CB BureauTowards the end of last year, Maruti Suzuki announced the successful completion of the driving training of 15,000 tribal youth at the All Gujarat Institute of Driving, Technical Training and Research (AGIDTTR) in Waghodia, Gujarat. The company also claimed that 70 per cent of the trained had secured employment or had opted for entrepreneurship.
CB’s questions on the break-up of the 70 per cent who secured employment and those who had become entrepreneurs, average salary, and long-term impact assessment of the training programme were left unanswered by the company.
The training programme is a joint initiative by Maruti Suzuki and the Government of Gujarat and the purported aim is to make them employable.
AGIDTTR was established in 2009 as a public-private partnership between the Ministry of Tribal Development (Gujarat) and Maruti Suzuki. Through its driver training programmes, the institute focuses on providing skills set for employment opportunities to tribal youth. The course curriculum at this residential driving school is designed to incorporate basic life skills training and personality development. The 30- to 45-day course equips candidates to drive light motor vehicles (LMV), commercial vehicles, heavy motor vehicles, buses and forklifts.