June 2025 | 1298 words | 5-minute read
IHCL's skilling initiative
In New Delhi's Taj Mahal hotel, Shubham Rawat, despite a vision impairment, is thriving as an apprentice chef after being trained by the Indian Hotel Company Ltd's (IHCL) skilling initiative. This program is part of IHCL's broader effort to address the skilled labor shortage in India's booming travel and tourism sector, projected to grow significantly by 2028. IHCL, in collaboration with partners like Tata STRIVE, has expanded its training network to over 51 centers across India, aiming to empower disadvantaged youth and meet the industry's demand for skilled professionals. The training includes practical and classroom sessions, enhancing employability and supporting IHCL's expansion plans. Since 2020, IHCL has achieved a 70% placement rate for its graduates, contributing significantly to the socio-economic development of the regions.
IHCL's skilling initiative
In New Delhi's Taj Mahal Hotel, Shubham Rawat, an apprentice commis chef with 30% vision loss in one eye, represents a success story for the Indian Hotel Company Ltd's (IHCL) extensive skilling initiative. This program has trained 28,000 youths, preparing them for the hospitality industry, which is crucial as India's travel and tourism sector is expected to grow significantly, reaching $512 billion by 2028. The industry faces a shortage of skilled workers, with an additional 30 lakh needed by 2028.
IHCL's initiative aims to bridge this skill gap and support its expansion plan to operate 700 hotels by 2030. The company has established over 51 training centers across 20 states, including a significant center in Goa, in collaboration with Tata STRIVE, Head Held High Foundation, and other partners. These centers provide standardized hospitality training, enhancing employment opportunities.
The training includes a four-month course covering various hospitality functions, followed by a month of on-the-job training. IHCL also offers a 45-day Youth Development Module focusing on essential life and professional skills. The program's effectiveness is evident in its 70% placement rate since 2020, with many students receiving job offers before training completion.
IHCL's commitment extends to training trainers and using technology to scale impact and customize training programs. The company aims to train 1,00,000 individuals by 2030, enhancing their employability through recognized qualifications and contributing to the broader socio-economic development. This initiative illustrates IHCL's focus on long-term sustainability and creating shared value through skilled workforce development in the hospitality sector.
IHCL's skilling initiative
In the bustling kitchen of the Taj Mahal Hotel in New Delhi, Shubham Rawat meticulously dices vegetables, showcasing his culinary skills despite a 30% vision loss in his left eye. Once uncertain about his future due to his disability, Rawat is now thriving as an apprentice commis chef, thanks to the skilling initiative by Indian Hotel Company Ltd (IHCL). This program is part of a larger effort by IHCL to address the skill gap in India’s booming hospitality industry, which is expected to grow significantly by 2028.
The travel and tourism sector in India is on a rapid recovery path post-pandemic, with projections suggesting it could reach $512 billion by 2028. This growth is creating a demand for an additional 30 lakh workers. However, the challenge lies in the scarcity of formally trained professionals, especially for entry-level positions that require both technical and soft skills. IHCL’s initiative aims to bridge this gap by training economically and socially disadvantaged youth, preparing them for careers in hospitality and aiding the company’s own expansion goals of reaching 700 hotels by 2030.
Since 2020, IHCL has significantly invested in educational programs under its ESG+ framework of Paathya, enhancing the industry’s workforce quality. In collaboration with Tata STRIVE and other organizations, IHCL has expanded its training network from four to over 51 centers across 20 states, including a major upcoming facility in Goa. These centers provide standardized, high-quality hospitality education, increasing employment opportunities for the youth.
The training offered at these centers covers various hospitality domains such as food and beverage service, food production, housekeeping, front office operations, and spa management. The curriculum includes four months of classroom and practical training, followed by a month of on-the-job training, ensuring that students like Rawat are well-prepared for their roles in the industry.
