Posted on Apr 19, 2017

Bosch’s Training Programs aims to keep Indian youth ‘Fit for Future’

Taking cognizance of India’s evolving business landscape and its dynamic social structure, Bosch Limited has developed training programs tailored to address the demands of India’s manufacturing and service industry. The skilling initiative developed for both industries is different in nature and outcome. The program intended at the manufacturing industry comes from a more long-term, ‘hard-skills’ development perspective, while for the service industry it is more short-term, ‘soft-skills’ oriented.

The Bosch Vocational Center (BVC) is a prestigious facility that has gained immense repute over the years in the area of vocational training. To build on our expertise in the area of vocational skilling, we expanded the sphere of our influence in the training domain to develop customized programs that are targeted towards making school dropouts employable in the service industry,

commented Mr. Soumitra Bhattacharya, managing director, Bosch Limited, and president, Bosch Group India.

Adding further he said,

We offer training programs at a scale that outweighs our own professional-cum-industrial requirement. With a combined beneficiary strength of over 11,000, across both programs, Bosch Limited’s skilling initiatives are well attuned to the needs of the industry. We have a job placement rate of over 95 percent and this is a big advantage in today’s volatile business environment. In ways such as these and others, Bosch Limited’s efforts are directed towards enhancing the world’s fastest growing economy’s (India) quality of life.

Forthcoming legislation mandates, such as, the leapfrogging to BS VI by 2020, signal the winds of change that will be witnessed across India’s manufacturing ecosystem. Increased levels of automation on the shop floor will necessitate highly skilled workers. Above all, India is home to the world’s largest youth population, so the nation is faced with the added challenge of providing employment that meets the aspirations of this young brigade. The Company’s vocational training program ties in well with the ‘Make in India’ program (a national initiative that is expected to generate around 90 million jobs by 2025). Imparted at the Bosch Vocational Center, as of December 2016, around 3,500 individuals have passed out, with around 25 percent finding employment outside of India.

Working towards a goal

Over four years, 7,500 youth have graduated from Bosch Limited’s skilling program, BRIDGE (Bosch’s Response to India’s Development and Growth through Employability Enhancement). The Company’s, short-term, ‘soft-skills’ model is targeted at employing the youth in the service industry. The primary focus of this initiative is to help school dropout youth reshape their life and help them become financially independent. Yearly across India, over 22 million students enter grade 11 and 12, of this close to 25 percent dropout of school or fail. This segment finds it difficult to gain employment, thus also impacting India’s social development. This short-term initiative from the company finds resonance with the Central Government’s ‘Skill India’ campaign, where the focus is mass employment generation. Furthermore, the success of a program largely depends on the availability of quality trainers. To address this gap, Bosch has designed an exclusive Train the Trainer (TTT) program. By investing approximately INR 25,000 on a person, Bosch India has trained over 200 individuals.

Suraj Saini, 22, sold vegetables for a living before signing on for the Bosch BRIDGE program. Intending to arm himself with necessary skills to go back home to Jaipur and set up his own store, he acquired various life skills that helped him understand how customer-client relationships work. His domain training, which is a part of BRIDGE curriculum also assisted him with regard to the next step he chose to take on. He believed that the standard of learning at Bosch was impeccable and would help students change their perspective of living life, just like he did. Now employed at Sherit Honda as service supervisor, Suraj recalls that BRIDGE helped him successfully secure a well-paying job through the practical approach and skills-based learning imparted to him. What he also learnt from the program was a disciplined approach to working, and working in a team.

Bosch skilling program – marking the beginning of many firsts

Over the past two years the Company has developed a new training program that focusses on producing high quality skilled artisans, such as carpentry and electrician, in India. Apart from developing a world-class curriculum, Bosch Limited also has two state-of-the-art training facilities in India. The facility in Bengaluru is focused on carpentry, while the one in Nashik is focused on electrician.

Bosch helps de-mystifying science for underprivileged students

Re-imagining the way science is taught, especially in schools which don’t have a science lab, Bosch India in partnership with Agastya Foundation is making learning science an experiential, exciting and engaging subject. By simplifying science concepts, Bosch is sparking a spirit of enthusiasm and interest among school-going children.

As a leading provider of technology, Bosch Limited is a staunch advocate of imparting quality science education, especially among children. In this endeavor, we have identified the right partners to offer, both students and teachers, hands-on models and experiments. This allows the end-user to retain the key concepts learnt. Apart from sharing our passion for science, it is also our intention to de-mystify and simplify the subject,

commented Mr. Bhattacharya.

By investing around INR 500 on each student, Bosch intends to make grass root changes by targeting children from grade 5 to 8. The Mobile Science Lab (MSL), travels across remote schools of rural and semi-urban India. These portable labs encompass over 200 hands-on science models covering wide range of subjects such as Physics, Chemistry and Biology.

Bosch Limited, aims to bring about a change in mindset, from accepting norms and thinking within defined boundaries, to encouraging young minds to question defined standards and adopt creative ways of problem solving. By innovating the mediums of teaching and improving the quality of content, Bosch India aims to improve the attendance rate at government schools across India.