BMW India Launches Skill Next Initiative, Celebrates 11th Anniversary of India Plant with Sachin Tendulkar
BMW India has announced a new technical skills initiative Skill Next Today at its Chennai Plant. Under the Skill Next Initiative BMW India plans to give automobile engineering students a fair chance to work on the engine and transmission of BMW India’s cars. This unique initiative programme is a part of the 11th anniversary of BMW’s Chennai facility.
Under the BMW Skill Next initiative BMW engine and transmission units will be provided to a few leading engineering and technical institutions across the country. BMW India will deliver these engine and transmission units by this year end at no cost to the engineering and technical institutions across the country. BMW plans to supply its Twin-Power Turbo, In-line 4-cylinder diesel engine, and the eight-speed, Steptronic, automatic transmission under this program.
Legendary cricketer Sachin Tendulkar and students from the College of Engineering of Anna University, launched ‘SKILL NEXT initiative. Together, they assembled a BMW engine and transmission at the main assembly line of BMW Group Plant Chennai to commemorate the beginning of the project.
Mr. 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.”
Dr. Jochen Stallkamp, Managing Director, BMW Group Plant Chennai said, “For BMW Group Plant Chennai, skilled workforce is the foundation to make finest cars of outstanding quality. The know-how of advanced technology and the confidence to work with state-of-the-art machinery and complex processes is a great asset in engineering field. ‘SKILL NEXT»’ initiative will facilitate development of talent in the future generation of engineers. These skills will open up new doors for a workforce that wants to make a successful career in automotive industry in India.”
Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Sachin Tendulkar said, “I strongly feel that initiatives like SKILL NEXT» will promote development of automotive engineering skills in our country. It is an opportunity for technical students in every state and union territory to get directly trained on BMW engine and transmission. I could have never played cricket by just reading about it, I had to be hands-on with the game. Similarly, SKILL NEXT» will make it easier for the students to understand automotive technology through first-hand experience.”
It may be recalled that BMW India had a good 2017 calendar year in terms of market sales where they managed to register 25 per cent growth over the previous year.
We also had a guided factory tour and you can see the pics in the gallery below.
