ICICI Academy for Skills, a subsidiary of ICICI Foundation for inclusive growth has inaugurated its latest center in the capital city of Uttarakhand to offer free vocational training to individuals from economically weaker sections. Shri Trivendra Singh Rawat, chief minister of Uttarakhand inaugurated the first center in state and 25th in the country.
The initiative aims to train unemployed individuals from the economically weaker sections and help them get employed. Till date, the initiative has trained over 1,14,000 individuals, including 46,000 women and aims to take the number to 1.5 lakh by FY20. The Academy has achieved a 100% placement rate for the eligible candidates.
In addition to ICICI Academy for Skills, ICICI Foundation for Inclusive Growth enables sustainable livelihood through skill development at over 1,200 villages and through the Rural Self Employment Training Institutes (RSETIs). In total, ICICI Foundation has trained 3.87 lakh people since inception. It is now striving to achieve a milestone of training 5 lakh individuals cumulatively by FY20.
The latest vocational training center will be run on a PPP (Public-Private Partnership) model. ICICI Foundation has partnered with Department of Skill Development and Education, Government of Uttarakhand.
The Dehradun center will train individuals in 2 categories, including Selling Skills and Office administration. The curricula consists of industry relevant vocational training as well as life skills such as etiquette and grooming, communication, basic English and financial literacy. The duration of the training is 12 weeks. Youth from the weaker sections who have completed at least standard X and are between 18 to 30 years of age are eligible for these courses. Initially, the centre will train 550 students a year.
Speaking at the launch, Mr. Saurabh Singh, President, ICICI Foundation for Inclusive Growth said, “The ICICI Group has a long standing tradition of contributing to the nation’s growth through its business and CSR initiatives. In line with this tradition, we recognised skill development as an important area of focus. With this focus, emerged the idea of setting up skill training centres across the country, and the launch of ICICI Academy for Skills. Our effort has been to take a holistic approach to ensure free-of-cost, job-oriented training, to the youth from the weaker sections of society and also help them to find employment through our linkages with the industry.
We are delighted to partner with the Uttarakhand Government to establish a new centre of ICICI Academy in Dehradun under the PPP model. We believe that the skills acquired through this Academy will equip the trained youth to engage in productive and remunerative economic activity and take part in the state’s growth.”
Key highlights of the Dehradun centre:
- The centre will offer courses in two disciplines: ‘Selling Skills’ and ‘Office Administration’
- The curricula consists of 12 weeks free industry relevant vocational training courses, and life skills such as etiquette and grooming, communication, basic English, and financial literacy
- ICICI Academy will also provide free uniforms, meals and all relevant course material to trainees
- Eligibility criterion: Students from the weaker sections in the age group of 18 to 30 years and have passed at least standard X
- The centre has tied up with Tally Solutions as ‘Knowledge Partner’ to create the course content
- The curricula and training for the ‘Selling Skills’ course is developed in-house
- Successful trainees shall be provided employment opportunities through our network of national level employers