Toyota Signs MoU to Set-Up Centre of Excellence at Manipal Academy of Higher Education

Key Highlights

* As a part of its commitment towards Skill Development, Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) hands over engine kit to MAHE to enhance practical knowledge amongst engineering students
* Toyota’s objective is to achieve excellence in development of core employability skills, competency standards and training on advancement in technologies to meet the demands of varied industries globally
* Such initiative also aims to support Toyota’s social mission to enable Quality education amongst the youth of India
* The CoE would support trained human capital to understand and deal with the industry needs in a broad context and sustainable manner
* Toyota practices Kaizen “continuous improvement”, aligning with this philosophy - these skill centers will be evaluated & basis feedback, further skill level scale-ups may be considered in future
* This is Toyota’s 6thCentre of Excellence in the state of Karnataka

In line with its long-standing commitment towards Skill Development, Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to set-up a Toyota Centre of Excellence at Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), Karnataka. The concept of establishing Toyota Centre of Excellence at various colleges and institutes is to reiterate Toyota’s commitment to upscale skill sets and offer well expertized workforce to the automotive industry. Through this skill initiative, the institution can be equipped to impart high quality skill standards by providing expert trainers, facilities and equipment.

In order to enable in depth knowledge-base of engine composition at the grass-root level, Toyota handed over one cut section of the vehicle engine and an assembled engine to MAHE. The key focus is to provide comprehensive learning opportunities for the students, offering them a first- hand experience of the vehicle engine. The engine cut section will showcase the component set- up in an engine and its related functioning. While the engine assembly section helps the students to gain an insight of the real orientation of the assembled engine including the dismantling and re-assembling techniques, thus achieving high quality skill sets in engine operating mechanism as part of the Skill Enhancement program.

This initiative is fundamentally incorporated to pursue Toyota’s main objectives to promote, setup, monitor, govern and regulate institutions and academies for skill excellence through development of core employability skills, competency standards and to train on advanced technologies to meet the industry demands globally.

The event was graced by Dr. D. Srikanth Rao, Director, Manipal Institute of Technology, MAHE, Mr. Raju B. Ketkale, Sr. Vice President, Toyota Kirloskar Motor and Mr. Naveen Soni, Vice President, Toyota Kirloskar Motor, amongst other dignitaries.

Dr H Vinod Bhat, Vice-chancellor, Manipal Academy of Higher Education said, “Manipal Academy of Higher Education is happy to be associated with a brand like Toyota, which has a legacy of Quality and Excellence as their basic DNA. Being a pioneer in manufacturing cars of global standards, Toyota over the years has led by example of being a responsible corporate citizen through its various initiatives to cover broader societal issues.

As academicians, it is our responsibility to impart quality education to our students. Skill enhancement is of utmost importance for the socio-economic development of any nation. It is an honour for us to partner with Toyota. Through this initiative, I am confident that the students would gain a better insight into the complexity associated with the engine, which is an essential part of a vehicle, while enriching their learning experience and making it exciting.”

Expressing his views on the occasion, Mr. Naveen Soni - Vice President - Toyota Kirloskar Motor, said, “The quality of learning and education is very critical for the economic growth and development of a nation. Through the network of Centres of Excellence in association with various colleges and institutes across the country, which can help drive rapid, targeted improvements in the quality of training, we are striving to provide more comprehensive learning opportunities for the students at the grass-root level. Being a responsible corporate citizen, our objective at Toyota is to empower the students to be industry ready with desired skill sets and competencies, while contributing to the nations’ growth and Industry’s employability ratio.

We believe that such practical exposure would aid the students to cope with different levels of operations associated with automotive functional mechanisms, while making classroom learning more practical, interesting and interactive.

Toyota’s scalable and sustainable skill approach focuses to bridge the gap between India’s rapidly growing industrial sector with evolving technologies and availability of skilled workforce. Through these intensive skill efforts, we provide more comprehensive learning opportunities for the students at the grass-root level, thus standing strong by our commitment to offer the industry better skilled workforce for the future requirements.” He added.

The company has been tirelessly working towards enhancing the employability quotient in the automobile manufacturing industry across India by promoting unique skill sets.

As a part of its commitment towards developing world class skilled workforce for the emerging Indian Auto Industry, Toyota in 2007 established the Toyota Technical Training Institute (TTTI)

which offers a three-year rigorous full-time training in – Automobile Assembly, Automobile Paint, Automobile Weld and Mechatronics (a combination of mechanical and industrial electronics) to financially challenged students hailing from Below Poverty Line (BPL) families from across Karnataka. This institute exclusively emphasizes on over all development of the trainees as per industry requirements & towards “Perfecting people” and there by contributing young multi skilled, energetic, ideal students to the nation. Training Curriculum is a unique blend which focuses on the holistic development of Knowledge (16%), Skill (34%), Body and Mind (50%) of the students. Last year Toyota’s TTTI institute accomplished the key milestone of being selected for “Manufacturing Skill Transfer Promotion Programme” under the MoU signed by Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, Government of Japan (METI) and Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Government of India (MSDE).

Some of the key highlights of TKM’s other skill initiatives follows:

·         Gurukul is a well-equipped learning center at TKM imparts diverse training to employees at all levels which helps them to improve their abilities and thoroughly fulfill their roles. Everyone who works in Toyota experiences 70% of their development through the job itself; and the experience serves as a driving force in developing the next generation.

·         Toyota Technical Education Program (T-TEP) provides technical know-how training to ITI students across India along with providing hands-on real-time experience within Toyota dealerships

·         Toyota Apprentice Scheme (TAS) – Under TAS, TKM has trained over 12,000 Apprentice Members (ITI, Diploma and Engineer) since 2002, which makes it one of the largest sources of providing such manpower to the industry.

·         National Skill Contest– Launched in 2014, National Sales & Service Skill Contest is an initiative that provides Toyota’s dealer sales & service personnel to showcase their skill levels with a view to identify gaps and improvise. Held at three levels – across dealership, regional and national levels, the contestants are evaluated on various parameters such as knowledge, process demonstration, soft skills and role plays among others. Continuous training skills are imparted to hone the dealer personnel skill sets to meet the growing expectations and deliver Toyota’s best-of-all Quality, Durability & Reliability for ultimate customer delight.