In an effort towards conducting skill development programmes for the driver community, Eicher Group Foundation, CSR arm of Eicher Group which includes VE Commercial Vehicles (VECV) inaugurated the first ever Eicher Academy for Drivers, at Indore. This one of a kind initiative has been launched to impart high quality pre-licensing training for drivers of commercial vehicles. Deepak Joshi, Minister of Technical Education, Skill Development, Employment, Labour & School Education, Government of Madhya Pradesh, inaugurated the training centre in the presence of G Sekar, Director, Eicher Group Foundation and J P Verma, Vice President, Aftermarket, VE Commercial Vehicles.

As part of its endeavour towards upskill, train and empower the driver ecosystem, Eicher Academy of Drivers has been set up to train heavy and light commercial vehicle drivers. The academy will provide hands on learning and training on the vehicles and safe practices for aspiring and existing commercial vehicle drivers. VECV will provide support for content and technical assistance, DB Skills will be engaged for effective program implementation and monitoring.

The Eicher Driver Academy is equipped with state-of-the-art infrastructure- multimedia enabled classrooms, a test track for driving practice, advanced simulators to develop road behaviour and technical labs for mechanical education. The trainees will go through rigorous sessions on aspects such as vehicle maintenance, heath and safe practices as well as soft skills for their overall welfare. Final certifications and accreditation will be provided by ADSC.

Commenting on this initiative, Verma said, ?The automotive industry currently faces an acute shortage of skilled drivers. As a responsible manufacturer of commercial vehicles, we are committed to promote upskilling and employment generation in the commercial vehicle industry. Eicher Driver Academy is an endeavour for an impactful programme which will not only address the need gap by educating the drivers on the required skill sets, but also improve driver productivity and retention.?