India’s leading passenger car manufacturer, Maruti Suzuki has announced that it will set up a first-of-its-kind Industrial Training Institute in Mehsana, Gujarat in August 2017. Named “Japan-India Institute of Manufacturing” (JIM), this institute will offer an annual course of technical trades and Japanese shopfloor practices. It will train 300 youths in a year. With the JIM initiative, the Indo-Japanese carmaker aims to create a pool of skilled manpower for manufacturing in India. This institute will be established with a collaboration of the Governments of Japan and India.
In Tokyo on 11 November 2016, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, Government of Japan (METI) and Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Government of India (MSDE) had signed a Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) for a “Manufacturing Skill Transfer Promotion Programme”. Under this programme, the company will train 30,000 youths in India over 10 years. There will be seven technical courses to choose from – Fitter, Electrician, Mechanic Motor Vehicle, Mechanic Auto Body Repair, Welder, Mechanic Diesel and Mechanic Auto Body Painting. All the trades would be certified and approved by NCVT (National Council of Vocational Training).
Besides the technical curriculum, the JIM will provide training in the best shopfloor practices such as Kaizen and Quality Circles that will be based on curricula developed in Japan. Managed by Maruti Suzuki India Limited, the JIM project will be counted as a corporate social responsibility initiative. The Indo-Japanese carmaker will be responsible for running the facility as per industry norms, hiring and training of faculty and staff, finalizing curriculum, and end to end execution from admissions to placement of students. Maruti Suzuki has committed an initial investment of Rs. 3.2 crores for setting up the JIM.
On the initiative, MD & 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. This is another opportunity for Maruti Suzuki to participate in the Indian Government’s ambitious “Make in India” and “Skill India” initiatives. Our effort will be to train youths in the best shopfloor practices so that they find ready employment on shopfloors and in workshops.”
