ICICI Academy for Skills organises first convocation at its centre in Zirakpur

Chief Guest Daljit Singh Cheema, Education Minister, Government of Punjab conferred certificates to 95 young women who had completed their training course in ‘Retail Sales’ and ‘Office Administration’ at ICICI Academy’s Zirakpur centre. All students have been offered placements across sectors like Telecommunications and ITES.

Chanda Kochhar, MD & CEO, ICICI Bank said: “India has a unique advantage in the form of its demographic dividend. However, translating the demographic dividend into growth and prosperity requires job creation as well as enabling the youth to acquire the skills required to benefit from employment opportunities. 

Through the ‘ICICI Academy for Skills’, we are making a significant contribution towards empowering underprivileged youth including women. I believe that these new centres, which are exclusively for women, will enable many young women to get access to vocational skills and become important stakeholders in India’s growth story.”

Zirakpur is one of the nine academic centres exclusively dedicated to training of women. These centres offer courses of 12 weeks duration in ‘Retail Sales’ and ‘Office Administration’ for women who have completed class X. The Zirakpur centre has a capacity to train around 880 students a year. 

The other all-women centres of ICICI Academy are situated in New Delhi, Cochin, Mysore, Trichy, Vijayawada, Lucknow, Nagpur and Bhubaneswar.
 
Since its inception in October 2013, ICICI Academy has set up a total of 20 centres across the country to provide relevant and practical training to the underprivileged youth in various disciplines including selling skills, office administration and web designing. The students are also trained in specific life skills such as communication, finance, etiquette and grooming which help them adapt to an organised work environment.
 
It has trained and successfully placed over 15,870 youth in various areas like Electrical & Home Appliance Repair, Refrigeration & AC Repair, Pumps & Motor Repair, Central Air Conditioning, Selling Skills, Office Administration, Web Designing, Retail Café Operations, Paint Application Techniques, Tractor Mechanic, Lab Assistant at Diagnostic Centres, Two & Three Wheeler Service Technician and Retail Sales. Currently, 35 per cent of these students are women.

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.