Ten employees of Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) were felicitated by the Government of Karnataka for their achievements at the WorldSkills Competition 2024, held in Lyon, France. The felicitation ceremony was conducted at Vidhan Soudha in Bengaluru in the presence of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Minister for Medical Education and Skill Development, Sharanprakash R. Patil.
All ten awardees—Prem Vasanth Kumar, Bhanuprasad S. M., Darshan Gowda C. S., Nelson, Mohith M. U., Harish R., Hemanth, Udhay, Rohan, and Sudeep—are graduates of the Toyota Technical Training Institute (TTTI).
Prem Vasanth Kumar received a Medallion of Excellence in Additive Manufacturing, while Bhanuprasad and Darshan Gowda earned the same in Mechatronics. These medallions are awarded to competitors who score 700 or more points at WorldSkills. The Mechatronics team also won second place in the Sustainable Practice Award category.
In national-level competitions held prior to the global event, Nelson, Mohith, and Harish won the Gold Medal in the Manufacturing Team Challenge. Udhay, Hemanth, and Rohan were awarded the Silver Medal, while Sudeep earned a Medallion of Excellence in Mechatronics and Car Painting.
The Karnataka government awarded cash prizes to the winners: INR 500,000 for each Medallion of Excellence recipient, INR 300,000 for national-level gold medallists, and INR 75,000 for silver medallists.
“We are extremely proud of our employees and their outstanding accomplishments at WorldSkills 2024. We thank the Government of Karnataka for recognising and encouraging the winners. Their journey is an inspiring example of what can be achieved when dedication meets opportunity,” said G. Shankara, Executive Vice President – Finance and Administration, Toyota Kirloskar Motor.
TTTI, established in 2007, offers a three-year residential program in trades such as assembly, painting, welding, and mechatronics. The institute has graduated over 1,400 students, all of whom have secured job placements. TKM recently doubled its intake capacity and introduced reserved seats for female candidates.
In addition, Toyota runs the Toyota Kaushalya program, a two-year training initiative for underprivileged youth, and partners with technical institutes across India through the Toyota Technical Education Program (T-TEP), which has trained more than 14,000 students across 68 centres.
Toyota Kirloskar Motor is a joint venture between Toyota Motor Corporation (Japan), which holds 89 percent equity, and Kirloskar Systems Limited (India), which holds the remaining 11 percent. The company employs approximately 6,000 people and operates two plants in Bidadi, Karnataka, with a combined installed production capacity of up to 342,000 units annually. Vehicles manufactured include the Innova HyCross, Innova Crysta, Fortuner, Legender, Camry Hybrid, Urban Cruiser Hyryder, and Hilux.
