Hitachi’s Skill Development initiatives for needs of AC and cooling experts

Hitachi’s Skill Development initiatives aim to reinforce employment opportunities and self-reliance mission amid the pandemic plans to create more than 50,000 world-class technicians and cooling experts by 2025.

For the economic recovery from the COVID-19 crisis to be durable and resilient, it is critical for India to take skill-building of youth to the next level. The India Cooling Action Plan by Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change estimates that there are about 200,000 AC service technicians in India, most of them functioning in the informal sector. India’s cooling demand is likely to grow 8 times in 20 years, with the demand for cooling in buildings, alone, rising 11 times (Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, 2019).

As people are spending more time at home amid the pandemic, the need to regularly service and maintain air conditioners to ensure utmost hygiene standards is rising significantly. These factors are driving huge demand for skilled technicians in Air Conditioner and Refrigeration segment. In its endeavour to accelerate employment opportunities by catering to the growing demand for AC and cooling experts, Johnson Controls – Hitachi Air Conditioning India Limited (JCH-IN) is constantly introducing new skill-building initiatives and imparting world-class technical training in AC repairing and maintenance.

Virtual skill-building

To make skill development in Air Conditioners and Refrigeration uninterrupted and boundary-less amid COVID-19 pandemic, the company has taken the virtual skill-building route. The company has seamlessly designed virtual skilling curriculum and is organising online classes at Skill Development Centres and ITI’s where majority of the rural students are attending classes through mobile phones in absence of laptops and computers at home. So far over 1500 students have benefitted from these online classes.

As part of its CSR initiative, the company intends to train rural youth across the country through its world-class trainers, specially designed curriculum and 5 skill development centres in Andhra Pradesh and 1 skill development centre in Gujarat. The company is also aiming high to create more than 50,000 world-class technicians and cooling experts by 2025 through its four states of the art Engineering Excellence Centres located in all four metro cities of the country.

Gurmeet Singh, Chairman and Managing Director, Johnson Controls- Hitachi Air Conditioning India Ltd., said, “A robust skill development ecosystem of a country has the potential to reduce unemployment and underemployment, increase productivity, and improve standards of living. Technical Skill development of rural India’s young population can contribute to structural transformation and economic growth by enhancing employability and labour productivity. Hitachi is a global leader in air conditioning technology and we hope to produce world-class technicians at our centres.”

Singh says further, “From metros to sub-urban and rural areas, air conditioners have now become a necessity to keep our indoor environment comfortable and healthy. The rising demand for ACs and cooling solutions will further boost the need to create world-class technicians in the post covid era. We are committed to cater to this demand, accelerate employment opportunities and support the government vision by skilling rural youth in AC repairing and maintenance.”

Collaboration with Invired Foundation for Skill development drive

The fastest growing construction sector is the second largest employer in India but the backbone of the sector, the Construction Worker, continues to live a life of abject poverty devoid of even basic amenities. In collaboration with Invired Foundation, Johnson Controls-Hitachi Air Conditioning India Ltd., has initiated a unique skill development drive offering training, assessment and certification of workers in the format of an On-the-Job Training Program. Carried out on site of buildings under construction in Maharashtra, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Gurugram the company has trained a large number of electricians on various skills to ensure safety, quality and low wastage in electrical work, especially in air conditioner installation. Under this initiative the candidates will be given a government certification under the Skill India mission which is valid in India and abroad. The holder of the skill certificate also becomes eligible for loan under the Mudra Scheme. The project has also empowered the workers with digital and financial literacy along with safety related training to guard them against injuries and disablement.

Skill training in AC repairing and maintenance

In a landmark initiative, Johnson Controls – Hitachi Air Conditioning India Limited (JCH-IN) has also collaborated with Andhra Pradesh State Skill Development Corporation (APSSDC) and Industrial Training Institute to impart skill training in AC repairing and maintenance so as to create new job avenues for rural youth in Andhra Pradesh. To take skill development and rural youth employability to newer heights in Andhra Pradesh, the company has launched 5Skill Development Centres in Vijayawada, Kakinada, Tirupati, Anantapur and Bobbili, covering the entire state of Andhra Pradesh. The company intend to support India’s skill development mission especially in these unprecedented times and is aggressively planning to take these partnerships to other states.

Hitachi’s Engineering Excellence Centres initiative is in line with the government’s Skill India project as the technicians usually lack a formal training or course needed to become a subject matter expert. With these training centres the company endeavours to enable India’s technical talent pool with global industry expertise and improve their quality of life. Since the inception (2017) of its four EECs in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata; the company has imparted training to more than 15,000 trainees. Hitachi has invested in excess of Rs. 15 Cr. in establishing these four regional excellence centres. With a cumulative floor area of 3158 sq. mt. (34000 sq. ft.), Hitachi currently offers the biggest training facility for single product category in India.