Toyota Trains India Teens

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In 2005, when Toyoshima visited several of the state-run Indian Technical Institutes from which most auto companies hired, the curriculum was out of sync with industry needs. Toyoshima decided drastic action was needed for the vital Indian market, and he convinced his bosses in Japan to set up TTTI in India. The institute's goal was to bridge the knowledge gap by training young people and equipping them with Toyota's best manufacturing practices. "Our school can expedite what needs to be taught," Toyoshima says.

Self-Improvement Part of the Curriculum

Another, ulterior motive was ensuring labor loyalty. For the past five years Toyota India has suffered a series of strikes and a lockout, with labor unions protesting in support of better wages and against the dismissal of two of their members. Training youth in-house helps build loyalty for Toyota on the assembly line. Toyota sends the best Indian engineers and technicians for specialized training in Japan, and upon their return they will be the new trainers for the students.

The institute has three laboratories displaying the various characteristics of the shop floor, like welding and assembly-line equipment. The students will spend two years in the classroom and labs before stepping onto the shop floor in their third year. The institute, including the dormitories with pink-colored walls and pink bedspreads, is squeaky clean. The only evidence that there are students around is in the lobby, where an entire wall has colorful charts and boards that students have to fill out. Not only does it help supervisors keep tabs on their wards, there's scope for improvement at every stage.

The institute's coursework is based on Toyota's Japanese parent institute's curriculum, but adapted to India—offering more wholesome education for students who have lived modest, unexposed lives. "So 33% of our curriculum is based on mind and body development," says V. Ramamurthy, dean of TTTI.

For instance, along with automobile assembly, automobile paint, automobile welding, and mechatronics (integrated mechanical electrical control & software design), students take self-improvement courses such as home science and yoga, as well as regular subjects such as English and history. The boys also receive lessons on personal grooming, cleanliness, and discipline. "The philosophy is to expose problems and take remedial action so that they don't occur," says the school's principal, T. Somanath, who was earlier the head of Nettur Training Institute, 248 miles away.

Corporate Social Responsibility

For many students, the institute provides a novel exposure that has changed their world. Rangaiyya Pandurangappa, a short, freckled 17-year-old, says he had not tucked his shirt into his shorts ever, nor had he worn shoes with laces before coming to TTTI. The only son of a peanut farmer, he hadn't even heard of Toyota in his village of Sriya, 54 miles from Bangalore, until he saw the ad in the local paper. "After coming to the institute, I even wash my hands before meals," he says.

Toyota is viewing the first batch of students as a test case for the future. The company plans to employ the students once they have completed their three-year training, though they will have the option of leaving the company and working elsewhere. There is no bond to be signed, and students are free to join other automakers. "It is a corporate social responsibility initiative for us," says Somanath.

But Toyota also wants to make its investment pay off. When the boys go on vacation, Toyota encourages them to go home in their Toyota institute uniforms which, together with the finger-pointing routine, is bound to leave an impression on the locals. Harish's experience shows the strategy is working. When he was home, he was bombarded with questions from his friends. It made him immensely proud. "I have suddenly gained respect in my society," he says, beaming.

Lakshman covers India business for BusinessWeek .