K Adhinathan, Vice-president, Network Development and Training, Ashok Leyland, inaugurating the centre said service plays a very important role for any manufacturer, whether automobiles or electronics.
"A good manufacturer with poor service will seldom be successful in the market. Today, quality service and network is as important as having a world-class manufacturing facility," Adhinathan said.
"We, at Ashok Leyland, always knew the significance of having a skilled workforce. Since there was no proper channel from where these skills could be learnt, we started our own centres and we are proud that every year, we train more than 8,000 personnel," he said.
Spreadg over 5000 square feet, the Kolkata centre is equipped with two class rooms, audio visual aids for theory sessions and demonstration area for practical working, latest vehicles, aggregates, diagnostics equipment, special tools and other training aids.
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After completion of training, the personnel would be ready for industry with skill sets that would help them and the industry improve the service quality and reach.
Ashok Leyland has already established fully equipped modern training centres at Alwar, Chennai, Bhubaneswar, Nagpur, Nasik, Ludhiana, Namakkal and Pantnagar. The latest is in Kolkata.
With the growth of Indian auto industry in the last few years, there is demand for skilled workforce and it is important to impart knowledge among youngsters about the sector. The Joint Skill Development Initiative and the launch of 'Knowledge On Wheels' or 'KNOW' is a result of it, company sources said.
KNOW is a 8-seater classroom on wheels (Ashok Leyland truck) which is fully-equipped to providing on-site training to channel partners and others.
The first KNOW was introduced in the field for BS-IV Training in July 2016 and progressively 15 more KNOWs have been added in FY 16-17.