Daikin Japanese Institute for Manufacturing Excellence (DJIME) was established in 2016. Its vision is to create global excellence in the skill development sector by creating opportunities for the youth of India and making them ready for the industry. DJIME provides training, infrastructure, and a well-designed curriculum. The students are trained by experts to gain experience working with machinery.
“Daikin has a 100-year legacy of innovation, research, and leadership in air conditioning. We have established leadership processes in India that focus on people, skill enhancement, and technology. This year (2025) is especially significant as it marks our 25th year in India,” says Kanwal Jeet Jawa, President, DJIME. “Over the last 14 years, since we set up our first factory, our growth trajectory has been consistently upward. We have set up three factories, including the latest in Sri City, Andhra Pradesh. Additionally, we have signed a joint venture for compressor manufacturing, which will start operations within the next 12 months,” adds Jawa.
Skill development is a key pillar for Daikin. Before setting up the factories, they established an Air-Conditioning Development Centre (ACDC) and an R&D centre to train and develop skilled workers. They also started the Japan-India PM Skill Partnership Initiative to enhance employability in the manufacturing sector. The concept was clear – Japanese businesses believe in structured investment in training. Even before CSR policies were formalised, they consistently invested 2 per cent of their turnover in training programmes.
Currently, DJIME has 30 training centres across India (apart from the Neemrana campus), including in Delhi, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Guwahati, Patna, and Kochi, and is expanding with an additional 10-12 centres. DJIME provides equipment, trainers, and conducts workshops. These centres are used for both student training and dealer training.
“We conduct awareness campaigns in villages and select students who show potential, even if they have minimal formal education. Hostel accommodation and training are provided free of charge. Initially, ITI qualifications were preferred, but now we accept students with a minimum of an 8th-10th grade education, as long as they are eager to learn. On average, about 18-20 per cent of trainees are women, though this varies per batch,” explains Jawa. The duration of the course ranges from three months to one year, depending on industry and dealer requirements. The successful candidates will be absorbed by the company and its dealers, and students are also free to start their own businesses.
The key milestones of DJIME – a leading skill development institute for Japanese and Indian companies – include providing industry-specific training across various job roles, facilitating best practice exchanges between Indian and Japanese industries, helping industries align training with real industry needs, easing the burden on companies, enhancing workforce efficiency and technical expertise, promoting women’s participation in technical skilling programmes, encouraging equal employment opportunities in HVAC and manufacturing, and bridging the gender gap by increasing the number of skilled women in the workforce.
To accommodate and train more students, an agreement was signed in 2024 to build a new hostel adjacent to the Neemrana campus, with separate facilities for boys and girls and a capacity for 200 students, further strengthening DJIME’s commitment to youth skilling and industry readiness. DJIME offers a variety of courses, including the Frontline Engineers Course (FEC), the Field Technician Course (FTC), a three-month hands-on programme for HVAC and refrigeration systems, and the Assembly Operator Programme, to name a few. All these courses also offer a stipend under the ‘Learn and Earn’ model. DJIME provides state-of-the-art facilities, including specialised labs for welding, brazing, DOJO, VRV and control room training, and assembly training.
Our training programmes are independent, non-profit initiatives, supported by Daikin but operated by independent directors
DJIME has set a target to train 150,000 people. “We are expanding our training and sustainability initiatives while maintaining our 2 per cent investment in skill development annually. Our training programmes are independent, non-profit initiatives, supported by Daikin but operated by independent directors. We also integrate Japanese Kaizen principles into our training. Daikin Japan actively supports and participates in the initiative. We collaborate with global Daikin academies in Europe, Japan, and Asia for international exposure,” elaborates Jawa.
Daikin is also exploring a new area of business and expanding into refrigeration, including refrigerated transport and cold storage solutions, to address India’s food wastage issues. Daikin plans to establish refrigeration plants and training programmes to tackle this. The new area of business will offer huge job opportunities for young people.
“Our country’s youth is our biggest demographic dividend. Thus, it is our responsibility to steer them in the right direction,” concludes a confident Jawa.