The Automotive Skills Development Council (ASDC) organised its Annual Conclave in Chennai on September 9, which was attended by 250 senior HR experts, professionals from the automotive industry, as well as private and Government training institutes.
Addressing the Conclave, Ms. P. Amudha, Labour Secretary, Tamil Nadu, stated that the State has 539 technical training institutes and more than 400 ITI institutes which churn out 150,000 students every year. However, it’s sad to see that the industry still finds it difficult to get properly trained people. “This difference can only be bridged by improving the quality of training.”
She stressed the need for the younger generation in the country to put in their hearts to the jobs that they are performing, in addition to their hands and minds. “This alone will bring in the sense of pride in what they are doing, leading to high quality performance which is critical in leading the country to a leadership position in the world of manufacturing.”
Mr. Bharat Joshi, Dy. High Commissioner, UK, who was the Guest of Honour on the occasion, lauded the increasing level of cooperation in the area of skilled development. The success of British manufacturing is mainly due to the high level of skilled manpower and highly effective system of skill development institutionalised in the UK, making it an ideal partner for India.
Mr. Vinod Dasari, ADSC President, and Managing Director of Ashok Leyland, highlighted the rapidly accelerating growth in the automotive industry not only in its size but, more importantly in its scope. There has been unprecedented growth in the industry, particularly during the Automotive Mission Plan (AMP) 2006-2016, and the second AMP 2016-2026 lays down a far more ambitious plan for the industry. These expectations and targets can only be reached only with an increasing stream of highly-skilled workforce in the area of manufacturing and services pertaining to the auto sector.
Four MoUs were signed by ASDC on the occasion, with ELECTUDE International, the International Motor Institute of the UK, MGR University and with the Centre for Polytechnic and Advance Training. These MoUs will enable ASDC to enhance its capabilities in providing a variety of learning modules and international-level certifications for automotive servicing and curriculum building along with the training of the faculty to meet the needs of global standards.
ASDC is an industry-led initiative promoted by ACMA, SIAM and FADA jointly with NSDC and the Government to enhance the skill of the automotive industry in order to compete at the global level.