Guwahati: The Assam Tourism Development Corporation Limited (ATDCL), The Indian Hotels Company Limited (IHCL, a Tata Enterprise), Tata STRIVE Skill Development Initiative of Tata Community Initiative Trust (TCIT), and the Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (MSDE), Government of India will develop a state-of-the-art residential training facility at the Omeo Kumar Das Institute of Social Change & Development (OKD Institute) located near Guwahati to help meet the large entry level human resource requirement in the Northeast and elsewhere in the country.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed at Guwahati on 17 October in the presence of Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and State Tourism Minister Jayanta Mallabaruah.
The Centre would have the potential to develop into a Centre of Excellence for hospitality training, serving the Northeast.
The partnership between MSDE, ATDCL, IHCL, and Tata STRIVE aims to conduct employment-linked skills training in multiple domains in the hospitality sector. About 400 youths per year would be impacted through various industry-aligned short- and long-term courses. The MSDE and ATDCL are expected to provide financial and infrastructure support for four years after which the centre is expected to become self-sustainable. Some of the key interventions at the centre would include:
- Short-term courses between three and six months
- Long-term courses for about a year with interventions in classrooms as well as the industry
- Capacity-building of facilitators through the Training of Trainers (TOT) programme, in partnership with state and central bodies
At the initial stage, the training will cover primarily the following programmes:
- Food & Beverage Industry – Bartenders, Waiters, Stewards, QSR Associate
- Food Production (Kitchen) – Kitchen assistant, Commis Chef, Multi-cuisine Cook
- Housekeeping – Room attendants, Supervisors
- Front Office – Front Office Associate/ Executive
- Spa – Spa Therapist, Wellness Nutritionist
The MSDE will support training for all short-term courses as per the scheme norms. The students must pay Rs 1500 for all courses between 2022-2023 and 2025-2026.
Upon completion of the courses, the students will get certificates issued by Assam Tourism and IHCL (Taj Group of Hotels). Efforts will be made for recognition of long-term courses through local university connect.
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