She ventured into an area where most females don’t dare to enter. Bella Sara, Kochi based physics graduate is now working as a service technician at GMMCO. It was her intense interest in automotive service that drew Bella to choose the Automotive Service Technician course at Little Flower Engineering Institute (LFEI), Kochi.
Bella Sara was a candidate for the LEAP-powered Automotive Service Technician course at LFEI in 2017-18. The batch had 7 women candidates then.
Tailor-made to suit the needs of the service industry, the LEAP (Learn, Earn and Progress) program is a customized version of the ASDC (Automotive Skill Development Council) automotive service technician level 4 qualification pack. Tata motors support this initiative by promoting girls from over 100 plus ITIs to enter the automotive world. Little Flower, three times overall champions in auto skill fests conducted by Tata motors for leap institutes, had a good number of women trained in this field which was earlier dominated by men.
LFEI decided to send its 2017-18 girl batch in LEAP to auto skill fest 2017 conducted in Kolkata and they emerged as overall champions. Bella, along with other women candidates had her OJT (On Job Training) at Popular Mega Motors (PMM) Kochi. PMM was the only dealer who had the guts to take the women candidates.
After all the training, she passed the exam in flying colors. After that GMMCO, the CATERPILLAR dealer in Kerala, absorbed her as a service technician. The earth-moving machinery was new to her but with the confidence and knowledge gained from heavy commercial vehicles she experienced during her OJT, Bella was able to manage it.
It was a groundbreaking journey in the automotive service world. No girl ventured into depth before in the state. She is now a senior staff in the GMMCO and now handles a managerial position.
Compiled by:
Ninto Antony Peter, HoD, Automobile Department,
Little Flower Engineering Institute, Kochi
