Automotive Skills Development Council (ASDC) participated at the Auto Expo – 2023, India’s flagship motor show organized by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) at the India Expo Mart in Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh and another stall at Automotive Components Manufacturers Association of India’s (ACMA) expo at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi. The stalls were inaugurated by Vinod Aggarwal, ASDC President, with the purpose of showcasing the skilling initiatives of the council before the industry and to make the industry understand the importance of skilling for the automotive industry and the need to attract young professionals to join the industry.
During the inauguration, Vinod Aggarwal, ASDC President, said, “In a bid to attract youth, it is very important for industry & sector skill council needs to have an outreach programme to various expo & academic institution campuses and engage with them to give them an exposure about why this industry is exciting.”
To bridge the gap between industry and academia, ASDC believes that the industry needs to play a bigger role in inviting faculty members to experience what is happening currently in the industry by regularly visiting skill training centres and talking to students. “A lot of times, the industry supports academia typically, through CSR funding. However, the bigger engagement that is important is that the faculty do not have a current exposure to what is happening in the industry,” said Aggarwal. “This is where industry and academia need to work together.”
Arindam Lahiri, CEO, ASDC said: “The industry has a lot of requirements. As a council, we anticipate hiring more than one lakh candidates for the industry this financial year. This is not the complete requirement of the industry. But as a council, we look forward to being able to handle this kind of volume.”
ASDC also acknowledged that the industry needs to show a clear career growth path for the students and enhance the quality of engagement with the people they hire in order to retain talent. “In terms of retaining talent, it is most important the organization needs to show a career growth path for the students, as well as enhance the quality of engagement with the people that they are hiring as apprentices and interns,” said Lahiri.
ASDChighlighted the importance of hiring the right skill level of a person, duly assessed, and certified by an independent body, to retain the talent and addressed the skill mismatch faced while doing recruitments for various organizations. The ASDC invites visitors to the Auto Expo and ACMA expo to visit their stall and learn more about their skilling initiatives. The ASDC also intends to continue its efforts towards bridging the skill gap in the automotive industry and invites stakeholders to join hands with the council in this endeavour.
