The training center will reach out to dealers, end consumers, artisans, craftsmen, engineering students, etc. This initiative is intended to empower 15 million unskilled and semi-skilled people in India.

The center was inaugurated by Dr. Rudolf Colm, Member, Board of Management, Robert Bosch GmbH.

Speaking at the launch, Dr. Rudolf Colm said that the new training center is expected to double Bosch's reach in 2-3 years with its training initiatives. He said that Bosch’s training and community development initiatives are dedicated to creating a pool of highly skilled manpower and proactively improving the quality of life in rural India.

Speaking of the global power tool market, Dr. Colm said that Bosch is the market leader for portable power tools and each year 100 new power tools are introduced in the market. While the average growth rate in the power tool market is 8%-9%, the power tool market in India had registered a growth rate of 25% in 2010.

When asked about Bosch’s strategies to succeed in the price-sensitive Indian market, Dr. Colm said that Bosch is able to reduce cost by 30-40% through de-specification, localization of components and localization of R&D.

Vijay Pandey, Vice President, Bosch Power Tools, India, said that Bosch commands one third of the power tool market in India. The training initiatives undertaken by the power tool division have shown that 25 to 30% of the people trained by them have converted to using power tools. In addition to the training center, Bosch also uses 4 mobile training vans equipped with power tools and accessories to conduct field training as part of its Bosch Vahan project. He said that 10% of the revenue is ploughed back into the training and development initiatives undertaken by Bosch. When asked about expansion plans, Pandey said that Bosch has plans to expand facility, capacity and augment manpower.

"Training and development is an important part of our culture at Bosch Power Tools, we believe that through good training we can create groups of highly trained efficient workers who can use the world class tools not only for their own personal benefits but also in turn benefit the society. The launch of the training centre and other community development initiatives will help us not only to increase our customer base in India but also create a pool of highly trained skilled workers," said Dr. Rudolf Colm.