A wire, a tool and a room full of trainees are familiar sights for Kester Dason. But ask him what happens when the same students have to sit through a theory lesson, and the picture changes.
After nearly 27 years in industrial training, Kester has learnt to notice the difference. Many of the wireman trainees he teaches today join after Class 8 and may struggle with formulas or even basic arithmetic. Yet, when they step into the practical lab, he sees them become more confident, curious and willing to try.
“Those boys are wonderful when it comes to practical work,” he says.
The challenge was getting that same energy into lessons that involved sitting, listening or reading. For years, Kester relied largely on presentations and videos to supplement his classes. That began to change after he attended a 12-day training programme at L&T Skill Trainers Academy (STA) in August 2025.
Larsen & Toubro launched the Skill Trainers Academy on 15 March 2021, with a focus on strengthening the trainers who form an important link between vocational education and the workplace. At the Academy, Kester was introduced to interactive approaches such as Kahoot quizzes, icebreakers and activity-based learning.
The Skill Trainers Academy combines teaching methods, technical learning and hands-on practice to strengthen vocational trainers.
Back in his classroom, he began putting them to use.
Instead of beginning immediately with theory, he started using icebreakers to get students comfortable and introduced Kahoot to give them a chance to participate rather than simply listen.
For Kester, the shift was not about replacing practical training. It was about finding better ways to connect theory with the way his students learn best: through participation and action.
Why trainer capacity matters to India’s skilling ecosystem
The genesis of the L&T Skill Trainers Academy was the critical need to strengthen the trainers working across India’s skilling ecosystem, as identified by Mr A M Naik, Chairman Emeritus, L&T, when he was appointed the Chairman of National Skill Development Corporation(NSDC) in November 2018.
A trainer, K Ramakrishnan, Chief Executive, L&T Skill Development Mission, explains, does more than pass on technical knowledge. He and B. S Saluja, Head, Strategic Partnerships, L&T Skill Trainers Academy and about 70% of the academy’s trainers are retired L&T employees, now sharing their years of experience to give back to society.
He describes meaningful skilling through three elements: knowledge, skills and attitude. While knowledge gives a trainee an understanding of a trade and skills help them apply it, he believes attitude has a wider bearing on how a person works.
At L&T Skill Trainers Academy, trainers learn how tools such as Kahoot and activity-based methods can make theory lessons more engaging.
“Attitude decides a lot or makes a lot of impact as far as quality, safety and productivity is concerned,” he says. “It also makes you work with a lot of commitment and passion.”
That responsibility is particularly significant in India’s ITI ecosystem, which Ramakrishnan says includes around 15,000 ITIs, including roughly 5,000 government-run institutions. He also points to infrastructure and equipment gaps, administrative responsibilities, and a mismatch in some places between the trades being taught and local job demand.
This is where STA’s approach begins with the trainer rather than the student.
Saluja says the academy primarily works with instructors nominated by state vocational education and skill development departments.
“We work with vocational education and skilling departments across different states and collaborate with them to have their trainers participate in the programme.”
Mabel Abraham, Head of Corporate Social Initiatives for Larsen & Toubro Limited, says this focus on trainers is what gives the initiative a wider ecosystem impact. “While many skilling programmes are designed to directly train students and beneficiaries, this effort seeks to address a critical gap in India’s skilling landscape by strengthening the trainer ecosystem itself,” she says.
By building a larger pool of capable, industry-ready trainers and strengthening their capacity, pedagogy, and delivery readiness, the initiative aims to create a multiplier effect across skilling programmes. “Given the growing demand for skilled talent in India, strengthening the trainer pipeline is an important enabler for long-term workforce development,” Abraham adds.
Trainers at the Academy take part in practical sessions designed to help them connect technical knowledge with classroom delivery.
That multiplier effect is also reflected in the reach of the programme. From FY 2022–23 to date, more than 4,500 trainers have been trained through the initiative. Based on the estimated reach of an ITI instructor training 20 students a year and a Diploma/SSC trainer reaching 60 students a year, the programme has recorded an impact of 1,35,480 beneficiaries year-on-year.
