a call-letter from Royal Enfield. My only advice to the underprivileged youth is that follow your dream and a vocational course will help you to achieve it,” adds Siddesh.
Need for Vocational Engineers
Technical and Vocational Education plays a pivotal role in the development of human resources in a country since these courses create efficient manpower, increase industrial productivity, and hence improve living standards of a society. Often used synonymously Vocational Courses and Technical Education should not be confused with their applicability. However, according to AICTE, the term Technical Education refers to post-secondary courses that involve practical training and study aimed at developing skilled technicians that can supervise staff. The term Vocational Training refers to training for less-educated, semi-skilled or skilled workers in various occupations. “I believe the fundamental purpose of education is to enable students to apply those concepts in real life to solve practical challenges faced by our society. Vocational courses help in bringing alive the theory by putting hands-on, practical training at the core of the learning process. Such courses encourage students to become efficient in any particular skill and hence tackle the real-life financial constraints,” says Dr. Pramath Raj Sinha, Provost, Anant National University and founding dean, Indian School of Business.
With the increased sales of automotive and passenger vehicles, the automobile industry constitutes the 7.8% of our Gross Domestic Product. According to a report by IBEF, India’s share in global passenger vehicle market is expected to rise to 8 to 10 percent in the financial year 2018. The manufacturing sector in heavy electrical devices of India shows the similar trend with the share of the manufacturing sector in GDP expecting an increase of 25 percent by 2022 from 16 percent and 100 million new jobs being created by the sector till 2022, says the latest report of IBEF.
The above statistics imply that apart from automobile engineers and other professionals in the manufacturing industry, individuals skilled in various vocations would be in greater demand than ever. The prominent skill sets much in demand these days are computer-aided design, mechatronics, electrical planning, and other tasks such as hydraulic and pneumatic paint, welding etc. “Toyota Technical Training Institute has been making significant contributions to the dynamic auto manufacturing industry, by offering Toyota’s global expertise and advanced technologies to design the holistic training modules suiting the industry, which has been recognised and certified by the Japan-India Institute of Manufacturing (JIM),”says Vikram S Kirloskar, vice-chairman, Toyota Kirloskar Motor.
Key Training Providers
Various government bodies, NGOs and corporate manufacturing and automobile giants provide training to the unskilled and under-educated youth in order to make them employable. While government bodies impart them the fundamentals of any vocation, corporate organizations conduct these courses as a part of their corporate social responsibility to imbibe in them both interpersonal and technical skills. A major reason behind automotive and heavy electrical manufacturers offering jobs to vocational training graduates in India is that these firms save 10 to 15 percent on hiring through this.
Vijayan KT, head of Volkswagen Academy, Pune adds, “Through the apprenticeship programme, we intended to create a skilled force which could work in various areas of manufacturing immediately after finishing their course. The car-building project has successfully proven the intention behind our programme and has brought out high potential of the youth.” Following are few key bodies that provide vocational training in several vocations:
Vocational Training by Central Government
- National Skills Development Council
- Ministry of Human Resource Development
- Department of School Education and Literacy (for TVET programmes in senior secondary schools), Department of Higher Education (for Technical Education)
- Ministry of Labour and Employment, Directorate General of Employment and Training (for Vocational Training)
- 20 central ministries and departments which have been running some small TVET programmes
State Government Training Providers
About 50 ITIs have been set up by the directorate general of employment and training (DGE&T), Ministry of Labour in 1950 in order to meet the labour requirements to enhance the industrial growth of the country. It consists of the crafts training at certificate level and students who are not able to complete their education after anywhere between grades VIII to XII are eligible for it. This programme is conducted under the Craftsman Training Scheme (CTS) and is run by Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) and Industrial Training Centres (ITCs). “Vocational courses are a great way to bridge the gap between industry and academia, especially in areas like automotive and manufacturing sectors that require significant human intervention despite the automation. With an adequate focus on quality, vocational training can be a cost effective way to upskill the less privileged so they become employable more quickly,” opines Dr. Pramath Raj Sinha.
Corporate Automobile/Manufacturing Firms
While organization such as National Automotive Testing and R&D Infrastructure (NATRIP) runs various vocational engineering institutes in India to strengthen the research and development initiatives in India, automotive and manufacturing companies have set up their own institutes to impart training in different skills. Major auto firms have also tied up with different Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) across the country to fundamental automotive training to the underprivileged students. “A month-long induction program providing a comprehensive training to graduate students from engineering universities in India was conducted by Bombardier. The program aims at creating an effective integration with the premier campuses in India and develops a pool of young talent to drive innovation at Bombardier. In 2017, we recruited 52 engineers for this program”, adds Harsh Dhingra, Chief Country Representative, India, Bombardier Transportation.
