New Delhi, October 23, 2019: The Hospitality industry is one of the world’s biggest employers and creators of economic growth.  In a bid to strengthen skill development of Indian youth and to upgrade skills of existing workforce to international standardsin the hospitality sector, EHL Advisory Services, the advisory company of Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne (EHL), Switzerland has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC). As part of the collaboration, EHL Advisory Services will assist selected Training Partners in setting up Licensed Training Centres across the country to promote global standard of skills in the sector. The MoU, supporting the establishment of Vocational Education and Training (VET) by EHL,was signed by Dr. Manish Kumar, Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer, NSDC and Mr. Aman Aditya Sachdev, Director & Country Head, India, EHL Advisory Services.

The collaboration between NSDC and EHL Advisory Services will provide aspiring hospitality professionals an opportunity to get convenient access to Swiss Hospitality Vocational level qualifications in India.  Vocational Education & Training/VET by EHL is based on a licensing model comprising of Certificate level programs across four hospitality disciplines - Kitchen, Food & Beverage Service, Rooms and Hotel Administration. Upon successful completion of all three certificate levels in a discipline, the student would receive the equivalent of a Swiss Professional Diploma.

With its vision to create a skilling ecosystem of global standards, NSDC has created a customized loan service for executing this collaboration. NSDC will provide financial assistance to training partners who fulfil the NSDC requirements and are approved by the EHL Advisory. The funding will cover capital investment related expenses for a period of four years, with one-year moratorium, to support the training partner in the said venture. NSDC may also support identification of potential training partner(s) through its existing partner network to setup training centres across regions.

The partnership will simultaneously propagate large-scale, entrepreneurial investment in hospitality skill development ventures across the nation.  NSDC in collaboration with EHL Advisory Services,aims to create significantly better employment and career progression opportunities for young professionals. At the same time, it will help in ensuring supply of skilled manpower for India’s growing hospitality and service industries.

Commenting on the partnership, Dr. Manish Kumar, MD & CEO, National Skill Development Corporation said, "Our objective of partnering with global organisations is to enhance the quality of skill training in India and benchmark it against international standards. We are leveraging our strength, knowledge and partnerships to expand opportunities and access for skilling across the country."

Mr. Aman Aditya Sachdev, Director & Country Head, India, EHL Advisory Services said, "EHL's vision is to share the Swiss hospitality education knowhow globally. The recently launched VET by EHL Programs in India will help us transfer, not only the Swiss hospitality  education philosophy and knowledge of Ecole Hôtelière de Lausanne, a global leader in hospitality education and skill development, to the students in the country but also generate a positive mind-set shift towards hospitality vocational training. We are pleased to collaborate with NSDC to further support the development of VET by EHL training centres pan-India which will help address the skills gap in the hospitality sector in the country, create job opportunities and build a workforce for the industry that is "a class apart".

EHL Advisory Services will assist selected Training Partners in creating state-of-the-art VET by EHL Licensed Training Centres to deliver the vocational programs created by EHL. Through its ingeniously developed Learning Management System, EHL Advisory Services will also provide industry-aligned content and pedagogy to facilitate a blended learning platform for Trainers and Students alike. It will also conduct training of trainers, certify them, and facilitate quality assurance.