SKF targets to set up a total of five centres in the next five years, preparing 5000 skilled youth for jobs in the automotive service market
PUNE: SKF India on April 27, 2017, announced the inauguration of the Bengaluru centre of its flagship CSR program – YES: Youth Empowerment at SKF. This is the second skill development centre after Pune,for vocational skill development of underprivileged youth. YES program aims at empowering the beneficiaries with the know-how of modern automobile maintenance and servicing skills in order to help them gain employment or become entrepreneurs. Indian automotive sector needs 15 million directly employable people by 2022*. This program will train more than 5000 youth in the next five years and continue to add skilled and employable workforce.
SKF India’s YES program, with the chosen implementation partners will prepare the beneficiaries to work at various automotive OEMs, dealer service network and workshops and also impart entrepreneurial skills to enable them to set up their own vehicle service stations in future. The 1stcentre launched in Pune in July 2015 has already concluded 2 batches that have benefitted 100 students and currently the third batch is under training.
As part of this program, the beneficiaries will undergo six months of rigorous vocational training in automotive two-wheeler & four-wheeler repair as per the Modular Employability Skills (MES) course with added YES Module.The six month long program will additionally train students in personality, communication skills, customer service, goal setting, financing and Business Management skills, for the holistic development of the beneficiaries. The training will be conducted at the state-of-the art training lab in Hosur, Bengaluru.
Shishir Joshipura, Managing Director & Country Head, SKF India said, “At SKF India, we believe that all our programs must make a meaningful difference in the lives of its recipients. The first batch of the YES Centre in Pune Centre has shown good results, with the students being placed in leading OEMs and Automotive Dealer networks. The secondcentre of the YES program takes us one step closer towards the goal of setting up five such centres across India and training 5000 young people. Our goal is to empower young people and create employability.”
In Bengaluru, SKF has chosen Sambhav Foundation as its implementation partner. As part of the program in Bengaluru, the SKF- Sambhav teams will scout for prospective undergraduate youth from villages and cities around Bengaluru. The centre will also be supported by Lincoln Helios India Pvt. Ltd. The six month long program will additionally train students for overall development in personality, communication skills and customer service.
Shrikant Savangikar – Director, Business Excellence, Quality and Sustainability, SKF India, said “It gives us great pride to launch the second centre of the YES Program, with the all new state-of-the art infrastructure especially created for the YES Skill Development Centre. With the ever-growing number of vehicles on India roads every year, there is massive demand for skilled automotive mechanics in India. To bridge this demand, SKF has put together specially designed programs– to help students get specialized training in industry skills and motivate them to become entrepreneurs”
To provide the best of theoretical and practical knowledge, SKF has built a state-of-the-art training lab and interactive classrooms at the Sambhav Foundation, which offers a superlative learning experience in a simulated environment. The interactive classrooms will facilitate collaborative and interactive learning about automotive vehicle principles and applications, through the latest technology and e-learning courses, thereby, making them tech- savvy mechanics that can provide high quality reliable service to their customers.
The company announced the launch of this program in July last yearas a part of its CSR initiative with the inauguration of the Pune Centre. SKF India, with its vision of scaling up the project, will set up a total of five skill development centres across the country in the next five years.
Sambhav Foundation a charity registered trust U/s 12A (a) of the Income Tax Act, with its registered office at Basaveshwaranagar, Bangalore. Sambhav Foundation is involved in skill training and providing vocational training to young unemployed school and college dropouts and supports new entrepreneurs from the “Bottom of the Pyramid” to start their own business in electrical market through its training partners.
SKF is a leading global supplier of bearings, seals, mechatronics, lubrication systems, and services which include technical support, maintenance and reliability services, engineering consulting and training.
