IHG, IL&FS Skills launch the 2nd IHG Academy branded training centre in Kalimpong, West Bengal, India

INDIA, 2015-9-2 — /Travel PR News/ — InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), one of the world’s leading hotel companies, and IL&FS Skills, one of India’s largest skills development organisations have launched the second IHG Academy branded training centre under their partnership in Kalimpong, West Bengal. The first branded training centre was launched in New Delhi last year.

The Kalimpong centre is set to be one of the largest talent development centres under the IHG Academy programme, attracting young talent from the rural areas of Northeast India.

IHG Academy is a pioneering global collaboration between IHG and local education and community providers which aims to provide local people with skills development and employment opportunities at more than 4,900 IHG hotels across the globe. There are now over 900 IHG Academy programmes across more than 60 countries globally, and 25 IHG Academy programmes across India.

The collaboration with IL&FS Skills is IHG’s first vocational programme in the country. Under the partnership, IL&FS Skills provides IHG approved vocational hospitality training across the country.

Participants are first trained to IHG’s rigorous and world-class standards in a classroom setting whilst learning about the Indian hospitality sector, followed by on-the-job training to put what they learnt into practice. They are then given the opportunity to apply for full-time roles at IHG hotels across the country.

To date, the IHG Academy partnership with IL&FS has skilled 44 students across nine batches, and 47 students are undergoing training in the current batch. Nearly 60% of graduates from the programme have joined IHG hotels across the country in full time employment.

The IHG Academy programme supports the national Skill India Campaign which aims to equip 500 million Indian nationals with skills by 2022.

Shantha de Silva, Head of South West Asia, IHG said, “As one of the largest hotel companies in the world, we are in a great position to help train local talent and increase the proportion of employable workforce for the hospitality industry. We do this through IHG Academy which is a core pillar of our Corporate Responsibility strategy. Over the next 12 months our target under our IHG Academy partnership with IL&FS is to train 100 students across the country. With this rebranded centre in Kalimpong we are confident of drawing more young local people from Northeast India to undergo our high standards of hospitality training and we are delighted to be able to do our part in skilling local talent to support the growing tourism industry in India.”

IHG currently has over 900 IHG Academy programmes across more than 60 countries. Over 10,000 participants worldwide have benefitted from the IHG Academy programme since it launched nine years ago and the company aims to provide skills training and employability in the hospitality sector to 20,000 local people by 2017.

IHG currently has 22 hotels open across four brands in India: InterContinental, Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express. A further 47 hotels are due to open in the next three to five years.

To find out more about IHG Academy, visit IHG’s online Corporate Responsibility Report: www.ihg.com/responsibility.

Notes to Editors: 
IHG (InterContinental® Hotels Group) [LON:IHG, NYSE:IHG (ADRs)] is a global organisation with a broad portfolio of hotel brands, including InterContinental® Hotels & Resorts, Kimpton® Hotels & Restaurants, HUALUXE® Hotels and Resorts, Crowne Plaza® Hotels & Resorts, Hotel Indigo®, EVEN™ Hotels, Holiday Inn® Hotels & Resorts, Holiday Inn Express®, Staybridge Suites®and Candlewood Suites®.

IHG franchises, leases, manages or owns more than 4,900 hotels and 724,000 guest rooms in nearly 100 countries, with almost 1,300 hotels in its development pipeline. IHG also manages IHG® Rewards Club, the world’s first and largest hotel loyalty programme with more than 88 million members worldwide.

InterContinental Hotels Group PLC is the Group’s holding company and is incorporated in Great Britain and registered in England and Wales. More than 350,000 people work across IHG’s hotels and corporate offices globally.

Visit www.ihg.com for hotel information and reservations and www.ihgrewardsclub.com for more on IHG Rewards Club. For our latest news, visit www.ihg.com/media and follow us on social media at: www.twitter.com/ihg, www.facebook.com/ihg or www.youtube.com/ihgplc.

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