Few other names are listed in the table below:
Key Manufacturers | Prominent Training Initiatives |
Maruti Suzuki | Maruti Suzuki India Ltd has set up Japan-India institute of manufacturing in Mehsana, Gujarat in which they intend to train 300 students per year from 2017 |
Honda Foundation | Honda Vocational Training Institute(HVTI) have come-up with a short-term course in manufacturing and automotive engineering in its Tarakpura plant |
Hyundai Motors | Hyundai Technical Academy, Bangalore under Hyundai Motor India Foundation(2006) gives Hyundai H Certification to ‘Master Technician’ |
Volkswagen India | Volkswagen India runs three years dual training programs in mechatronics Trade and in welding |
Toyota Technical Training Institute | Toyota Technical Training Institute(TTTI) runs a 3 years full-time apprentice training in automobile manufacturing since 2007 |
Larsen & Toubro Ltd | L&T Automation Academy located in Navi Mumbai provides a comprehensive training covering all domains of automation during the complete cycle of a project |
Gammon India | Conducts training programmes for supervisors in Pune and Quality & assurance and advisory Services in Gondia in collaboration with Construction Industry Development Council, Planning Commission, Government of India |
Bombardier India Ltd | Bombardier is offering vocational training for around 175 teenagers in the Delhi region, primarily young women, to widen their career prospects since 2013 |
Curriculum and Intent of Courses
Automobile giants conduct rigorous courses for three years that impart required skills in diploma courses which help them in keeping pace with regular engineering graduates. Toyota Technical Training Institute India (TTTI) run by Toyota India is one such institute that primarily trains students from rural Karnataka belonging specifically to weak economic backgrounds. The three years full-time apprenticeship training provided at this institute is divided into four modules, namely Automobile Assembly; Automobile Weld; Mechatronics; and Automobile Paint. Established in 2007, the institute trains at least 65 students every year.
Similarly, another institute Volkswagen Academy in Chakan trains at least 16 to 24 candidates through a rigorous Mechatronics programme that comprises of concepts such as operating conventional and CNC machines, hydraulic and pneumatic processes, welding and fitting works. The country’s second largest car manufacturer, Hyundai Motor India Ltd has collaborated with 25 ITIs in India to train students in Motor Mechanic Vehicle fundamentals under Skill India programme.
Bombardier Transportation, the first foreign multinational company to set up a wholly-owned railway manufacturing plant chose 40 females from economically backward families to train them on train electrical in order to enhance the capability and employment in nearby villages of Vadodara. They were trained under the Industrial Kaushal Vardhan Kendra (IKVK) program. Harsh Dhingra adds, “IKVK is a Government of Gujarat initiative and Bombardier partnered with them to build the capabilities of the women workforce. The prerequisite for this programme was a student who had passed 10th standard. They were hired as trainees and trained in railway electrical and electrical harnessing etc.”
Eligibility
Usually, most of the programmes require students which have passed 10th standard in the first attempt with a minimum score of 50 percent as an aggregate. For Toyota Technical Training Institute (TTTI) and VWA, a student should have passed a minimum of 12th standard in the first attempt. The aspiring students should be between 15-17 years of age and from a family that cannot afford primary education. Criteria for government training academies have the similar standards since these training courses are meant for socio-economically backward students from nearby villages.
Employment- Ready
The praiseworthy aspect of these courses is that students passing out from these courses are readily employable. The eagerness of automobile, manufacturing, and construction giants to employ them makes success inevitable for them. Most of such institutes end-up with 100% placement. At TTTI (Toyota Technical Training Institute), all the successful candidates have been placed in TKM group companies at supplier’s end. At VWA (Volkswagen Academy too, all the trainees have got employment and there has been a tremendous response from the Pune plant. “After the Industrial Kaushal Vardhan Kendra (IKVK) program, 40 women trainees were certified as electrical harness professionals. Once certified, they were enrolled as contractual workers. These trained females still work at our manufacturing helping us to move millions of people every day,” rounds off Harsh Dhingra. Hence, vocational courses are unquestionably spreading light and cheer in the lives of the underprivileged.