The talent shortfall faced in the Hospitality industry is one of the significant threats to the recovery post-pandemic

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A joint effort between The Job Plus and Tourism and Hospitality Skill Council, The Plus Initiative aims at providing an “Industry Ready, Skilled Workforce” for the hospitality sector

Context of The Plus Initiative 

The talent shortfall faced in the Hospitality industry is one of the significant threats to the recovery post-pandemic. Per the estimations of The Job Plus study, job growth is estimated to be 5.5% CAGR (to account for new openings and attrition from the industry) till 2029- an additional requirement of 100,000- 150,000 skilled workforce year on year in this Branded Hotel segment alone.

With staggeringly low enrolment rates in Hospitality Management courses, which have traditionally been the funnels feeding into the talent pool, it is time for the sector to look at alternate sources for entry-level workforce. Short-term skill-based training in a modular manner as entry points for specific job roles is a clear emerging trend.

Further, there is a visible gap when it comes to awareness around pursuing a career in the hospitality sector among the Indian youth. Accessibility is also a commonly discussed factor that discourages several students from pursuing quality education in the service-hospitality sector. 

To address the skilled workforce demand of the hotel industry, the proposed initiative will develop a cadre of “Ready-to-Deploy” workers. These projects will concentrate on generating 100% employment for a pool of qualified candidates, using the Recruit, Train & Deploy Model with the assistance of training partners, in accordance with the Employer's requirements. 

Ready to deploy workforce 

The Ready to Deploy Workforce model focuses on:

●Curated employability linked training programmes for the youth: NSQF (National Skills Qualification Framework) and certified by SSC

●Customised training curriculum and content plan for the hotel units- design to address the exact workforce shortfall/ requirements

●Short-term courses with targeted candidate mobilization- to ensure agile turnaround.

●Impacting Socio- Economic growth and development for the local communities at the grass-root levels

●Enhancing deep rooted community ties for the Hotel Units by promoting skilling and employment of local youths. 

●Projects also focus on diversity hiring and encouraging the women to upskill and participate in gainful employment.

What industry leaders have said about this initiative

Natwar Nagar, Founder, The Job Plus 

“Growing up, I have witnessed how several aspirations have gone unfulfilled in this process. By partnering with THSC, we hope to take The Job plus and our goals further, with the aim of improving skill development and career opportunities in the hospitality industry”, said Natwar Nagar, Founder of The Job Plus.

“Despite the fact that The Job Plus is a new business or startup, we were impressed by the THSC team and their execution strategy. We are thrilled to assist them in their ambitious purpose of upskilling young people in the hotel and service industry”, he concluded.

Rajan Bahadur, CEO, Tourism and Hospitality Skill Council 

“The purpose of this partnership is to bring in the industry, the training partners and our youth together on a common platform so that the demand aggregation and the supply of jobs is matched. This will in turn help the students get the right fit for employment.”

Vinay Jaswal, Sr. Director Human Resources, Marriott International

“A first-of-a-kind 360-degree socio- economic partnership model. This unique model organically creates sustainable job opportunities in our beautiful hotels and thereby contributes to the economic upliftment of our local communities and the nation at large.”

Amardeep Singh, General Manager, The Westin Rishikesh Resort & Spa

“This project is all about empowering the youth and creating a skill set in the hospitality sector. A new kind of a concept with which you have a ready to deploy workforce for the hospitality sector, which is the need of the hour.”

Success stories

The Job Plus through The Plus Initiative in training and placing at Marriott International, The Oberoi Group, Club Mahindra and Encalm. Since the launch of this initiative in September 2022, ~600 candidates are being trained and placed across 10 cities in India, with approximately 40% women in each project. It is the first time that the industry has come forward in such a large way to invest in the training of future workforce - recognising the need of the changing the way talent acquisition for freshers was traditionally looked at.

The partners 

The Job Plus is India’s first job portal dedicated to the service-hospitality sector. They also offer services like learning academy for candidates to upskill, get accreditation and improve chances of employability. The platform connects the job seekers and employers together to streamline the process. The Job Plus team has over 35 years of experience in the service-hospitality sector as human capital advisors, which they leverage to create remarkable talent management solutions tailored towards achieving specific organisation goals.

Tourism & Hospitality Skill Council (THSC) is one of the pioneers in providing skills training to people from different social groups and is one of the largest SSCs of National Skill Development Council (NSDC), Through its skill-development initiatives, the THSC has been able to reach across the 1 million learners segment, including adult learners, school dropouts, and graduates. 

Over a million youngsters have been assessed and certified by THSC as part of short-term training (STT) and Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL). More than 600 training centres have been established by THSC, with an annual capacity to train more than four lakh youth.