Jamshedpur, Oct 31: Tata Steel was established in 1907. In order to run the plant equipment, technicians were required from abroad, as there was no institution in the country where Indians could acquire a sound knowledge of metallurgy or steelmaking. Tata Steel, in 1916 while undergoing an expansion and diversification, felt an acute shortage of skilled manpower. To meet this increasing demand of skilled personnel and to be self-reliant, B J Padshah came up with a comprehensive plan to establish a Technical Institute at Sakchi. On November 1, 1921, Jamshedpur Technical Institute (JTI), a pioneering technical training initiative was taken up by the Company. Over the years the Institute has evolved from one that imparted training in the maintenance areas to a Centre for operational training.
Planning growth to meet new demands
JTI, started with a senior apprenticeship scheme to train personnel for supervisory positions in the Tata Steel Works. By 1930 with rapid industrial development in India and development in technology called for a review of the work done by the Institute. The Board of Directors of the Tata Iron and Steel Company set up a Technical Education Advisory Committee (TEAC) on July 18, 1930 and on the basis of the recommendations of this committee, the Al, A2 and B class apprenticeship schemes were inaugurated.
Widening the curriculum
As the institute grew up, a need was felt to do value addition to the existing curriculum. The A2 class scheme was open to honours or a first-class degree holders in metallurgy, engineering or science from abroad, with experience overseas. The Al class scheme was open to graduates with similar qualifications from an Indian or foreign university, but without experience.
The B class scheme was for ordinary degree holders in metallurgy, engineering or science. In 1930, C class apprenticeship scheme for skilled jobs opened up for boys below 18 years of age with a minimum qualification of middle-english standard. They were given five year’s theoretical and practical training to qualify as skilled artisans.
Jamshedpur Technical Institute gears up for two million ton expansion
Jamshedpur Technical Institute(JTI) initiated new programmes to meet the changing requirement of the company for the Two million ton expansion project of Tata Steel in 1955.Tata Steel had well-trained people for its operations and maintenance areas and the training system at JTI was therefore suitably modified. In 1954, a two year scheme to train refractory masons was introduced. To take care of the increased demand for technical personnel, a new scheme was started in 1960, to train science graduates for skilled jobs in the operational areas within the steel works.
Committed to continuous evolution
In 1967, a scheme to train diploma holders in mechanical engineering, called the ‘Junior Supervisory Training Scheme’ was announced. With the introduction of the Apprentice Act of 1961, the Artisan Training Scheme in a Steel Company was replaced by the Trade Apprenticeship Scheme. In 1969 the Technical Probationers Training programme replaced the Operative Training Scheme.
Global collaboration
In December 1989, the Technical Training Division of Tata Steel entered in a five year collaboration with Hoogovens Technical Services, a unit of the Hoogovens steel plant in the Netherlands.
The objective of this collaboration was to upgrade the training facilities within the training division, as well as to improve the overall competencies of the trainers there. The five year collaboration was instrumental in helping Tata Steel improve its training and infrastructural facilities further. This resulted in the value-addition value to the trainers of JTI, by having them undergo hands-on training in Netherlands. Other direct benefits included the enhancement of modern training software and courseware and enabling the company to transfer of knowledge and skills to operators from experienced and knowledgeable mentors on the shop floor. The collaboration also enabled the creation of brand new training facilities collectively housed in the Advanced Training Centre which provided state-of-the-art training equipment and simulators. These were commissioned on March 3, 1995.
Recognition
In 1992 the Jamshedpur Technical Institute was renamed as Shavak Nanavati Technical Institute in memory of Shavak Nanavati, its first Graduate Trainee who went on to become the Managing Director of Tata Steel. In 1993, training in process operations was introduced and the first batch of process operation trainees were recruited. Exhaustive training documentation was created in the areas of skill to standardise training output and improve quality. This greatly helped to enhance the quality of outgoing Trade Apprentices, who bagged ten medals in the seventh Work’s Skill India Competition (Eastern region), held that year. In the same year Usha Martin Ltd. collaborated with SNTI for upgrading their technical training systems. In January 1997, the institute was assessed and recommended for certification in accordance with the requirements of ISO 9001; 1994 by IRQS, making it the first in-house technical training centre in India, to be awarded the standard.
