In skill overdrive, Maruti to train 2,100 youth annually

Automobile Skill Enhancement Centres will provide hands-on experience to trainees and make them capable of quality service and repair of vehicles

Market leader Maruti Suzuki India is stepping up its skill development activity by setting up automobile skill enhancement centres at 45 government-run Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) across India.

Through the programme, the company is looking to train over 2,100 youth annually in car service and repair, Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) said in a statement.

MSI executive director (service) Pankaj Narula said: "With the growth in number of vehicles on roads, quality repair and maintenance offer a major employment opportunity. Automobile Skill Enhancement Centres (ASECs) will provide hands-on experience to trainees and make them capable of quality service and repair of vehicles."

MSI, through this initiative, wants to contribute to national efforts for skill development and employability, he added.

Each of the centres will be equipped with a model workshop to provide practical training.

"Together with this, the company will also appoint full-time trainers, provide tools and equipment and forge partnerships with local Maruti Suzuki service workshops to upgrade skills of ITI students and make them job-ready," the company added.

To be undertaken as part of its corporate social responsibility, Maruti Suzuki has committed Rs 5 crore (Rs 50 million) towards the programme.

"Nearly 2,100 youth are expected to benefit annually through these ASECs. The trainees will be free to seek employment in any workshop, including those not servicing Maruti Suzuki vehicles," the company clarified.

The centres are being set up at designated ITIs in cities, including Jammu, Srinagar, Patiala, Hoshiarpur, Meerut, Ghaziabad, Dehradun, Jabalpur, Surat, Godhra, Kolkata, Mangaluru, Mysore, Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam, Karimnagar Vijayawada, Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram, among others.