ICICI Academy for Skills is the flagship initiative of ICICI Foundation. It aims at addressing identified skill gaps in urban India and providing sustainable employment opportunities to the underprivileged youth. From its first centre that was established in Jaipur in 2013, it has grown to 27 centres across 19 states and one union territory.
Till 31 March 2020, ICICI Academy for Skills has transformed the lives of over 1.45 lakh urban youth through its pro bono skilling and placement interventions. Thus far, 42% of our beneficiaries are women. It is a matter of great pride and satisfaction for us that 100% of our trainees, who opted for job placement, have found suitable employment through ICICI Academy’s vast network of placement partners.
ICICI Academy for Skills acts as a bridge between youth who are seeking employment and recruiters, by providing industry-relevant, job-oriented vocational training courses. ICICI Academy provides training in 13 courses.
The holistic operating model of ICICI Academy for Skills is built around partnerships with various stakeholders including governmental organisations, knowledge partners and industry placement partners. We are an accredited, non-funded training partner of National Skills Development Corporation of India (NSDC). We have also forged partnerships with governments of Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Jammu & Kashmir, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh to drive sustainable livelihoods.
Our operating model encompasses the following unique features that are instrumental for success of our trainees:
In fiscal 2020 alone, ICICI Academy for Skills trained over 25,000 youth across India and helped them in finding suitable jobs. Almost half of them were women.
We offer free of cost training to all participants who are sourced from multiple channels including NGOs (non-governmental organisations), suburban colleges, student referrals and direct community outreach. We have built and nurtured our direct community outreach over the years. Given the varying socio-economic backgrounds of our trainees, we also provide free uniforms and one meal a day.
This process facilitates development of new courses and updation of curricula. ICICI Academy for Skills has recently launched two new courses – ‘Home Health Aide’ and ‘Assistant Beauty Therapist’ in response to the evolving needs in our society.
We design our 12-week long, intensive courses in association with our ‘Knowledge Partners’ who are market leaders in their respective fields. They undertake curriculum and content development, help in setting up labs for practical training and provide training to our trainers. This philosophy of co-creation enables us to deliver state-of-the-art, industry relevant experiences to our trainees.
Our courses include compulsory core modules that encourage learners to acquire and practice soft skills and life skills. The modules include sessions on effective communication, personal etiquette and grooming, ethics and values, and time management, among others. These skills assist them in responding to personal and professional challenges and becoming responsible citizens. Sessions on financial literacy and environmental awareness are also incorporated into the courses. In addition, our programmes include sessions that help trainees to learn the basics of micro-entrepreneurship
Employability of beneficiaries is core to our skilling interventions. In order to ensure that our candidates are employment-ready, our courses include compulsory practical training in labs, mock drill sessions, cross skilling and apprenticeship programmes.
We leverage our industry connections to provide all our trainees with placement assistance. Some of our industry partners include Reliance Industries, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Axis Securities, HDB Financial Services, Lifestyle, Titan, Shoppers Stop and Olivia Skincare. We follow a rigorous process for screening potential employers to ensure that our beneficiaries get jobs that are a right fit for them and are in line with the prescribed minimum wages. The trainers provide their trainees with intensive and structured pre-interview counselling, keeping in mind their aptitude, interests and qualifications. Many of our trainees have transformed themselves into successful professionals. Their skills and experience have helped them in making a mark in their respective organisations. The fact that almost 60% of our 1,300 recruiters participate in the placement process year-on-year is a testament to the quality of our training. We feel proud that over the years, all our trainees who opted for placement, were able to find suitable jobs after the successful completion of their training.
Post completion of the training, we handhold our beneficiaries for a period of one year to ensure a smooth transition from a trainee to an employee. This is an integral feature of our unique operating model which has been appreciated by our trainees and their employers alike.
“Thanks to my hard work, determination and the training that I received at ICICI Academy, it seems that life has just begun for me and my family. My dreams are finally finding wings.“
Read More“From a lad, who struggled to speak properly, to a well-paid, successful sales professional. I owe a large part of this transformation to ICICI Academy for Skills.“
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