Additionally, IHCL offers a 45-day Youth Development Module focusing on essential life and behavioral skills necessary for the hospitality sector. Success stories like that of Sumitra, who transformed from a shy student to a confident Food and Beverage Service Executive, highlight the impact of these comprehensive training programs.
Upon completion, students receive industry-standard certification, enhancing their employability. Since the inception of this initiative, IHCL has achieved a 70% placement rate for its graduates, many of whom receive job offers during their training period. The company also takes into account the graduates' preferences for job location and department, providing support with accommodation and travel safety.
IHCL’s commitment extends beyond just training the youth. It includes a Training of Trainers program to ensure that the faculty at its centers are well-equipped to deliver industry-relevant education. This approach not only prepares students for immediate job opportunities but also builds a sustainable, skilled workforce that can meet the growing demands of the hospitality industry.
The use of technology and data analytics further enhances the effectiveness of IHCL’s training programs, allowing for customized curriculums and strategic expansion based on over a decade of collected data. Competence-based assessment frameworks focus on practical skills over theoretical knowledge, recognizing prior learning and experience, which helps in aligning training more closely with industry needs.
Through its strategic, long-term investment in skilling initiatives, IHCL is not only filling the immediate skill gaps in India’s hospitality sector but is also fostering an ecosystem that benefits all stakeholders, contributing to the socio-economic development of the regions it operates in. This holistic approach ensures that the company can continue to uphold high service standards while expanding its footprint nationally and globally.
In a gleaming kitchen at the Taj Mahal, New Delhi, Shubham Rawat deftly wields a knife as he dices vegetables into neat, even pieces with speed. A few years ago, the young man was struggling with the challenges imposed by the 30% loss of vision in his left eye. His dreams of a career in the culinary arts seemed out of reach.
“My parents were worried about my disability and my career prospects,” he recalls. “Finding the right opportunity seemed impossible.” Today, the apprentice commis chef is among the 28,000 youth skilled by Indian Hotel Company Ltd’s (IHCL) ambitious skilling initiative that are taking their first steps towards gainful employment and industry excellence.
The challenge
Mr Rawat’s journey represents more than individual aspiration, it is part of IHCL’s sweeping initiative that aims to transform the hospitality landscape of the world’s most populace nation. As India’s travel and tourism industry strongly rebounds from pandemic lows, a shortage of skilled workers threatens to hold it back from lucrative economic opportunities. India’s travel and tourism sector is projected to reach $512 bn by 2028, from an estimated $178 bn in 2021, according to India Brand Equity Foundation, an Indian government trust.
This boom presents an opportunity. According to a 2024 Tourism and Hospitality Skill Sector Council report, the industry will require an additional ~30 lakh workers by 2028. Given that the number of formally trained youth remains low and entry level roles are hard to fill due to a lack of technical expertise and soft skills, there is an urgent need to scale up training infrastructure in the country. For IHCL, this skill gap presented an opportunity to empower economically and socially disadvantaged youth and build a talent pool for the hospitality industry — its own aggressive expansion plan of targeting 700 hotels by 2030 demands skilled professionals. Since 2020, the company, which prides itself on service excellence, has taken on the role of educator, investing in training programmes that encompass the broader industry ecosystem.
“Guided by our ESG+ framework of Paathya, IHCL’s skilling programmes are a powerful step towards bridging the employability gap in the industry and creating meaningful opportunities,” says Gaurav Pokhariyal, Executive Vice President – Human Resources, IHCL. “The programmes empower the youth to build successful careers and positively contribute to the socio-economic development of these regions.”
Betting on vocational education
In the last five years, IHCL, in collaboration with Tata STRIVE, Head Held High Foundation and other like-minded partners has expanded its network from four training centres to over 51 centres across 20 states — including the country’s largest skilling centre coming up in Goa. The skilling centres offer standardised, high-quality hospitality education and thereby enhancing employment opportunities.