Evolution as a premier corporate technical institute
Shavak Nanavati Technical Institute(SNTI) in order to cater to the changing needs of the company introduced Cluster Manning Training in 1999.In 2003, the Institute was set up to run Diploma Level Program in Electronics, Mechatronics, Tool & Die Making & Computer branches. Training for the Contractor�s employees was extended in 2006.In 2008, SNTI introduced the Technical Exhibition. In 2010, a MOU was signed with NIT Jamshedpur and Certificate Courses for Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering and Metallurgical Engineering were introduced.
In 2011, Directorate General of Employment & Training, Ministry of Labour & Employment, Government of India declared SNTI the �Best Establishment in the Eastern Region at the 86th Regional Competition of Apprentices.�
Over the last 5 years, SNTI has made seminal contributions in expanding the frontiers of Learning and Development practices and has consolidated its reputation as one of the premier corporate training institutions in the world. Some of its most significant contributions are enumerated as under:
SNTI mentored the formation of a new institution, J N Tata Vocational Training Institute (JNTVTI) which was set up in 2015 to provide world class training to the youth of Jharkhand and Odisha and enable them to secure employment in the Tata Steel ecosystem. Over 3500 students of the institute have passed out and 100% of them have secured jobs amongst various companies associated with the Tata Steel ecosystem including vendor partners, suppliers, customers and subsidiaries. The traction for these students is growing rapidly in both domestic and international markets and a few Tata companies are also recruiting from JNTVTI. The courses offered by JNTVTI are recognized under the National Skills Quality Framework (NSQF) by the government of India. JNTVTI currently operates 5 campuses in Jharkhand and Odisha with a plan of expanding its operations to 7 campuses by the end of this FY. Last year 2200 candidates from the community enrolled into various programs at JNTVTI across locations.
SNTI enabled access of its learning products across the world in July�18. Since then over 25 large companies (both Indian and overseas) and about 0.8 million retail customers have benefited from the large array of programs offered by SNTI. SNTI also launched its e-portal Tata Steel Digie- shala in this year which enables corporate and retail customers to access a world class range of technical education programs that are unique in its content and presentation. The customer base of the portal ranges from large corporate houses to school children, faculty members of colleges and schools and students who can choose to buy learning products ranging from TQM, Process Safety, Industry 4.0, IOT, and intricate subjects pertaining to major streams of engineering and sciences. SNTI intends to extend its reach to every household in the nation and improve the knowledge, skills and employability of every customer who enrols into our programs. Tata Steel Digi-eshala not only provides access to e-learning products but also serves as a platform for the learner to connect with SNTI to address any learning and development requirement that a customer may have. A multi modal approach ranging from virtual consultancy, improvement of O&M parameters, coaching on technical matters, specific web based classes etc. are all scheduled and organized over the platform.
SNTI also intends to expand the frontiers of knowledge associated with a Process Plant operations and maintenance activities. With this in mind, SNTI intends to begin 25 Schools of Excellence by the end of the current FY. 9 Schools have been opened so far already and the balance will all be operational by March�21. The schools are specifically related to cutting edge areas of priority in the business activities of any manufacturing company � some examples of such schools are those pertaining to Data Analytics, IOT, Visualization, Lubrication, Hydraulics etc. The schools operates on a 3 tier certification philosophy � viz Basic, Intermediate and Expert and its pedagogy includes class room and simulator training as well as action learning projects. The Schools are open for enrolment for employees as well as external customers
SNTI has also embarked on a unique certification program for every individual in Tata Steel�s value chain who impact the quality of the delivery of our products and services to our customers. To begin with, SNTI, over the last 3 years, has conducted an unprecedented scale of training activities which has culminated in the certification of over 60, 000 vendor partner employees in over 140 skills / trades. This initiative has ensured a significant improvement in the productivity, safety and quality of our operations. Every vendor partner employee now has a government approved skill certification with them which will greatly benefit their career progression in the future.
Digital technologies have been at the forefront of SNTI�s strategies and the institution has made significant interventions to upgrade the digital capabilities of its own operations as well as those of its customers. Significant investment in digital infrastructure now enables SNTI to conduct virtual class rooms across the world with a learner experience that matches and even exceeds the one provided by the traditional class room environment. Our growing portfolio of over 400 e-learning products and our multi modal digital platforms enable us to retain real time connect with our customers. Our initiatives to develop cutting edge learning products on Industry 4.0, both e-learning and the intensive programs delivered through our Schools of Excellence, caters to a wide range of retail and institutional customers ranging from school students to tech savvy professionals.
