RICICI Foundation launches ICICI Academy for Skills to Train 5000 Youths

INDIACSR News Network

JAIPUR: ICICI Foundation for Inclusive Growth (ICICI Foundation) today announced the launch of ICICI Academy for Skills to provide vocational training to the youth from the economically weaker sections to help them earn a sustainable livelihood.

The launch, which marks the next step in the ICICI Group’s strategy to promote inclusive growth in India, will train 5,000 youth at eight training centres across the country in the first year of operation. The academy aims to train 15,000 youth across the country by the year 2016.

Over the past five years, the ICICI Group and ICICI Foundation have been focusing on four key areas namely education, healthcare, skill development for sustainable livelihoods and financial inclusion, enabling people to participate in the economic opportunities arising in India. These initiatives have impacted the lives of more than 10 million people across the country.

Announcing the launch, Ms. Chanda Kochhar, MD & CEO, ICICI Bank said: “India has a unique advantage in the form of its demographic dividend. However, translating the demographic dividend into growth and prosperity requires job creation as well as enabling the youth to acquire the skills required to benefit from employment opportunities. Through the ICICI Academy for Skills, we are making a contribution towards realising the dream of a prosperous India where every individual is equipped with the skills to earn a living and take part in the nation’s growth.”

The key highlights of the initiative are:

Residential centres at Jaipur, Sangli and Coimbatore, and non-residential centers at Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Jaipur and Pune. The Foundation is also exploring the possibility of setting up a centre in eastern India.

There are six courses on offer: Selling skills, office administration and web design for graduates; electrical and home appliance repair; refrigeration and air conditioning repair; and diesel generator and pump repair for class X pass outs.

The courses will be about 8 – 12 weeks in duration.

ICICI Foundation has tied up with several partners for generating the content of these courses. The partners are: Tally Solutions Pvt. Ltd. for office administration, Blue Star Ltd. for refrigeration and air-conditioning, NIIT Ltd. for web designing and Schneider Electric India Pvt. Ltd. for electrical and home appliance repairing.

ICICI Foundation will create an online job portal wherein the trained youth will be registered. The portal will be promoted among potential employers.

ICICI Foundation for Inclusive Growth (ICICI Foundation) was founded by the ICICI Group in early 2008, with a view to carry forward and build upon ICICI Group’s legacy of promoting inclusive growth. ICICI Foundation seeks to promote inclusive growth in India by contributing to the key enablers required for widespread participation in economic opportunities in the country. Through focused initiatives in the identified areas including primary healthcare, elementary education, skill development and sustainable livelihoods and financial inclusion, ICICI Foundation is working towards building capabilities and developing innovative models that can be replicated and scaled up in future. ICICI Academy for Skills operates under the aegis of ICICI Foundation.