Students Graduate From Saab’s DEEP Program
The second batch of students graduated from Saab’s Diploma Employment Enhancement Program (DEEP) in December 2013 from VKR and VNB Polytechnic colleges in Gudivada, Krishna district, Andhra Pradesh. A batch of 50 boys in two mechanical engineering classes and a class of 30 girls trained in soft skills were awarded diplomas at the graduation ceremony. Two more classes with 30 students each were also started.
Saab India’s CSR initiative, the DEEP program for Indian College Engineering students began near Hyderabad in Andhra Pradesh with the first pilot class of 25 students on 24th December 2012 in collaboration with Indian Technical Institutes in Gudivada and Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh. The program is designed to bridge the gap between industry’s requirements and the Indian technical education system and the Indian school system.
The focus of the DEEP program is mechanical engineering including modern ways to teach welding through 3D simulators. Saab has also purchased modern CNC machines and Milling machines to teach the students these skills in a more practical way than earlier when most of their studies were focused on theory. The program also includes separate “soft skills” training classes for girls including one month of training in the fields of improved English, ability to do presentations in front of others, knowledge about company structures and more in order to prepare them for employment in the future.
“We have gained a lot of useful experience in how to set up a training program in order to fast enhance young student’s skills and to make them desired by the industry. We now have a generic model that can be used to meet demands of skilled workers here in India, e.g. Aerostructures Assembly India (AAI). We are currently in process to investigate if students from our CR initiative can contribute to Aerostructures need of skilled work force”, says Ulf Rudebark, Head of Business Support, Market Area India.