At its 11th anniversary of the BMW Group Plant in Chennai, the company launched an initiative called 'Skill Next'. The company's brand ambassador, Sachin Tendulkar together with a few students they assembled a BMW engine and transmission at the main assembly line of BMW Group Plant Chennai to commemorate the beginning of the project. Through the initiative, 365 BMW engine and transmission units will be provided for learning purposes to engineering and technical institutes at no cost. BMW Group India will also deliver the engine and transmission units to campuses of engineering colleges / Industrial Training Institutes / polytechnics at no cost by end of 2018.
(Sachin Tendulkar interacting with students at BMW's Chennai plant)The handover of demonstration units will be done on a first-come-first-serve basis after due undertakings are submitted by the institutes. The undertakings will ensure that the engine and transmission units are used inside the laboratories on campuses of the institutes for learning purposes only.
(Sachin Tendulkar at BMW's Chennai plant)
Vikram Pawah, President, BMW Group India said, "The luxury automotive segment in India has witnessed tremendous growth in the last decade and with the growing number of cars on road, there is a high requirement of good technical talent in the industry. 'SKILL NEXT', will strongly promote the development of technical competencies in students across the country by enhancing their practical knowledge of advanced automotive technology. This initiative will also contribute in increasing the availability of skilled technical staff required at automotive dealerships in India."
The state-of-the-art engineering unit, including the BMW TwinPower Turbo in-line 4-cylinder diesel engine and the BMW eight-speed steptronic automatic transmission, will be handed over to the interested institutes. The engine presently powers six cars locally-produced at BMW Group Plant Chennai - BMW 3 Series (320d), BMW 3 Series Gran Turismo (320d GT), BMW 5 Series (520d), BMW X1 (xDrive 20d), BMW X3 (xDrive 20d) and the upcoming MINI Countryman Cooper D.
Post-handover, a 'Train the Trainer' module will be devised for institutes where 40 Aftersales Master Technicians will conduct extensive workshops at BMW dealerships in more than 20 cities. The module has been devised by professional trainers from BMW Group India Training Centre and BMW Group Plant Chennai. The workshops will be a combination of classroom sessions and hands-on practical sessions using detailed training materials.
