Selected Projects
Testimonials
“Every dollar invested in these promising talents is money well spent and a win-win for workers and companies. The Swiss apprenticeship model makes economic sense because it not only gives graduates a chance to start their careers fully prepared, but the company also benefits from a highly skilled workforce.”
Kamesh Sundaram
Head - People Development at Texmo Industries“When our students graduate from SkillSonics training programs they are ready for the shop floor and are immediately deployable as a productive workforce”
Kirit Patel
Assistant Manager, Swiss VET and Welding, GMM Pfaudler“Students are able to perform a quality check on their own – they are trained to identify and correct the mistakes when the required quality standard is not met. The Swiss methodology prevents them from making the same errors again.”
Hindalco Industries Limited
Established in 1962 in Renukoot, Uttar Pradesh, Hindalco Industries Limited (http://www.hindalco.com) is one of the oldest plants of the Aditya Birla Group. It is the metals flagship company of the Aditya Birla Group. With a consolidated turnover of US$ 18.7 billion, Hindalco is an industry leader in aluminium and copper and one of Asia’s biggest producers of primary aluminium. It is the world’s largest flat-rolled products manufacturer and recycler of aluminium. Its state-of-the-art aluminium facility includes an ore refinery, a smelter and a semi-fabrication plant. Hindalco has been accorded Star Trading House status in India, and its aluminium is accepted for delivery under the High-Grade Aluminium Contract on the London Metal Exchange (LME), while its copper quality is also registered on the LME with Grade A accreditation.
Executive Summary
Hindalco was looking for a solution to fulfil the training needs of its employees by having an in-house set up for a Hindalco School of Excellence (HSE) outside the plant premises at Renukoot. The HSE was to be equipped with classrooms and lab facilities for courses in Fitter-Mechanical, Welding, Electrical, Pneumatics & PLC, and Mechatronics. The HSE should initially cater to the training needs of 3 of Hindalco’s plants in the Renukoot cluster and, going forward, be able to scale to meet the requirements of other Aditya Birla Group companies, including Grasim Chemicals, Hitech Carbon and Ultratech Cements).
Challenges
Hindalco was grappling with the following challenges which it sought to solve through SkillSonics:
- Skill depletion across the hierarchy due to high number of retiring and ageing workforce.
- No role / competency based curriculum for mid and junior level managerial staff.
- Lack of required skills among the workforce to do designated jobs/roles.
- Need to address lack of flexibility by creating multiskilled operators.
- Lack of proper training infrastructure.
How SkillSonics Helped
SkillSonics first helped Hindalco in setting up the Hindalco Technical Training Centre (HTTC) in the company’s own school building. It designed the complete plan for revamping the old building to fit the purpose of the HTTC equipped with classrooms, lab facilities, recreational rooms etc. SkillSonics then developed the right mix of job role specific courses for workmen and long-term programs for Graduate and Diploma Engineers, joining the plant. SkillSonics also connected Hindalco with suitable OEM vendors for equipment and machinery.
The courseware designed by SkillSonics to meet Hindalco’s requirements for Fitter Mechanical, Electrician, PLC & Pneumatics, Mechatronics, Welding & Fabrication follows Swiss methodology with a 70% portion of the program focused on generic manufacturing concepts, and a 30% portion on specifics of the Hindalco plants involved. Each module integrates 5S, Kaizen and similar associated work skills. The modules are developed in consultation with the plant heads and based also on inputs from Hindalco.
Results
SkillSonics has been able to help Hindalco achieve the following results:
- Building of a state-of-the-art Technical Training Centre equipped with appropriate machinery and equipment for in-house training needs.
- Creating a pool of retired supervisors/operators for hands-on and on the job trainings.
- Designing a robust mix of certificate programs to skill the workforces including graduate, diploma engineers and contract workmen.
- Offering high quality content, including theory, practical, work-based trainings, and shop floor on-the-job training.
- Preparing and delivering job-role specific trainings and multiskilling programs for the workforce.
- Developing a model that can offer scalable quality training services for Hindalco’s Renukoot cluster and adjacent companies of the Aditya Birla Group in the near future.