ICICI Foundation signs three MoUs for ICICI Academy for Skills with industry leaders

June 11, 2014

Mumbai: ICICI Academy for Skills (ICICI Academy), an institute set up by the ICICI Foundation for Inclusive Growth (ICICI Foundation) to create sustainable livelihood for the youth, announces the signing of agreements with Spencers Retail Ltd, Bluechip Corporate Investment Centre Ltd and AkzoNobel India Ltd. While Spencers Retail and Bluechip Corporate Investment Centre will provide employment opportunities to the eligible students of ICICI Academy, AkzoNobel will be a knowledge partner and will assist the Academy in setting up a new course and building the course curriculum.

As per the MoUs signed with ICICI Academy, Spencers Retail and Bluechip Corporate Investment Centre have agreed to offer employment opportunities to the students across various centres, on successful completion of their training in the courses - Selling Skills and Office Administration. ICICI Academy and AkzoNobel India will introduce a course on Paint Application Techniques at the Jaipur and Coimbatore centres of the Academy. AkzoNobel will assist the Academy in designing the course curriculum, in faculty training and will also help students secure jobs on successful completion of the course.

Currently, ICICI Academy offers vocational skill building programmes in eight courses. They are: Electrical & Home Appliance Repair, Refrigeration & AC Repair, Pumps & Motor Repair, Central Air Conditioning, Retail Café Operations, Web Designing, Selling Skills and Office Administration. The course duration is around 12 weeks. The Academy has tied up with Schneider Electric Pvt. Ltd , Blue Star Ltd. , Crompton Greaves Ltd. , NIIT Ltd. , Café Coffee Day , Tally solutions Pvt. Ltd. and Voltas Ltd. to provide course curriculum and suitable channels for job placement. The Academy has four residential centres at Jaipur, Coimbatore, Narsobawadi (in Maharashtra) and Patna; and five non-residential centres at Chennai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Pune, and Guwahati.

ICICI Academy is looking to train more than 6,000 youth at these nine training centres across the country by FY2015. Over 100 companies across sectors such as financial services, automobiles, telecommunications and manufacturing have participated in the placement process. The Academy has ensured 100% placement of all eligible students looking for employment opportunities, across all centres.

About Spencers Retail Limited: Spencer’s Retail Limited, an RP - Sanjiv Goenka group company is a multi-format food-first retailer providing a wide range of quality products. They run about 150 stores across 40 cities in India, employing more than 7,000 people. They are the earliest entrants in the retail space in India and have been instrumental in introducing Indian consumers to the concept of organized retailing, becoming the country’s first grocery chain back in 1920, and offering the joys of hypermarket shopping in 2001.

About AkzoNobel India Limited: Present in India for 60 years and a significant player in the paints industry. Over the years, it has witnessed sustained expansion, growth and transformation. In 2008, Akzo Nobel N.V. became owner of the entire equity share capital of Imperial Chemical Industries Ltd., by virtue of which the company became a member of the AkzoNobel Group. AkzoNobel India manufactures and markets a wide range of coatings covering Decorative paints, Protective coatings and Specialty Chemicals. They provide solutions to many industries and sectors including automotive, consumer electronics, power, aviation, shipping and leisure craft, construction, oil and gas, water and waste water, food and beverages, etc. They supply industries and consumers with innovative products and are passionate about developing sustainable answers for their customers. Their portfolio includes well-known brands such as Dulux, Sikkens, International and Interpon. With an employee strength of close to 2000, AkzoNobel India has manufacturing sites, offices and distribution networks spread across the country. All manufacturing facilities have state-of-the-art environmental management system. Its commitment to Health, Safety, Environment & Security (HSE&S) has been amongst the best in class globally, with due care being taken to protect the people and the environment.

About Bluechip Corporate Investment Centre Ltd.: Established in 1989, Bluechip is India’s largest Retail Financial Products Distribution House. They are the leading distributors for All Financial products viz., Life Insurance, Mutual Funds, GOI Bonds, Corporate Fixed Deposit / Bonds, Infrastructure Bonds, Equity IPOs, etc. Over 4 lac families are investing through Bluechip regularly with their greatest asset being their client’s loyalty. Its publication, the Bluechip Bulletin is the most preferred newsletter amongst retail investors and is mailed to more than 5 lac investors every month. It has 279 offices across 112 cities and its services are rated the best in the entire industry.

About ICICI Foundation For Inclusive Growth: It was founded by the ICICI Group in early 2008, with a view to carry forward and build upon ICICI Group's legacy of promoting inclusive growth. ICICI Foundation seeks to promote inclusive growth in India by contributing to the key enablers required for widespread participation in economic opportunities in the country. Through focused initiatives in the identified areas including primary healthcare, elementary education, skill development and sustainable livelihoods and financial inclusion, ICICI Foundation is working towards building capabilities and developing innovative models that can be replicated and scaled up in future. ICICI Academy for Skills operates under the aegis of ICICI Foundation.

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ICICI Foundation for Inclusive Growth
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