Driving change: At Toyota Kirloskar Motor’s institute, the focus is on making rural youth skilled technicians

In line with a focus on transforming rural youth into world-class technicians, Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM), a subsidiary of global auto giant Toyota, has set up the Toyota Technical Training Institute (TTTI) in Bidadi, about 35 km from Bengaluru. The Karnataka facility caters to around 1,200 rural students, offering free training to those hailing from a financially weak background in the state.

Under the regular programme, students are trained in a three-year residential course, focused on skill, knowledge and attitude development. The Toyota Kaushalya Programme follows a two-year residential course designed to equip youth with skills crucial for the manufacturing industry, thereby boosting their employability. The students are also given scholarships so as to motivate them and to support their families.

Through a ‘Learn and Earn’ model, the rural youth are engaged in theoretical learning alongside on-the-job training.

G Shankara, Executive Vice-President, Finance and Administration, TKM, says: “As we open the doors for admission to TTTI, we reaffirm our commitment to transforming rural youth into world-class competitive technicians and ‘producing mass happiness for all’. Our graduates have fared well within India as well as globally, including Japan and Middle-East countries.”

The company, he adds, is “proud to contribute to the Government of India’s Skill India Mission and looks forward to welcoming the next generation of skilled professionals into the Toyota family”.

TTTI recently doubled its student intake capacity from 600 to 1,200, which includes up to 600 girls. It boasts of a 100 per cent employment rate, with its graduates securing positions not only in Karnataka, but across India and overseas.

The institute offers specialised training in trades such as vehicle assembly, welding, painting and mechatronics. In addition to TTTI, Toyota has established more than 60 Toyota Technical Education Programme (T-TEP) institutes across India.

Last year, TKM introduced the STAR scholarship programme, aimed at helping economically weak students pursue technical studies. To date, over 13,000 students have been trained through T-TEP.

According to Bhaskar Pai, Vice-Principal, TTTI, “Half of the training is focused on body and mind. As many as 1,300 technicians trained by TTTI have already been placed in various companies. Around 50 per cent of them have been absorbed in Toyota and the rest in other companies. Some have even got government jobs.”

Talking about the selection process for TTTI, Pai says: “We get around 4,000 applications. The selection process includes a written exam, skill analysis, hand-and-eye coordination test and a physical test. The best of them are called for assessment and an interview, followed by a medical exam.” All boarding, lodging and education facilities are provided free of cost. The TTTI has also tied up with 65 Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) in Karnataka. When the students complete their three-year training, they get a certificate from the Directorate General of Training, Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Government of India.

“After the completion of my matriculation, I lost my father due to illness and my mother was worried about my education. Then I came to know about this institute. After completing my two-year training, I am now fully capable of doing hydraulics, pneumatics, robotics and trouble shooting,” says Kartik, an apprentice at the TTTI.

Sudeep S Dalvi, Senior Vice-President and Chief Communication Officer, TKM, says, “With our training programmes and initiatives, we have touched more than one lakh lives across the country. As of August 1, TKM has a total headcount of about 11,500 employees, which includes 6,000 permanent and 5,500 temporary staff. This does not include staff at Toyota Kirloskar Auto Parts (TKAP). We will also employ around 2,000 to 3,000 employees at our third unit being set up here.”

To a query about the launch of the hydrogen fuel cell-based car, Mirai, in India, Dalvi said: “We will be happy to launch it but the ecosystem is not yet developed here and we still have a long way to go, but that is going to be the technology of future.”

Spread across 432 acres, TKM has two state-of-the-art plants at Bidadi and it produces 3.45 lakh vehicles per annum.

Expansion plans

On the company’s expansion plans, Vikram Gulati, Country Head and Executive Vice-President (Corporate Affairs and Governance), TKM, said: “We are setting up the third unit at Bidadi with an investment of ~3,300 crore and it will be commissioned by early 2026, with an initial capacity to manufacture one lakh vehicles per annum.”

On the memorandum of understanding the company has signed recently with the Maharashtra Government for setting up a greenfield project, Gulati said, “Keeping in mind our strategic business and growth requirements, we need to plan ahead. All these factors have been critical in terms of exploring the possibility of a greenfield manufacturing project in Maharashtra.”

In Karnataka, TKM, including its group companies, has invested more than ~16,000 crore as of now and created close to 86,000 jobs in the entire value chain.

Green initiatives

Toyota has adopted various environmental risk-mitigating measures towards realising the carbon neutrality targets. Ecozone is an experiential environmental learning centre spread across 25 acres inside the TKM premises. It includes 17 educational theme parks, designed to create a sense of ecological consciousness.

Padmanabha B, Executive Vice-President, Manufacturing, TKM, said: “As much as 95 per cent of the water consumed in the facility is recycled. Only 5 per cent fresh water is used for drinking and cooking purposes. Moreover, we are a zero landfill and zero discharge company, and nothing goes waste. Reuse is the key. We have also established a vehicle dismantling unit where more than 90 per cent parts of the vehicles can be reused. Right now, the company is using the dismantling unit only for internal vehicles of TKM, but we are looking to scale it up. For solid waste management, we have installed an incinerator.”

Production in the first plant of TKM located in Bidadi commenced in 1999. It manufactures models such as Innova Hycross, Innova Crysta, Fortuner and Legender. The second plant started production in 2010 and produces Camry Hybrid, Hilux and Urban Cruiser Hyryder.

Additionally, TKM manufactures models such as Glanza, Rumion and Urban Cruiser Taisor and imported models, including Vellfire and Land Cruiser 300, which are brought in as completely built units (CBUs).

— The writer was in Bidadi on the invitation of TKM