InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) and IL&FS Skills have launched the second IHG Academy branded training centre under their partnership in Kalimpong, West Bengal. The first branded training centre was launched in New Delhi last year. The Kalimpong centre is set to be one of the largest talent development centres under the IHG Academy programme, attracting young talent from the rural areas of North East India.
IHG Academy is a pioneering global collaboration between IHG and local education and community providers which aims to provide local people with skills development and employment opportunities at more than 4,900 IHG hotels across the globe. There are now over 900 IHG Academy programmes across more than 60 countries globally, and 25 IHG Academy programmes across India.
The collaboration with IL&FS Skills is IHG’s first vocational programme in the country. Under the partnership, IL&FS Skills provides IHG approved vocational hospitality training across the country.
Participants are first trained to IHG’s rigorous and world-class standards in a classroom setting whilst learning about the Indian hospitality sector, followed by on-the-job training to put what they learnt into practice. They are then given the opportunity to apply for full-time roles at IHG hotels across the country.
To date, the IHG Academy partnership with IL&FS Skills has skilled 44 students across nine batches, and 47 students are undergoing training in the current batch. Nearly 60 per cent of graduates from the programme have joined IHG hotels across the country in full time employment.