Skilled manpower and knowledge are key factors for the economic and social growth of any country. India is the second largest English-speaking nation with a strong base of middle-class consumers. India is a young nation; it’s a developing economy, and we need to use this opportunity. A young country means having more innovative minds, if skilled properly. To convert the growing challenges into opportunities, India needs talented, trained, certified and skilled manpower. However, only 2 per cent of the total workforce in India has undergone skills training at present. The infrastructure sector too faces a huge shortage of skilled manpower.

While the government has put an impetus on skills training, a lot of work needs to be done to ensure India’s young population is trained and skilled. As the infrastructure sector sees growth, the construction equipment will also pick up thus, generating employment for skilled manpower. According to experts, by 2020, the construction equipment industry will need an estimated 1 lakh trained operators and 3 lakh trained mechanics.

JCB India continues to play an instrumental part in training young people as operators, thus creating livelihood for many. JCB along with its dealer network has set up 12 fully functional operational training centres across India (Ballabgarh, Chhindwara, Jamshedpur, Madurai, Patna, Kathmandu, Jalandhar, Pune, Raipur, Silchar, Kendrapara and Kharagpur) and trained more than 20,000 young men as operators till date.

“When I got the opportunity to join the JCB operator training program, it was like a dream come true,” said Balnath Tupe from Maharashtra. “This course has definitely changed my life. JCB has given me professional success and personal harmony. My JCB has helped my children get better education. What more can I ask for.”The course developed by JCB India is primarily customised. The course module is simple and includes class-room training on machine operation and maintenance, features etc. along with practical hands-on training. Apart from focusing on the quality and productivity aspects, the trainer also emphasises on the safety aspect of operating the machine.

“JCB India is extremely proud of its operator training programmes. These programs are run on a not-for-profit basis and a nominal fee is charged to cover up the operational expenses. Through these programmes, the scope to bring employment to the youth of India is immense.” said Vipin Sondhi, MD and CEO, JCB India. “A ‘chhotu’ is a helper who cleans the machine and aspires to be an operator one day. We train thousands of such ‘chhotus’ across India. Their aspirations take them to even higher levels as many of them are today machine owners.”

Thousands of operators have benefitted from the JCB operator training program. Many operators have ventured overseas and are today successfully operating machines in the Middle East or other parts of the world. Several operators have graduated and become machine owners as well, thus bringing prosperity to themselves and their families.
Since its beginning, JCB has touched the lives of millions of people in the country. It has given them the hope of having a better tomorrow.

JCB training centres are enabling us to bridge the gap between the demand and supply of new talents and trained operators to improve the productivity of the machines for better return of investment.