Toyota launches Technical Education Program in Cuttack

Toyota Kirloskar Motor, in collaboration with Toyota Motor Corporation and its nationwide dealer network has announced the launch of its distinctive training model for Body and Paint Repair (BP) under the Toyota Technical Education Program (T-TEP), at Government ITI in Cuttack, Odisha.

T-TEP, a special training module was launched in 2006 in India. After a span of 6 years, TTEP is now associated with more than 24 institutes under the program.

In its first year, the program was implemented in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Hubli. The program was subsequently introduced in Bangalore, Pune, Cochin, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Ghaziabad, Kolkata, Jaipur, Jalandhar, Indore, Vizag & Ludhiana.

With this program, Toyota Kirloskar Motor intends to enhance the technical abilities and employability of Industrial Training Institute (ITI) students in the age group of 16 to 18 years. The program will benefit ITIs in building skilful technicians for the Indian automotive repair industry. The current automobile repair industry is characterised by inadequately skilled manpower and lack of professional training for repair and diagnostics. TTEP is a unique initiative undertaken by TKM, in partnership with ITIs and its dealers across India to address this issue.

The event marked the sixth launch of the Body & Paint TTEP Program. The Body & Paint repair syllabus has been developed in collaboration with the Department of Training and Technical Education, Government of NCT, Delhi. The syllabus imparts training on basic body and paint repair skills in addition to dealer specific requirements to students, thereby improving their knowledge of repair techniques and facilitating the adoption of latest technology in Body & Paint. 

Currently Body & Paint technicians have limited information and hands on experience in the usage of correct repair operations and techniques, forcing dealers to recruit manpower from local garages. Toyota along with its supplier partners, Asian PPG and 3M, will provide all necessary support to the institute i.e. training consumables, visiting faculty, training material, tools, equipments, scholarships etc. Introduced in the year 2009, Automotive Body & Paint repair training has been provided to more than 600 students till now.

Present at the occasion were including Pratap Keshari Deb, Minister of State (Ind. Charge), Employment & Technical Education & Training, Food Supplies & Consumer Welfare, Odisha, Dr. Chandra Shekhar Kumar, Commissioner-cum-Secretary, Employment & Technical Education & Training Department, Odisha, Shri Hemant Sharma, Commissioner-cum-Director, Employment & Technical Education & Training Department, Odisha & Mahesh N. Salkar, Vice President - Customer Service Group, Toyota Kirloskar Motor.

Mahesh N. Salkar, Vice President, Customer Service Group, Toyota Kirloskar Motor said, "TTEP has been successfully implemented in 419 institutes across 53 countries. We introduced TTEP in India, in 2006, and since then have been successful in imparting training, to create skilled manpower. As we reach out to other ITIs in the coming years, we wish to contribute towards a marked increase in the availability of skilled manpower in the Indian automobile repair industry. We are committed to provide the best to the students, which will eventually benefit the industry on the whole.

The special course on Body and Paint Repair would create skilled technicians for the Body and Paint Repair industry - a largely unorganized segment - of the automobile service industry", continued Salkar.

The T-TEP Body and Paint curriculum, a 1 year syllabus, under the State Council of Vocational Training, introduces students to Toyota's advanced technology and service techniques. It also includes, on-the-job training, at Toyota's dealerships. As a part of this program, TKM will also train institute instructors in the latest technology, used at Toyota and the automobile industry.

TKM plans to introduce this program to technical institutes across the countries in the coming years and reach out to over 1000 students per year. The project is jointly funded by Toyota Motor Corporation and Toyota Kirloskar Motor. Together they provide T-TEP institutes with hi-tech training packages and Toyota service training manuals and materials. Asian PPG and 3M have also extended their support by providing latest equipments and material required for training.

T-TEP supports Toyota's comprehensive human resource development system that extends from training at T-TEP institutes to recruitment and development at Toyota dealerships.

T-TEP is widely recognized across the globe for its effectiveness. The program has been successfully introduced in 53 countries by Toyota, which includes USA, Australia, Italy, South Africa, China, Vietnam and India.