Students who have finished schooling can enrol in the 18-month professional diploma programme that will be delivered at four ITC Hotels across the country

In a significant initiative for skill development in Indian hospitality undertaken by industry body, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), an 18-month Vocational Education & Training (VET) professional diploma programme by the Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne (EHL), Education Group of Switzerland, will be delivered at four ITC Hotels across the country. A total of 200 students will be enrolled in the first batch across four luxury properties including ITC Maurya (New Delhi), ITC Sonar and ITC Royal Bengal (Kolkata), ITC Maratha (Mumbai) and ITC Grand Chola (Chennai). Fifty students will be taught at each hotel.

CII has assured 100 per cent placement to students upon successful completion of the ‘VET by EHL’ Professional Diploma programme that is recognised by all major hospitality chains worldwide. Sougata Roy Choudhury, Executive Director, CII said, “At CII, we intend to address the need of the Indian hospitality industry for skilled, globally benchmarked talent. Hence this partnership with the 127-year-old EHL Group, which is ranked as the No. 1 hospitality and leisure management school in the world. We also wanted to partner with stalwarts of Indian hospitality to impart training to the students, and ITC Hotels was the natural choice. India not only has a sizable youth population conversant with English, but also exponentially growing accommodation offerings across tourist destinations in the country.”

“The current demand-supply gap of trained workforce in Indian hospitality sector is at a shortfall of about 80 per cent. Hospitality employers find the workforce being supplied below the industry's high expectations. There is a definite need in India for globally recognized vocational training that can create a pool of talented hospitality professionals. The VET by EHL programme will bridge the skills gap and strengthen India's position as the global hospitality workforce supplier of choice. It will train the youth to world-class standards for careers in hospitality, including hotels, airlines, cruise-lines, catering and travel industry, not only in India but around the world. This is a unique training model in partnership with the industry, delivered at industry premises and facilitated by industry experts, to prepare the youth for quality employment within the industry. Nothing like this exists in India currently,” he added.

The students applying for the programme must have cleared 12th standard from a recognised board in India with minimum 50 per cent marks in English. The VET by EHL Professional Diplomas is spread over 18 months, divided into three levels of learning - Foundation, Intermediate and Advanced. The programme will offer learning in three distinct streams: ‘Culinary’, ‘Food & Beverage Service’ & ‘Rooms’ that follow VET by EHL’s world-renowned quality-assurance standards. Each certificate level builds skills on top of the previous and culminates into a professional diploma.

The VET by EHL programme, including training, will be delivered at ITC Hotels by the best of industry experts as faculty. Nilesh Mitra, Vice President, Talent Management, ITC Hotels commented, “We have an excellent faculty for this programme. At ITC Hotels, we consistently upgrade the training skill set and integrate new learnings to the modules. Our faculty at each ITC Hotel has been trained and certified by EHL and CII. They bring with them immense experience and knowledge. Moreover, students will be able to learn through interactions with guests in real work settings at ITC Hotels. The programmeme will enable us to strengthen our talent pipeline as we continue to expand our presence in the country. We intend to add more hotels to this programmeme in 2022.”

“This programme provides students from across the country with a splendid opportunity to skill and reskill themselves with an international curriculum closer to home and contribute to the immense hospitality and tourism potential of the state. This Swiss Professional Diploma programmeme will place them on par, if not above, with students from leading hospitality schools, with benefits of On-the-Job training,” he puts in.

Students will get online access to the global Learning Management System developed by EHL. They will be assessed on both, theoretical knowledge on the Swiss Learning Management System as well as on practical skills acquired during training. On completion, the students will become a part of the VET by EHL Global Alumni Network. Furthermore, they are also offered an option to enroll for and pursue a UGC recognised degree. EHL also gives the option to students to pursue studies in another EHL school anywhere on the globe in continuation of this programme.

Aman Aditya Sachdev, Director & Regional Head at EHL Advisory Services for South Asia, Middle East & Myanmar shared that VET by EHL programme is based on principles of the world-renowned Swiss Competency Framework. He continued, “It has been developed over a two-year period by EHL subject matter experts and faculty members, with global industry feedback. The objective is to prepare the youth for frontline job roles in hospitality at global standards. Students of the programme in India will be at a significant advantage with future employers, in global mobility and in career progression. They will acquire knowledge and competencies required by the industry at par with international programmes.”

Praveen Roy, Associate Director and Regional Head of VET by EHL for South Asia, Middle East & Myanmar, said, “India has always been a high priority country for the EHL Education Group due to several factors like the demographic dividend, the pro-hospitality mindset of the youth, the current size and projected growth of the hospitality industry resulting in high levels of demand for a qualified workforce, India’s unique position in the global supply of skilled manpower for the hospitality industry, and the quality of the current skilling programmes available to the Indian youth.” He also believes that this vocational education programme will create champions provided that the students spend 18 months with them to develop their skills.

In recent times, EHL has produced a skilled workforce through this programme in Sri Lanka and the Maldives. Roy informed BWH that their programme is highly appreciated in Greece followed by Paris.