The leading passenger vehicle manufacturer announced that it will be setting up an industrial training institute in Mehsana, Gujarat.
The institute is the first-of-its-kind in the country. It was announced that they would begin the training programme in August 2017 and that they aim to train an average of 300 youths per year. The major syllabus revolves around technical trades and Japanese shop floor techniques.
The JIM will mark the start of a collaboration between the Governments of Japan and India to create a pool of skilled manpower for manufacturing in India. This follows from a Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) signed in Tokyo on November 11th between Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), Government of Japan and Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Government of India (MSDE), for a “Manufacturing Skill Transfer Promotion Programme” to train 30,000 youths in India over 10 years.
JIM will be run and managed by Maruti Suzuki as a corporate social responsibility initiative. The institute aims to impart a technical curriculum and as a bonus the students will be trained in the shop floor practices of Japan like Kaizen and Quality Circles. These curricula will be developed in Japan.
Maruti Suzuki have made an initial investment of Rs 3.2 crore in this venture. The JIM will offer seven technical courses: Fitter, Electrician, Welder, Mechanic Diesel, Mechanic Motor Vehicle, Mechanic Auto Body Repair and Mechanic Auto Body Painting. All the trades would be certified and approved by NCVT (National Council of Vocational Training).
On the initiative, MD and CEO, MSIL, Kenichi Ayukawa, said, “Maruti Suzuki’s Japan-India Institute of Manufacturing in Mehsana will take forward the vision of the two governments to create a pool of skilled manpower in manufacturing in India.”
