Indian Hotels Company Limited (IHCL), India’s largest hospitality company, has announced its partnership with VFS Global for a hospitality-focused academy in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. This association aims to provide skilling opportunities to the youth in the community.
Mr. Gaurav Pokhariyal, Executive Vice President – Human Resources, IHCL, said, “Skill building is one of the key initiatives of IHCL’s ESG + framework of Paathya. Given the growing potential of tourism in Uttar Pradesh, this will help leverage the untapped potential of the region and create employability. This centre will also help to cater to IHCL’s significant presence in the state with 17 hotels. We are delighted to collaborate with VFS Global to develop a hospitality-focused skilling centre in Lucknow.”
The skilling center, located in Shalimar Gateway Mall will offer training modules on hospitality skills including Front Office, Housekeeping, Food and Beverage, soft skills among others.
Zubin Karkaria, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, VFS Global, said, “VFS Global has always been committed to the development of human capital – especially skill development. We believe this has been a key success factor for us and we also believe that there will always be a global need for skilled and reliable talent pool. We are extremely pleased to partner with one of the world’s leading hospitality companies, IHCL, in offering world-class skill development opportunities for travel and hospitality sectors to the youth of Uttar Pradesh which would significantly enhance their employment prospects in these sectors.”
Regarded as the custodian of Indian hospitality, IHCL under its Paathya framework continues to invest in building industry-relevant talent pools with an aim to develop and support deserving youth and their families, while contributing to the overall growth of the industry.