“Our partnership with IHCL is a perfect example of deep engagement between industry and a skill development organisation, which has delivered significant impact over the last 10 years,” says Ameya Vanjari, Chief Operating Officer, Tata STRIVE. “The deep involvement of IHCL experts spreads across the value chain — from designing courses, training faculty, assessing students, and providing them with on-the-job training and placement opportunities. Tata STRIVE supports the entire initiative by training other partners’ trainers, providing systems for monitoring and governance — thus bringing in consistency and truly partnering with IHCL on their mission of Paathya. The IHCL-Tata STRIVE centres are truly centres of excellence for learners to be skilled and ready for successful careers in hospitality.”
Training centres are located in towns like Chamoli in Uttarakhand, Tumkur in Karnataka, Chhindwara in Madhya Pradesh, Navi Mumbai in Maharashtra, Ponda in Goa, Kukatpally in Andhra Pradesh and Ekta Nagar in Gujarat among others. In regions like Jammu & Kashmir, IHCL has partnered with the Indian Army and REACHA (Research and Extension Association for Conservation Horticulture and Agro-forestry) to skill youth in Baramulla and Kupwara. IHCL has also collaborated with key government bodies to scale its initiatives, including the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Assam Tourism Development Corporation, Confederation of Indian Industry, and the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council.
Programme architecture
IHCL has invested in state-of-the-art infrastructure support for these skilling centres and students use Tata STRIVE’s language-agnostic Karmadisha app, to understand what role matches their interests and is best suited for them. The centres offer training in key hospitality areas such as F&B service, food production, housekeeping, front office, and spa operations. The courses are curated and deployed in partnership with IHCL’s training partners, and typically spread across four months, with in classroom sessions and practical hands-on trainings, followed by one-month on-the-job training for exposure in the industry. “The practical kitchen training was instrumental,” says Mr Rawat, who discovered his calling in food production during the programme. “Tata STRIVE equipped me with the skills and confidence to excel, and I am thrilled to learn from the best at Taj Mahal Hotel, New Delhi.”
Industry-ready talent
On graduation, learners receive a certificate aligned to industry standards, increasing their employability and mobility in the industry. Since 2020, IHCL has achieved ~70% placement rate for its graduates, with many receiving pre-placement offers during the on-the-job training part of the course design. Additionally, profiles of graduating batch members are shared with the IHCL recruitment team and its national placement partners. Graduates’ needs, like choice of core department and city, accommodation support and travel safety, are an important consideration when securing placements.
“We are creating impactful programmes that empower the youth, preparing them for successful careers while addressing the growing talent needs of the hospitality industry,” says Mr Pokhariyal. “Our mission is to skill 1,00,000 individuals by 2030.”
Recognising the need to bolster each level of the skilling value chain, IHCL also conducts a Training of Trainers programme for its CSR skill partners at its hotels. Over the last couple of years, more than 100 faculty members have been trained to provide industry-relevant training and equip youth with the skills needed to thrive in the demanding hospitality sector.
Personalising learning
In the last few years, IHCL’s skill initiative has seen a substantial surge in student enrolment and now trains over 10,000 youth annually. Technology has played an important role in scaling impact. Platforms like TCS iON and DigiHub capture end-to-end data that is used to monitor the programme and make strategic decisions — over 10 years of data is mined for curriculum customisation and expansion.
IHCL and Tata STRIVE have also developed competence-based assessment frameworks that focus on skills rather than time spent in formal education. Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) assesses a person’s skills, knowledge and experience gained through formal and informal learning, which could include on-the-job training, work experience, volunteering, life experiences, and independent study. RPL training initiatives assess various competencies and recognise skills by awarding a qualification or credits. In this manner, individuals gain recognised qualifications, enhancing their job prospects and earning potential.
Building tomorrow
IHCL’s demonstrated success in systemic, scalable interventions illustrates how prioritising long-term sustainability over short-term cost minimisation can create shared value. By working towards higher skill levels, better service standards and improved career prospects for workers, IHCL’s skilling programme is working to create an ecosystem that benefits all stakeholders.
—Kermin Bhot
