CII ties up ITC Hotels to launch vocational education in hospitality sector

Industry body CII on Thursday said it has partnered with ITC Hotels to launch vocational education training by Switzerland-based hotel school EHL in the hospitality sector.

EHL Group will be rolling out the Swiss Diploma course in India, it said in a statement.

In phase one, the diploma course will be offered to over 240 students at four ITC Hotels across four distinct regions - ITC Maurya, New Delhi; ITC Sonar, Kolkata; ITC Maratha, Mumbai and ITC Grand Chola, Chennai.

Phase two will see further expansion of the training programme to many more ITC Hotels properties in the country.

"Aimed at enhancing the skill set of enthusiastic hospitality students, this collaboration will enable aspiring candidates to receive the best of both on hands training at ITC Hotels across the country, in every region as well as an in-depth understanding of hotel operations by subject matter experts," the chamber said.

The COVID-19 has had a huge impact on the Indian hotel industry, losing Rs 1.3 lakh crore of revenue in FY21 and it is estimated that in its recovery effort, the industry will face a strong need for a highly trained workforce to meet the pent-up travel demand, it added.

"The creation of a talent reservoir shall provide the industry access to a more comprehensive and flexible skilled force," it said.

Nakul Anand, Executive Director, ITC Ltd, said this knowledge exchange programme is beyond geographical and classroom boundaries and will prepare a unique talent pool for the industry.