An Initiative by Mahindra STEP for Automobile Engg Students

Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. (M&M Ltd.), India's leading SUV manufacturer, today announced an industry-academia partnership with the Government of Kerala ITI, Dhanachupuram. This unique initiative will roll out the Mahindra Special Technical Education Programme (M-STEP) for Automobile Engineering students. A manpower development program, M-STEP will assist the Institute in upgrading its training infrastructure and enhance the students' employability.

The MOU was signed by Ms. Bindhu J.S., The Principal, Govt ITI, Dhanachupuram and Mr. R Kesavamoorthy, Regional Customer Care Manager (Kerala), Automotive Division, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. in the presence of Mr. Shibu John, Honorable Minister of Labour, Government of Kerala. Mr A C George, Member Of Legislative assembly, Parasala region, Kerala, Mr K. Ravi, General Manager - Customer Care (South Zone), Automotive Division, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., was also present on the occasion.

Under the aegis of this program, trained staff from the Mahindra Institute of Learning Excellence (MILE) will impart training in the latest automotive technologies to the students undergoing the Automobile Engineering course at the institute and enable them to become more employable. Mahindra & Mahindra Limited shall also provide the aggregates, study materials and training equipment for implementing the training. On successful completion of the programme, all candidates will be awarded the ‘M-STEP' certification.

Speaking on this partnership, Sanjoy Gupta, Vice President, Customer Care, Automotive Division, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. said, "The Indian automotive industry is continuously in need of skilled manpower. An effective solution to this situation is a strong industry-academia partnership that will help create a skilled and steady pool of productive talent. Keeping this approach in mind, we have partnered with some of the country's leading technical training institutes such as the Government ITI at Dhanachupuram to provide the relevant academic edge to students through a comprehensive curriculum which will empower them to take on newer challenges. Going forward, Mahindra will look at extending this partnership to other ITIs across Kerala."

The M-STEP program will also bring industry perspective to a classroom environment and will offer intensive training in the various specialized functions of the automobile industry. It will cover all the basics of the modern automobile and special focus will be on diagnostic training using the latest computer based diagnostic equipment. The one-year full-time professional training program will comprise both theoretical and practical inputs.