LEAP Skills Academy to Train and Certify Workforce in Tourism and Hospitality Sector Under Skill India Mission

NEW DELHI, March 14, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

With the aim of fulfilling the Prime Minister's 'Skill India' Mission, the Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship had launched the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) in the year 2015. As a part of the PMKVY, the Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) program was launched to assess and certify individuals across industries with prior learning experience or skills.

The objective of RPL is to align the competencies of the un-regulated workforce of the country to the standardized National Skills Qualification Framework (NSQF). RPL is a platform to provide recognition to the informal learning or learning through work, to get equal acceptance as formal levels of education.

LEAP is focusing on the tourism and hospitality sector, and is working closely with the Tourism and Hospitality Skill Council (THSC) to identify industry partners in the states of Himanchal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh across prominent tourist destinations such as Jaipur, Agra, Udaipur, etc.

LEAP will work with and train the staff of hotels in such cities, ranging from the top 4-5 star hotels to budget hotels, and aims to train over 3000 employees in the hospitality and tourism sector within 2017, under the RPL initiative.

LEAP Skills Academy is a skill development organization, based out of New Delhi, incorporated in the year 2013. LEAP which stands for Learning, Employability and Progress, is an impact-oriented organization and has played a major role in imparting industry relevant skills, as well as life-long skills to the youth of the geography where LEAP operates in.

In almost four years since its founding, LEAP Skills Academy has engaged with over 3000 students across towns in North India with an aim to create an effective skills ecosystem. LEAP partners with regional educational institutions to skill their existing students and get them employed. The process begins with the identification and selection of motivated trainees, followed by targeted training programs, and ends with channeling trained students to the right employers.

LEAP's intervention has seen considerable impact in the lives of many students. At least 60% of the students come from financially weak backgrounds and at least one out of three students comes from rural areas. Historically, each year 50-60% of LEAP trainees are female. Through high-quality skills training and employment opportunities, LEAP focuses on the upliftment of female students and students from low income households by positively impacting their monthly household income.

About the RPL Program:    

RPL is a platform to provide recognition to the informal learning or learning through work, to get equal acceptance as formal levels of education. RPL is a process of assessment of an individual's prior learning to give due importance to learning as an outcome rather than learning as a process.

Benefits of RPL for employers:    

• Efficient identification of 'skills gaps' in the organization.

• Reduction in costs of training - employee training under RPL is virtually zero cost to the organization.
• Fast-tracking workers through the skills recognition process and subsequent certification.
• Reduction in downtime/non-productive time while workers are in training. 

• More focused training which increases overall efficiency and productivity of the organization. 

• Improve employee morale, motivate the workforce and lead to better relations with trade 
unions/labor groups. 


Benefits of RPL for employees:    

• Opportunity to have employees' non-formal learning recognized and counted towards a qualification in the form of a certificate from NSDC. 

• Earn money - For undertaking the RPL program, the government will pay the employees a fixed amount. 

• Employees need not take time off work to complete RPL. 

• Identify gaps in employees' knowledge and skills, and therefore any learning that needs to occur to 
meet the requirements of a particular job role or qualification.


Why Tourism and Hospitality? 


• Tourism in India accounts for 7.5 per cent of the GDP and is the third largest foreign exchange earner for the country. The tourism and hospitality sector's direct contribution to GDP in 2016, is estimated to be US$47 billion.
• By the end of 2016, the travel and tourism sector will contribute more than Rs 10 trillion or 8% of India's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and 37 million jobs, almost more than 9% of total employment in India. 

• As per a study by the Ministry of Tourism, formally trained managerial staff accounts for only 16% of the total hospitality sector and 21% of the total travel and trade sector workforce.

For more information on LEAP, please visit: http://www.leapskills.in | http://www.facebook.com/leapskills | http://www.twitter.com/leapskills    

Media Contact:
Ritwik Barthwal
ritwik@leapskills.in
+91-9953938202
LEAP Skills Academy