Bosch invests in the upskilling of India's human capital for sustained social growth
locations consenting to the transfer to a new company. The purchaser intends to take on all the just under 7,000 SG associates, as well as all the SG locations. Bosch and the German employee representatives’ negotiating team have now reached an agreement that supplements the original agreement with provisions relating to the purchaser. Prospects Explaining his company’s decision, Chengyao Jiao, the CEO of ZMJ, says: “We are very pleased that we can now add to and successfully further extend our business with these new associates, their expertise, and the excellent products of the Starter Motors and Generators division. In the future, we want the Starter Motors and Generators division to play a central role in our company.” Jiao adds: “Above all, we look forward to working with the existing management team to build up a business in the rapidly growing emerging markets. In addition, we want to further strengthen our position in the markets in which SG is already a leader.” ZMJ will support SG in further expanding its competitive produc t portfolio. Improved regional presence, especially in Asia, will allow SG’s business to be expanded sustainably and profitably. “We have achieved our goal and found a purchaser offering a viable industrial concept and a long-term perspective for successfully taking this business forward internationally, and thus for associates,” says Dr. Rolf Bulander, chairman of the Mobility Solutions business sector and member of the management board of Robert Bosch GmbH. Commenting on the sale, he says: “I am confident that, in this new constellation, the division can seize its opportunities for a positive future.” In mid-2015, Bosch announced it was examining strategic options for realigning the division. These included the search for a partner or buyer. Bosch is convinced that, in this constellation, the division’s competitiveness can be increased and that further stimuli for growth can be created. Bosch has invested a lot in making this happen. The carveout was the most complex one in the company’s history. Taking cognizance of India’s evolving business landscape and its dynamic social structure, Bosch Limited has developed training programs tailored to address the demands of India’s manufacturing and service industry. The skilling initiative developed for both industries is different in nature and outcome. The program intended at the manufacturing industry comes from a more long-term, ‘hard-skills’ development perspective, while for the service industry it is more shortterm, ‘soft-skills’ oriented. “The Bosch Vocational Center (BVC) is a prestigious facility that has gained immense repute over the years in the area of vocational training. To build on our expertise in the area of vocational skilling, we expanded the sphere of our influence in the training domain to develop customized programs that are targeted towards making school dropouts employable in the service industry,” commented Mr. Soumitra Bhattacharya, managing director, Bosch Limited, and president, Bosch Group India. Adding further he said, “We offer training programs at a scale that outweighs our own professionalcum-industrial requirement. With a combined beneficiary strength of over 11,000, across both programs, Bosch Limited’s skilling initiatives are well attuned to the needs of the industry. We have a job placement rate of over 95 percent and this is a big advantage in today’s volatile business environment. In ways such as these and others, Bosch Limited’s efforts are directed towards enhancing the world’s fastest growing economy’s (India) quality of life.” Forthcoming legislation mandates, such as, the leapfrogging to BS VI by 2020, signal the winds of change that will be witnessed across India’s manufacturing ecosystem. Increased levels of automation on the shop floor will necessitate highly skilled