Rolls-Royce launches maritime skill development programme for women

Unnati is in line with the Ministry of Shipping's skill development program under Sagarmala project

Industrial tech major Rolls-Royce on Thursday launched a skill development initiative programme for underprivileged women in partnership with the Centre of Excellence in Maritime & Shipbuilding (CEMS) at the ongoing DefExpo 2020 in Lucknow. The programme has been touted 'Unnati'. Rolls-Royce also launched ‘Unnati’ Scholarship Programme for women engineering students with Buddy4Study and Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) India.

‘Unnati’ is aimed at providing skill-based training to improve employability and prepare beneficiaries for a variety of jobs in industry. It is in line with the Union Ministry of Shipping’s Skill Development programme under the Sagarmala project to provide skill development for shipbuilding, aerospace, defence and marine Sectors, Rolls-Royce said.

“We believe that women are vital to the growth and development of any economy, and it is our endeavour to empower them in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) related careers. With a global target to reach 25 million people by 2030, we are committed to increasing the pipeline of STEM talent around the world, and this will in turn, help build a talent pipeline for a growing aerospace and defence industry,” Rolls-Royce president, India and South Asia, Kishore Jayaraman said.

He said the company’s STEM outreach programmes were forging connections between classroom studies and STEM in the wider world. “Taking this to the next level, we are also happy to partner with Buddy4Study and CAF India to enable a scholarship program for women engineering students, and support and to inspire the next generation of engineers, problem-solvers, scientists and innovators,” he said.

He underlined that ‘Unnati’ Scholarship Programme with CAF India and Buddy4Study was aimed at providing financial support to 150 girl students studying in 1st, 2nd or 3rd year of undergraduate engineering programmes. In addition, these students will also get an opportunity to shadow women engineers at Rolls-Royce as well as be mentored by Rolls-Royce engineers.

Through various community outreach programmes, Rolls-Royce has touched the lives of nearly 100,000 students from diverse backgrounds, inspiring and teaching them about STEM education and careers, as well as providing skill development, the company claimed.

Rolls-Royce has customers in more than 150 countries, comprising more than 400 airlines and leasing customers, 160 armed forces, 70 navies, and more than 5,000 power and nuclear customers.

CEMS is a dedicated centre for facilitating professional skill development and enhancement in Maritime, Manufacturing automobile aerospace and heavy engineering sectors. Its mission is to promote advancement of maritime industrial skills in advanced digital smart manufacturing through Research and education partnership with industry, and turn the vision of the next industrial 4.0 revolution into reality. Established as a Section 8 – not-for-profit organisation, it is part of central government’s Skill India movement.