Maruti Suzuki India Ltd, the leader in passenger vehicles, will set up an industrial training institute in Mehsana, Gujarat for an investment of Rs 3.2 crore.
The Japan-India Institute of Manufacturing (JIM) will begin functioning from August next year and will train 300 youths every year in technical trades and Japanese shopfloor practices.
The institute will mark the beginning of a collaboration between the Japanese and Indian governments to create a pool of skilled manpower for manufacturing in India.
A memorandum of cooperation was signed in Tokyo on November 11 to promote a skill transfer programme in India, wherein Japan's ministry of economy, trade and industry had agreed to train 30, 000 youths over a period of ten years in collaboration with the Indian ministry of skill development and entrepreneurship.
Maruti Suzuki will run and manage JIM as part of its corporate social responsibility initiative. In addition to the technical curriculum, the institute will impart training in best shopfloor practices based on curricula developed in Japan.
Training will be provided for seven technical courses involving welding, electric engineering, diesel mechanics, motor vehicle mechanics and motor body repairing, among others. All trades would be certified and approved by the national council of vocational training.
Among other key areas of intervention, Maruti Suzuki would also provide training for the upkeep of facility as per industry norms, hiring and training of faculty and staff, finalizing curriculum, and for carrying out end-to-end execution from admissions to placement of students.