UK cos pledge 29 mn pound to train 20 lakh in India

Ten UK-based companies have pledged to invest 29.29 million pound to train about 20 lakh people in India by 2020.
"10 UK companies have committed to support India's Make in India and Skill India initiatives by enhancing skills to global standards and giving the trainees greater employment opportunities in India and at a global level," UK India Business Council (UKIBC) said in a statement.
These companies are among the largest investors in India. The firms include HSBC, Vodafone, Reckitt Benckiser, Rolls Royce, OCS, Mott Macdonald, G4S, Aviva, Marks & Spencer and GSK.
The areas of skills being covered are apprenticeships, career development, technical, soft and leadership training, and the all-important certification support.

Speaking about the pledge, UKIBC Chair Patricia Hewitt said: "India has an enormous pool of ambitious and talented young people, and the pledge gives them access to work quality training to recognised international standards."
Ashok Bajpai, Managing Director, G4S Secure Solutions (India), said a skilled workforce is the bedrock of India's race to meet its destiny of becoming an economic superpower.

Nitish Kapoor, Regional Senior Vice-President, South Asia, Reckitt Benckiser, said India is a key market for the company.
"We are delighted to announce we are increasing our training investment here by 50 per cent between now and 2020," he added.

Kishore Jayaraman, President of Rolls-Royce - India and South Asia, Rolls Royce Holdings Plc, said that with India's growing emphasis on aerospace manufacturing, this is a great effort to develop a steady pipeline of highly skilled talent for the aerospace industry by deepening synergies between the government and the industry.
Sunil Sood, MD and CEO, Vodafone India, spoke about the company's commitment to skilling two million people in 5 years.