IndiaCan target to train 5 lakh students in 5 yrs

Vocational training institute IndiaCan today said the company has set a target to train five lakh students over the next five years and will accordingly build capacity to achieve these numbers.

"We have set a target to train five lakh youth in the country to meet the industry requirement over the next five years. The training imparted by us will help them in obtaining entry-level jobs in the industry," said Srintah Venkatesh, the Head of IndiaCan Education's vocation business.

Venkatesh said IndiaCan has 80 training centres spread across the country.

"By the end of this financial year, the number of these training centres will be 100 and by the end of this calendar year, we expect to have over 300 training centres across the country," Venkatesh said.

Some of these centres will be owned by IndiaCan, but most of them will be franchisees of the company.

IndiaCan is a 50:50 joint venture between listed company Educomp Solutions and Pearson.

IndiaCan provides marketing, training and technical support to its centres, while technology support is provided by Educomp.

"At present, we deliver our courses through Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT) solution," Venkatesh said.

IndiaCan today announced its WorkFirst initiative, which will give international-level certification for vocational skills in India. This certification aims to help students get entry-level jobs. Certification under this programme will be provided by UK-based Edexcel.

The company simultaneously announced the launch of two short-term courses on sales and retail training.

"The duration for these courses will be two months and fees will be in range of Rs 8,000. The course curriculum has been designed on the basis of the industry requirement," Venkatesh said.

On the status of facilitating placement in the industry, Venkatesh said that IndiaCan runs some courses which have a written agreement with companies for absorption of trained students. However, all the programmes do not have such an arrangement.

"We have internal departments that work to connect our students with industry. On our part, we ensure that we successfully bridge the skill gap in an individual and make him employable," Venkatesh said.