Maruti Suzuki initiates DOJO skill training programme

- DOJO- a training program for fresh workmen as well as the existing workforce.

- Over 90 DOJO centres already operational at Maruti Suzuki’s partner facilities.

- To set up 400 DOJO training centres by 2020.

Maruti Suzuki has inaugurated a skill training initiative called DOJO. The DOJO is a training ground for fresh workmen and also for the re-skilling of existing workforce before being employed at the manufacturing facility.

The DOJO - which means ‘a place of the way’ in Japanese - serves as a workshop for the skilling, re-skilling and right skilling of workers in the manufacturing parlance. These centres would help to acclimatise professionals and prepare them, especially the new workforce, before they join the shop floor.

The carmaker has institutionalised the DOJO centres, while its partners will invest in setting up the facility. Around 90 DOJO centres are already operational at Maruti Suzuki’s partner facilities. And 400 such DOJO centres are expected to be set up across the country by 2020.

Ideally, a new worker is trained for up to two weeks before he joins the shop floor. As a part of this initiative, a worker is trained extensively in a task using models or mock-ups. At the end of this training program, an assessment test is conducted, and only qualified workers are sent to the shop floor, claims the carmaker. The re-skilling of existing workforce is also undertaken to refresh manufacturing concepts and update the workers with technological advancements. The DOJO centre also provides both theoretical and practical lessons of basic concepts of manufacturing apart from a brief overview of the company. Inculcating the knowledge about the company will help the workers stay connected with the company, believes the Indo-Japanese carmaker. The DOJO training program also aims at on-job training, while also focusing on a safety culture.

Commenting on the skilling initiative, A K Tomer, executive director, Maruti Suzuki, said, “To meet the ever evolving customer expectations, ensuring quality at vendor-end is critical. To help achieve this, Maruti Suzuki has institutionalized the concept of DOJO Centre to be set up at our partners’ facilities. By 2020, our over 400 tier-I partners will have DOJO centres. These state-of-the-art centres develop skills in areas of Quality, Safety and Productivity. This effort is to bring global quality standards and complement the Make in India initiative.”