The TWI Knowledge Bus is delivering inclusive growth and sustainable development by creating awareness and equipping individuals across India with technical skills.

National manufacturing policy in India seeks to increase manufacturing’s contribution to India’s GDP to 25%, and the call, “Make in India, Make for the World” supports these aspirations. One of the key objectives of the policy behind this is the effective implementation of industrial training and other upskilling measures.

With its vast geographical expanse and several influencing variables, India faces significant challenges in providing equal access to high-quality skills training and industry-relevant education, particularly in specialised fields such as welding, non-destructive testing, and other core engineering subjects. This becomes even more applicable to academic/industrial institutions in smaller cities and rural areas, which, in turn, contributes to the growing shortage of skilled employees for the workforce.  Since welding is one of the primary enabling technologies for manufacturing, organisations like TWI have an opportunity to contribute to the associated skills development drive, provided:

• Small and medium-scale companies are empowered with necessary technical knowledge and advancement in these specialised domains

• Technical skills training becomes accessible and affordable

It is with this stimulus and the general understanding that establishing a permanent training centre across every region of the country may not be viable at this stage of expansion, that the concept of the TWI India Knowledge Bus was envisioned and brought to reality through internal funding. Every element of the bus was thoughtfully designed in-house to offer an experience that resonates among participants long after the bus’ visit.

The Concept:

• Custom-built (to remain aligned with local regulations) and equipped with state-of-the-art demonstration tools for welding inspection, painting inspection, and non-destructive testing
• Designed to travel across India, providing onsite demonstrations through carefully designed set-up to reflect gaps in the understanding of concepts, knowledge and required skillsets
• Focuses on communicating the message through demonstrations and reaching out to underrepresented groups to show them career progression pathways
• Meets all safety requirements stipulated in our quality procedure, such as an eye wash station, exhaust fan, air-conditioning, emergency lights, first aid kit, emergency contact numbers, ventilation, 360-degree surveillance camera, fully insured with national permit to move across India

Objectives:

• Educate stakeholders about critical aspects to ensure infrastructure integrity and safety of lives

• Raising awareness among youth who have completed formal education but lack practical skills - empowering them to help bridge the gap between academic knowledge and field application

• Empower local talent by improving job readiness, continuous professional development and career progression opportunities

• Encourage women’s participation in engineering by demonstrating the practicality of welding inspection, painting inspection and NDT

• Promote a culture of safety

• Increased access to skills training and upskilling

The central idea behind this development was to offer an experience that brings visibility to:

• How The Welding Institute Group supports an individual’s continuous professional development and career progression

• Our work with influential organisations that are impacting lives by making skills training accessible and affordable for underrepresented groups (via the SEASEP inititative, funded by Lloyd’s Register Foundation)

• Our training and examination services that lead to globally recognised certifications (competence assessment)

Additionally, to spread awareness about the importance of personnel competence for those involved in construction, operation and maintenance of safety critical infrastructure. Highlighting the need to acquire necessary knowledge and skills through structured training programmes is considered equally important.

The TWI Knowledge Bus was successfully launched at the 34th Annual Conference and Exhibition on Non-Destructive Evaluation (NDE 2024) in Chennai (12-14 December 2024); a major platform that brought together industry leaders, clients and students with a common interest in structural integrity and NDE technologies. The event offered an excellent opportunity to introduce the bus as a mobile demonstration unit, generating enthusiasm and positive feedback from visitors who expressed a strong interest in our offerings, including access to The Welding Institute’s membership. Many recognised its potential to increase awareness about skills shortages and enhance safety awareness in industry.

For any skills development initiative to be effective, the requirement is improvement in the quality, relevance and accessibility of training for all the sections of population, and particularly those who are marginalised, face financial constraints, or have poor education. The Southeast Asia Skills Enhancement Programme (SEASEP) is a vocational training initiative with courses offered to tick all of these boxes to create a positive impact. TWI India is currently delivering SEASEP courses in the region and, in this context, the TWI’s Knowledge Bus is likely to serve as an effective tool to:

• Raise awareness about the competence requirement for the workforce among various stakeholders

• Emphasise the importance of safety as well as inculcating safety culture

• Conduct demonstrations through thoughtfully designed experiments, where possible

• Cascade the benefits of SEASEP and empower underrepresented groups - particularly women and employed/unemployed youth by showing them career progression paths and subsequently imparting the necessary skills to follow them

• Be an enabling platform for participants to engage with The Welding Institute and skills development initiatives such as SEASEP

• Reach people who might otherwise be excluded from upskilling opportunities due to geographical barriers

Following its launch, the TWI Knowledge Bus has already visited industry clusters and far-off campuses. At each stop, the initiative has drawn large, enthusiastic crowds — from students and faculty members to working professionals — all eager to engage with the demonstrations and explore the membership opportunities and access to SEASEP courses. In general, the reception was overwhelmingly positive at all events. Visitors consistently praised the live demonstrations and practical format for their real-world relevance. Many recognised the bus as a vital innovation in promoting workforce competence, safety awareness, and employability. Notably, the TWI Knowledge Bus was also recognised as the “Best Innovation” at its debut event — a testament to its value and potential.

The vehicle created significant curiosity and interest, drawing large crowds and generating conversations around its potential impact. By leveraging the power of a demonstration lab on wheels and engaging with its target audience, this initiative will contribute to the broader goal of empowering underrepresented groups, enhancing workforce competence and improving safety across various industries in India.

With its mobile format, impactful demonstrations, and inclusive mission, this initiative is not just driving across India — it is driving change.