SKF India, India’s leading bearing manufacturer, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Tata Community Initiatives Trust (TCIT) to explore and develop skill development initiatives through Tata STRIVE. Tata STRIVE is an initiative of the Tata Trusts that addresses the national challenge of skill development of the youth – by collaborating with and bringing together the collective expertise of various players – Tata and non-Tata companies, governments, banks and fellow-NGOs – in the ecosystem. To be implemented and delivered at ‘SKF-Tata STRIVE Skill Development Centre’ – the vocational training center set up at Pune in Maharashtra, the program will reach out to the underprivileged youth of the country and equip them with skills relevant to the industry, thereby improving their employability.
Speaking on the partnership, Manish Bhatnagar, MD, SKF India said, “Education and skills are areas where we can make enormous change. We welcome our new partnership with Tata STRIVE to strengthen education, bridge the skills gap that exists across the industry value chain and boost employability of young people. As a socially responsible corporate, we want all our programs to make a meaningful difference and we will continue to undertake similar initiatives in the future.”
Anita Rajan, CEO, Tata STRIVE, said, “We are pleased to partner with SKF India and bring industry approved skill development programs that aim to make youth job ready. The setting up of the centre is a clear joint commitment for action to improve young people’s employability through quality training programs. Together we hope to build and strengthen the bridge that seamlessly enables youth transition into the workforce.”
Under this partnership, SKF India and Tata STRIVE will jointly develop and deliver vocational training courses for unemployed and/or employed young people within their operational areas. Areas of focus covered under this MoU will include vocational trainings on automobile technician, personality development, management skills and entrepreneurship skills. Additionally, through this partnership a Business Incubation Centre (model garage) for enabling sustainable livelihood training through entrepreneurship will be set up.
Skill development is essential for supporting India’s future economic growth. SKF anticipated this demand for skilled manpower and started a unique program – Youth Empowerment at SKF (YES), a flagship CSR program for vocational skill development in 2015. The program trained youth to work at various automotive OEMs (original equipment manufacturers), dealer service network and workshops and imparted entrepreneurial skills to enable them to set up their own vehicle service stations in future.