Since March 29, when the Bangalore-based TeamLease Services Pvt. Ltd — India’s largest staffing solutions company with 77,000 employees and a clientele of 1,200 in 700 locations across the country — acquired a majority stake in the Indian Institute of Job Training (IIJT), a vocational education and training (VET) major with 250 training centres and an aggregate enrolment of 100,000 students countrywide, there’s been a flurry of activity in the 5,000 sq ft. Gurgaon (Uttar Pradesh) headquarters of IIJT.
In its new energised avatar, IIJT has announced a slew of partnerships and initiatives to revitalise VET and improve the employability of youth. Among them: a joint initiative with the govern-ment-owned Karnataka Employment Centre to revamp training and placement services of the state’s 30 employment exchanges; a scheme to provide vocational and skills training to 60,000 tribal youth in Gujarat, and installation of VSAT facilities in all its 250 centres as well as in government employment exchanges operating in PPP (public- private partnership) mode with Team-Lease.
“With TeamLease acquiring IIJT, we have transformed into a unique end-to-end services institute. While IIJT will train and prepare youth for industry, TeamLease will ensure their employ-ment at the end of the spectrum,” says Ashish Prasad, the Gurgaon-based CEO and director of IIJT.
An alumnus of Delhi University and IIM-Ahmedabad, Prasad began his career in Asian Paints followed by stints in other blue-chip companies including Coca Cola (India) and Madura Garments. In April 2009 he was appointed chief executive of IIJT after an international headhunt.
“The crisis confronting the Indian economy is not unemployment but unemployability. Unfortunately the Indian education system is unable to produce school-leavers or graduates with skills required by Indian industry. Our aim in IIJT is to make the millions of unemployable youth streaming out of India’s education institutions ready for the workplace by delivering high-quality vocational education and skills upgradation programmes,” says Prasad.
Promoted in 2006, in the short span of four years IIJT has established a network of 250 training centres in 12 cities countrywide. Its vast repertoire of VET programmes include short-term (three to 16 months) diploma courses in finance, retail, infotech, sales and marketing at modest prices ranging from Rs.2,500-4,500 per month. IIJT is distinguished by its highly-qualified faculty of 2,000, a rigorous student aptitude and skills assessment system, modern curricu-lums and strong emphasis on hands-on learning and industry experience.
“Our association with TeamLease gives us access to the TeamLease National Employability Framework data which enables our faculty to design and amend courseware based on employers’ and industry requirements. All our skills assessment and certification systems are built on the basis of a live repository of over 250 ‘ideal candidate profiles’ which match competencies with careers. IIJT graduates also have access to TeamLease’s placement and employment services. It’s a mutually complementary partnership which is a winner all the way for the country’s huge population of unemployed youth, Indian industry and the Indian eco-nomy,” says Prasad.
Way to go, bro!
Paromita Sengupta (Bangalore)