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The customised training programme has been introduced across 130 Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) in 24 states and 4 union territories in India.
“Supporting the Government of India’s carbon net-zero objective, the training will serve as one of the critical key enablers in faster adoption of EVs in the country,” the automaker said in
a statement.
“This training programme prepares future automotive technicians to safely and efficiently handle high-voltage electric systems, addressing industry needs as the number of such vehicles
increases in the overall car parc,” it said.
As part of carmaker's Corporate Social Responsibility initiative, Maruti Suzuki aims to develop a skilled workforce for the overall automobile industry. The company has invested
approximately ₹3.9 crore towards this initiative.
“We want to maximise adoption of Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) in the country. When we researched the reasons for low adoption of EVs, one of the major hurdles in the minds of the
customers was confidence in after-sales support. Incidentally, this is an area of strength for Maruti Suzuki. While 90% of EV sales happen in 100 cities, we will go 10x and cover 1,000
cities with more than 1,500 workshops equipped to provide service support to BEVs,” said Rahul Bharti, Senior Executive Officer, Corporate Affairs, Maruti Suzuki.
“The fundamental to good service is a trained technician. Our High Voltage training CSR programme in about 130 ITIs of India will train more than 4,100 students every year. At the end of the
course, these trained technicians are free to join Maruti Suzuki service network or any other OEM. Hence, this upskilling of students is strategic to BEV adoption in India. The high voltage
training will be useful for Strong Hybrid cars also, and so there is a synergy between both technologies,” explained Bharti.
The high voltage training programme is introduced for second-year ITI students and covers topics like the fundamentals of EVs and HEVs, safety procedures for handling high voltage systems,
usage of special tools and equipment, and best practices for system maintenance. In addition, Maruti Suzuki also conducts specialised skill enhancement for the faculty of the ITIs with
train-the-trainer programmes and provides training equipment and tools to conduct a pioneering training programme.
These efforts will go a long way in instilling confidence among customers for adoption of newer technologies, the automaker said.
This comes days after Maruti Suzuki has expanded its CSR initiatives in eight villages near its Kharkhoda facility. As part of its commitment to community development, the company is
carrying out focused projects in areas such as education, infrastructure, healthcare, and sanitation, all developed in collaboration with local community leaders.