VECV has conceptualized a special training programme for ITI students called the “Eicher Technical Training Programme” (ETTP) as part of its industry-academia collaborative model. The programme provides an understanding of the modern automobile technology, scientific way of repair and maintenance, overhaul of commercial vehicles and customer service management to students. This aspect is critical in the present-day market, particularly with the advent of new generation commercial vehicles and manufacturing techniques.
VECV has signed an MoU with the Ramakrishna Mission Vidhyalaya, Coimbatore, as a part of its unique initiative in December 2012. The company has so far established seven centres with state-of-the-art automobile labs at prominent institutes in the country. The first centre was set up at ITI Kubernagar (Ahmedabad) in collaboration with the Gujarat Government and the second at the National Institute of Engineering, Mysore. The third and the fourth were established at the Rayat Bahra Education Group, Mohali, and the MCKV Institute of Engineering, Howrah. The fifth and sixth centres were founded at Dehradun and Vijayawada.
The Ramakrishna Mission Vidyalaya – Eicher Centre for Automobile Technology (RMVITI), the seventh such centre, was inaugurated recently at the institute’s premises in Coimbatore by Mr. Vikram Mohan, Managing Director, Pricol Ltd., who was the chief guest on the occasion, in the presence of Mr. Vinod Aggarwal, CEO, VE Commercial Vehicles Ltd.
Addressing the students, Mr. Vikram said: “Over the past few years industry bodies like CII, ACMA and SIAM have been actively talking about increasing the industry-institution linkages. Since youngsters are the future of the nation, you need to take it to the next level with your efforts and hard work. As you embark on this journey in creating a career, you need to set SMART goals which are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and have a time-frame.”
In his special address, Mr. Aggarwal said: “With signs of recovery seen in the commercial vehicle industry, we notice that there is going to be a huge shortage of skilled manpower in the coming years, and this is the reason why we started collaborating with educational institutions. This is our seventh training centre, with four more coming up soon. We have already started to recruit students for our company and our dealerships from these centres. It is a win-win situation for us.”
Earlier, Mr. A. Nandakumar, GM-Aftermarket, VECV, Pithampur, highlighted the human resource requirement in the automobile industry and the skill gap that exists. In his presentation, he said: “With the increase in use of electronics, complicated engine design and hybrid technology in vehicles, skilled manpower has become a key factor. The quality of personnel coming out of these institutions does not match the current needs of the industry. There is an additional need of 25 million people in this sector, of which 65 per cent ITI graduates. We at VECV have also developed a special curriculum to address this skill gap. This ETTP program is specially designed to cover the latest in the automotive industry and provide exposure to modern manufacturing processes and supply chain management as well as to workshop operation processes. These students will be given on-the-job training program at our dealerships.”
“Our joint venture with institutes is unique. We supply training aids with which one can teach from basics to overhauling of automobiles. We also provide vehicles for driving practice and station one of our engineers who would ensure proper training/teaching for candidates”, he added.
Swami Abhiramananda, Secretary, RMV, Mr. Murali and Mr. Balasubramaniam, Principals, RMV, also conveyed their special thanks to VECV for its excellent initiative towards betterment of the society.
Ramakrishna Mission Vidhyalaya in Coimbatore, affiliated to the Ramakrishna Mission, Belurmath, Howrah, is among the oldest institutes in the country and was founded in 1930 with the blessings of Sri Ramakrishna. The foundation for the institute was laid by the Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi. It offers both vocational training, and diploma courses and has 14 educational wings catering to the varied education requirements of the students. The courses offered include the latest automobile technology covering modern manufacturing techniques, supply chain management and customer service management. This helps students to be industry-ready on completion of the course and get absorbed in organizations with minimum orientation and training.
The automobile lab of the institute is equipped with VECV’s modern training aids like dynamic cutaways, practice units, multi-media training aids and technical publications, both comprehensive and pictorial, teaching the students the latest in automotive technology, scientific way of repair maintenance and overhauling of commercial vehicles.