Tata Trusts and GE Healthcare tie up for skill development
Tata and GE healthcare entered into an agreement to provide training to 10,000 Indian graduates over the next three years in various technical sectors in healthcare, as revealed in an announcement made yesterday.
Tata Trusts, a major stock holder of Tata Sons, announced its partnership with GE Healthcare with the primary focus on the actions it is set to adopt in the near future. Aiming to train over 10,000 youths who are graduates in various technical fields of healthcare, Tata Trusts and GE Healthcare are looking to bridge the skills gap in this sector. The announcement was made in the presence of Ratan Tata, Chairman of Tata Trusts, Terri Bresenham, president & CEO, Sustainable Healthcare Solutions, GE Healthcare and Banmali Agrawala, President and CEO, GE South Asia.
The project is set to be in place for the next three years and Tata Trusts seeks to provide scholarships to the candidates who qualify for the course and GE has pledged to fund few candidates based on their eligibility. Tata Trusts annually spends reportedly EUR 113 Million on various philanthropic initiatives, out of which 25 pc goes to healthcare.
Ratan Tata said, “It is an exciting moment for me because the two organisations have common goals. The Tata Trusts have been committed to training and creating prosperity for the people. We are working for healthcare and saving lives.”
Watch how @tatatrusts & @GEHealthcare are partnering to skill youth for jobs in the healthcare sector
— Tata Group (@TataCompanies) October 18, 2016
GE Healthcare has committed an approximate of EUR 1 billion globally towards healthcare education over the next four years with a vision to train more than 2 million professionals in the healthcare technology sector. It already has institutes in place with 10 centres across India that provide skilling programmes to both untrained and trained professionals. Close to forty different courses are delivered through six skilling partners, and the new partnership with Tata Trust will involve a mix of both classroom training and interactive training exercises. These are aimed to train candidates as X-Ray, Radiography, Medical Equipment, Anaesthesia, Operation Theatre and Cardiac Care technicians, and Diabetic Education counsellors. As a part of this programme, candidates are to undergo continuous assessment and internships, and those who can clear the Healthcare Sector Skills Council (HSSC) exam after successful completion would be granted a certification from HSSC.
Investing in tomorrow’s youth for a sustainable difference w/ @RNTata2000 & @tatatrusts #india #healthcare https://t.co/W7ugBPeT6C
— Terri Bresenham (@TSBresenham) October 17, 2016
Terri Bresenham said, “What makes this initiative more special is the opportunity it provides to transform individuals and families by providing livelihood opportunities to the students, particularly women.”
Gap in skills
The requirement at the present moment for allied healthcare professionals (AHP) in India is estimated at 6.5 million personnel as opposed to an availability of less than 300,000, according to the company. National Skill Development Corporation predicts that, by 2018 the healthcare technician demand-supply gap in India will be 445,000.
In such a situation, initiatives and mechanisms to deal with the growing need for a skilled workforce in the healthcare sector comes highly needed. However, with a large budget being pledged to its support, establishment of ministries for the same and collaborative events such as India International Skill Development Summit on the horizon, India is finally on track of recognising the importance of training its workforce.