Toyota Further Expands its Distinctive Skill Initiative Under TTEP Program

Toyota Kirloskar Motor [TKM] has announced its second institutional tie-up in Pune and third in the state of Maharashtra with the launch of its unique 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 TTEP program in the state was established in 2006 in collaboration with St. Joseph's Industrial Training Institute, Kurla [Mumbai].

This distinctive initiative by Toyota represents the incessant efforts taken by the company to bridge the skill gap that exists by developing trained personnel to meet the ever-increasing demand of the emerging industry for skilled resources. 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 event held at Samarth Group of Institutions in Belhe - Pune was graced by Vasantrao Gangaram Shelake – Chairman, Dnyaneshwar Gangaram Shelake - Vice President, Vivek Vasantrao Shelake – Secretary, and Vallabh Vasantrao Shelake - Trustee, Samarth Group of Institutions in the presence of the representative from Toyota Kirloskar Motor, Vedaparakash S. Tiwari - General Manager.

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 paint 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 & 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 necessary support to the institute such as training consumables, visiting faculty, training material, tools, equipment etc.

Commenting on the new partnership, Vallabh Shelake, Trustee - Samarth Group of Institutions said, “It is an honor to be associated with Toyota through this unique program - TTEP. 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, “The automobile repair industry is evolving and need to improve in professional training for repair and diagnostics of vehicles to meet the evolving needs of the market. 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% 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.

With the continued emergence of new technologies and new business needs, Toyota recognizes that the skills required to succeed tomorrow are not the same as the skills required to succeed today. It now seeks to anticipate the benchmarks of the future and plan the skill development proactively. Toyota’s skill program focuses to hone one’s skill sets, not merely to match the current industry requirements, but to challenge future opportunities with right balance of education [knowledge], experience [on-the-job] and exposure [learning new advanced techniques towards building talent],” he added.

The main objective of TTEP 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.

Till date, 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] & Service Advisor [SA].

T-TEP is widely recognized across the globe for its effectiveness. 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.