Tata Motors to increase women workforce to 20 per cent on shop floor by 2018
Production shop floors of most automobile brands in India consist of only male-dominated workforce. However, Tata Motors is set to change this trend. The company will be increasing its women workforce from the present 3 per cent to 20 per cent in the next two years. The company also wants to reduce its dependence on Industrial Training Institutes (ITI) and instead want to hire 10th and 12th pass students directly from their villages and train them at the company's own training centres.
In an interview to Livemint, Gajendra Chandel, chief human resources officer, Tata Motors, said, "There is misconception that women can't work in manufacturing because there is a lot of heavy lifting to do. But in reality, everything is mechanised and there are hauls and lifts that do all the lifting. So women can be easily trained to work in a plant."
This traditional mindset has often made car manufacturers overlook the potential of women workforce and instead look at government-run ITIs for their entry-level staff. Ganjendra further added that the company would visit remote and rural areas which haven't seen any industrialisation and identify young women talent, thereby providing them necessary training to make them capable for production shop floor.
Tata Motors has already signed a MoU with government recognised Automotive Skill Development Council (ASDC) in May this year. This partnership will help the company's skill development centres set across its six plants in the country. Helping this initiative is the new Factories Act that the central government has asked many states to amend. This will further allow more women to get employed at various manufacturing facilities.
Source: Livemint.com
