THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Tourism Minister A P Anilkumar inaugurated the Skill Certification Centre - Kerala, hospitality trade training centre of Vivanta by Taj Trivandrum here on Wednesday.
Inaugurating the Centre, the minister said that this for the first time in Kerala that such a training centre is established where youngsters from families below poverty line are being trained. Though tourism department too is conducting training programmes, a centre which selects candidates from rural areas of Kerala is the first-of-its-kind.
The students of this centre are also given stipend, which is higher than the amount given by the tourism department. The attempt will help the tourism sector provide skilled labour for house keeping and food and beverages services, the Minister said.
Presiding over the meeting, H N Sreenivas, senior vice-president, Human Resources, Taj Group, said that candidates below poverty line, who have passed Class 10, are selected for the course. The trainees will be given ` 2,500 per month for the first year and ` 3,000 for the second year.
Uniform, food and accommodation are provided free of cost by the hotel. On completion of the course, candidates will be issued a certificate and absorbed on merit basis in Taj Hotels, anywhere in India. The philosophy of Skill Certification Centres evolves from the ‘Taj vision’ of influencing standards of excellence in the art of hospitality through talent expertise. The Centre provides stimulated environment of a restaurant, kitchen and guest room where a trainee can learn various skills in a guiding and non-threatening environment.
The training modules will have substantial portion of classroom inputs for imparting knowledge. They will also be given on-the-job training to give them exposure to the real world of hoteliering.
The Centre has recruited around 41 candidates from various rural areas in Kerala. There are 14 students in food production, 14 in food and beverages service and 13 in house keeping.
T Damu, vice-president, Corporate Communications (South), who offered felicitations, said that this is the Tata culture of creating employment in the rural areas by providing opportunities. K Prakash Nair, general manager, Learning and Development - Kerala, welcomed the gathering and Murugan Rajan, general manager, Taj Vivanta proposed the vote of thanks.