Empowering the youth

The Shavak Nanavati Technical Institute (SNTI) at Jamshedpur turned 100 recently. A look at its history and how it continues to support youngsters qualify themselves

“Let the Indian learn to do things by himself,” said J.N. Tata, long before the need for technical skill development was felt. It was in this context that Tata Steel established the Jamshedpur Technical Institute (JTI) in 1921. Now known as the Shavak Nanavati Technical Institute (in memory of Shavak Nanavati, the first graduate trainee to join the company in 1932, who then went on to become the Managing Director of Tata Steel in 1970), the institute turned 100 years in November last year. In this freewheeling chat, Jaya Singh Panda, Chief-Learning and Development, Tata Steel, talks about the history of the iconic institute and how it continues to empower the youth.

The institute offers upskilling, reskilling, and skill development programmes in cutting-edge areas such as Data Analytics, IoT, Visualisation, Lubrication, Hydraulics, Opencast Drilling, and Blasting. Panda says that the courses go beyond the theoretical technical principles and are industry-relevant. In the last three years, SNTI has conducted training on a massive scale, certifying over 70,000 employees of its vendor partners across locations, in over 140 skills/trades. “It has trained people in various trades over the last century. Currently, over 1,600 cadre recruits (Management Trainees, Assistant Engineer Trainees, Junior Engineer Trainees and Trade Apprentices) are trained and placed at Tata Steel’s facilities every year.” Learners can use the Tata Steel Digie-Shala e-platform to connect with SNTI and get help with any learning and development needs they may have. This e-platform offers a multi-modal approach spanning virtual consultancy, improvement of operations and maintenance parameters, technical coaching, specific web-based classes, and much more.

The industry-oriented mechanical courses help students become future-ready by gaining a basic understanding and knowledge of how heavy tools and machinery work. Similarly, the electrician package helps one understand all the concepts of electrical systems, machines, and components, in addition to providing technical assistance whenever required. This enables the trainee to become adept with the mandatory skills mandatory. The package for mechanical fitter helps students in gaining a basic understanding and knowledge of how heavy tools and machinery work. The candidates acquire knowledge on automobile designing, electric motors, aircraft, and other heavy vehicles.

In keeping with the times, SNTI has made significant investments in digital infrastructure. It has a portfolio of over 400 e-learning products delivered through several digital platforms and has also launched 27 Schools of Excellence in the last two years to impart training in modern technologies that are in demand in the manufacturing sector like Industry 4.0, Visualisation, Data Analytics, Hydraulics and Pneumatics, Instrumentation, PLC, and more using e-learning and offline customised programmes. Leveraging the knowledge gained through administering a 100-year-old training institute, the future goal is to establish a culture in which “Learning is Exciting”.