Inside L&T Skill Trainers Academy
At L&T Skill Trainers Academy in Mumbai, the training is designed to combine teaching methods, technical learning and practical exposure.
Its standard residential programme typically runs for 12 days. The first 1.5 to two days focus on “platform training”, covering interactive teaching methods and digital engagement, before participants move into trade-specific technical training.
Of the seven days devoted to technical training, about 30% is theory, and 70% is hands-on work, Ramakrishnan explains.
The pedagogy component also covers how to plan, deliver and evaluate a lesson. At the end, each trainer conducts a five- to seven-minute teach-back session, assessed on aspects including eye contact, voice clarity, subject knowledge, engagement and participation.
Daily formative assessments are also used to provide feedback during the programme.
The experience extends beyond the classroom. Participants begin their day with yoga, attend theory sessions and practical labs, and take part in activities around communication, team building, time management and personal effectiveness. Industry visits are tailored to their trades, while activities such as sports and photography competitions and punctuality awards encourage participation.
Digital tools are another part of the training. Trainers are introduced to tools such as Kahoot and Nearpod for interactive assessment, while optional sessions cover GenAI tools, prompt engineering and presentation tools.
The Academy’s residential programme includes practical labs, teaching exercises and activities focused on communication and teamwork.
One example is Kahoot, where students answer questions on their phones and immediately see how they have performed. Ramakrishnan says such tools can turn revision into an engaging exercise rather than another lecture.
The learning continues after participants leave the Academy. Trainers remain connected through WhatsApp groups, where they share practices they have implemented, while the Academy conducts targeted online sessions and visits ITIs to understand what has changed after training.
For STA, the larger aim is straightforward: strengthen the trainer, improve what happens in the classroom and allow those changes to reach students.
When training entered the classroom
For Kester, the real test of what he learnt at STA began when he returned to his classroom.
One of the first changes was simple: he stopped treating theory as the starting point of every lesson.
“L&T instructed us not to open the theoretical part immediately,” he says. “We need to have an ice-breaking session.”
The experience also changed how Kester looked at participation. Around 40% of his trainees are comfortable participating at the board, while others struggle with vocabulary and confidence. He realised that putting hesitant students on the spot could make them withdraw rather than participate.
“I have not sustained the process,” he says of one such activity. “It will suppress them.”
Instead, he has focused on approaches that allow more trainees to participate without making them uncomfortable.
With nearly 27 years of experience in industrial training, Kester has seen how practical learning can build confidence among vocational students.
Today, Kester teaches around 40 trainees and says the interactive methods are helping motivate and involve them. He reports a 10–15% improvement in attendance and a 10–20% improvement in performance.
But the numbers are only part of what he sees.
In the practical lab, students complete tasks independently, repeat them, and identify faults, even if their speed varies.
For Kester, that progress connects directly to what he has always wanted for his students: the ability to turn what they learn into an opportunity to work.
Over the years, his students have gone on to complete diploma courses, participate in state-level skill competitions and pursue employment opportunities. He recalls 80 students who cleared the written examination for Tamil Nadu Electricity Board recruitment and moved on to the practical selection stage.
“Apart from education, acquiring a job for my students is the most important thing,” Kester says. “Everyone can share the knowledge. But having the knowledge to acquire a job for them is the most important thing.”
As he looks towards moving into a training officer role, he now wants to develop other trainers and pass on what he has learnt.
By strengthening trainers, the programme aims to carry better teaching practices from the training room into classrooms across India’s skilling ecosystem.
That is where his experience connects back to the larger idea behind STA. The training did not stay at the Academy. It travelled with him into his classroom, shaped the way he worked with his trainees and gave him new methods to share with fellow instructors.
As Kester puts it, teaching is more than a profession or academics.
“It’s an emotional connection.”
And sometimes, that connection begins with something as simple as giving a student a chance to participate, try again and discover that they can do it.
This article is published in partnership with Larsen & Toubro
All images courtesy of Larsen & Toubro
