Toyota Kirloskar Motor expands its distinctive skill initiative by organizing regional skill contests across the country

Manesar: In congruence with its vision of creating a dynamic talent pool through continuous upgradation of competencies, Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM), organized a seminar for Toyota Technical Education Program (T-TEP) stakeholders followed by a skill contest for the T-TEP instructors in Manesar. This annual regional level seminar provided a platform for all T-TEP stakeholders to share the best practices and help standardize operations across the T-TEP institute network, whilst the skill contest acted as a performance incentive for all the T-TEP instructors.

The regional session covering North & East zones was organized at Regional Parts & Manpower Excellence Center Toyota Kirloskar Motor Pvt. Ltd (RMEC), Manesar in the presence of Mr. Atul Sood, Associate Vice President, Strategic Business Unit – North & East, Toyota Kirloskar Motor, Mr. Arindam Lahiri, CEO, Automotive Skills Development Council (ASDC), Mr. Raj Nehru, Mission Director, Haryana Skill Development Mission along with TTEP Instructors, Supplier Partners, ITI/Diploma Instructor & Principal from institutes and institutional dignitaries.

The seminar served as a platform for all the stakeholders including the TKM personnel, T-TEP Institutes, Dealer partners and Supplier partners and aided them to exchange the best practices and challenges with regard to T-TEP operations and its training modules. The TTEP Instructors used this platform to present innovative ideas to promote the Kaizen (continuous improvement) culture among all the participants.

Expressing his views on the occasion, Mr. Atul Sood, Associate Vice President, Strategic Business Unit – North & East, Toyota Kirloskar Motor said, “We are continuously growing, evolving and adapting to the changing needs and dynamics of the Automobile Industry. We aspire to create a pool of advanced and qualified workforce by overcoming the dearth of skilled manpower through continuous upgradation of competencies. The Toyota Technical Training Program was formulated to upscale quality, employability and nurture the talent of the industry professionals.

He further added, “Toyota is known for Quality, Durability and Reliability. We try to impart this ideology in all our initiatives and programs. This program has aided us in bringing all the T-TEP personnel under one roof and has given them a platform to recognize and appreciate their talents, identify where they are lacking and match their unique skills to the market needs. Thereby, helping them build themselves and making them market ready.”

The skill contest was an interactive activity for all the T-TEP Instructors who were divided into four categories General Repair, Automotive Body Repair, Automotive Paint Repair and Service Advisor. The participants were evaluated on presentation skills and basic automotive knowledge in their respective categories. The top winners of the contest were certified by the Toyota’s senior management for each of the respective categories.

The first of the three regional seminars recently concluded in Bangalore had active participation from 91 members (Including T-TEP Institutes, Dealer, ASDC, Govt., T-TEP Alumni Students and Supplier Partners). The last round consisting of West zone will be conducted later this month in Pune region.

T-TEP is widely recognized across the globe for its effectiveness. Launched in 2006, T-TEP is a special training module aligned with Government of India’s ‘Skill India Mission’. Under this initiative, Toyota has associated with 49 ITI/Diploma institutes across 17 states in India, benefitting over 8000 students till date.

The program is aimed at providing technical training to and educating ITI students in Toyota dealer outlets by giving them a hands-on real time experience. 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.

The T-TEP program has been successfully introduced in 508 institutes across 55 countries by Toyota, which includes USA, Australia, Italy, South Africa, China, Vietnam and India.