TaMo drives in change on the shop floor; Women to comprise 25% of workforce

Tata Motors' TCF-2 plant in Pimpri, near Pune, already has 1,500 women on the shop-floor who assemble the sports utility vehicles Harrier and Safari

India’s leading electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer, Tata Motors, is striving to ensure that 25 per cent of its shop-floor workforce comprises women in the future. Concurrently, the company is preparing to reskill and upskill its workforce to adapt to the new technologies emerging in the automotive (auto) sector due to the EV transition.

Speaking to the media, Sitaram Kandi, vice-president of human resources for passenger vehicles (PVs) and EVs, revealed that currently, approximately 22 per cent of shop-floor employees are women. With fresh hires, this number is projected to increase to around 25 per cent.

Tata Motors’ Trim, Chassis, and Final (TCF)-2 plant in Pimpri, near Pune, already employs 1,500 women on the shop floor, where they assemble the two sports utility vehicles, Harrier and Safari. In total, the company employs nearly 5,000 women across all functions in the organisation.

The 2022-23 annual report states that Tata Motors has set an internal target to achieve a 30 per cent women workforce by 2030.

Kandi mentioned that Tata Motors’ attrition rates are lower than the industry average of 10-12 per cent.

Meanwhile, as the market leader in electric PVs, the company is implementing a multi-pronged strategy to develop a ‘right-skilled and future-ready’ workforce, with a focus on EVs and other cutting-edge technologies. Currently, it employs 13,000 apprentices, with a total headcount of 57,000 people in India.

Tata Motors aims to equip over 50 per cent of its workforce with new-age auto technology capabilities within the next five years. In 2022-23 alone, the company invested over 340,000 hours in specialised training and development, spending in excess of ~25 crore last year on training and upskilling its employees.

The company has forged partnerships with technology companies such as Bosch, MathWorks, Tata Technologies, etc, to provide professional certification programs for its employees. Additionally, it has collaborated with universities to offer BTech, MTech, and Executive MBA courses.

Kandi noted that there are higher education programmes designed specifically for shop-floor technicians, enabling them to pursue diplomas in engineering with a focus on auto-electrical and electronics, among other areas. Curated functional e-learning programmes are also available for upskilling.

Kandi added that many of the older employees completed their BTech courses approximately two decades ago. Given the ongoing technological transformation in the auto industry, upskilling is crucial.

Tata Motors runs an apprenticeship programme for Industrial Training Institute and Class 12 passouts, currently involving 13,000 active participants. Upon completion, these apprentices have the opportunity to work anywhere in the auto industry, with approximately 88 per cent already working with Tata Motors channel partners.

Kandi said that at any given point in time, 350-400 students, in batches of 50 at each of their seven plants, are undergoing some form of reskilling or upskilling programme.

In the newly acquired Ford India Sanand plant (January 2023), Tata Motors partnered a Gujarat-based university to upskill its entire workforce of 820 people. Approximately 110 of the 600-odd employees at the adjoining Tata Motors plant in Sanand are also undergoing training and development.

In Driver’s Seat

• 5,000 Women currently on Tata Motors’ rolls
• 4,500 Women working on shop floor
• 30% Target  for share of women in workforce by 2030
• 22%  Of women employees on shop floor