IHCL Partners With Vfs Global For An Academy In Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh

MUMBAI, FEBRUARY 6, 2023: Indian Hotels Company Limited (IHCL),India’s largest hospitality company, has announced its partnership with VFS Global for a hospitality-focused academy in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. This association aims to provide skilling opportunities to the youth in the community.

“Skill building is one of the key initiatives of IHCL’s ESG + framework of Paathya. Given the growing potential of tourism in Uttar Pradesh, this will help leverage the untapped potential of the region and create employability. This centre will also help to cater to IHCL’s significant presence in the state with 17 hotels. We are delighted to collaborate with VFS Global to develop a hospitality-focused skilling centre in Lucknow.”

Mr. Gaurav Pokhariyal, Executive Vice President – Human Resources, IHCL

The skilling center, located in Shalimar Gateway Mall will offer training modules on hospitality skills including Front Office, Housekeeping, Food and Beverage, soft skills among others.

“VFS Global has always been committed to the development of human capital – especially skill development.  We believe this has been a key success factor for us and we also believe that there will always be a global need for skilled and reliable talent pool.  We are extremely pleased to partner with one of the world’s leading hospitality companies, IHCL, in offering world-class skill development opportunities for travel and hospitality sectors to the youth of Uttar Pradesh which would significantly enhance their employment prospects in these sectors.”

Zubin Karkaria, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, VFS Global,

Regarded as the custodian of Indian hospitality, IHCL under its Paathya frameworkcontinues to invest in building industry-relevant talent pools with an aim to develop and support deserving youth and their families, while contributing to the overall growth of the industry.

About VFS Global

VFS Global is the world's largest outsourcing and technology services specialist for governments and diplomatic missions. VFS Global is the trusted partner of 67 client governments, operating a global

network with more than 3,400 Application Centres in 144 countries. The company has processed over 251 million applications since its inception in 2001. The company manages non-judgmental and administrative tasks related to applications for visa, passport, and consular services for its client governments, enabling them to focus entirely on the critical assessment task.

VFS Global is majority-owned by funds managed by Blackstone, the world’s largest alternative asset manager. Blackstone seeks to create positive economic impact and long-term value for their investors, the companies in which they invest, and the communities in which they work. Blackstone’s USD 915 billion in assets under management include investment vehicles focused on private equity, real estate, public debt and equity, infrastructure, life sciences, growth equity, opportunistic, non-investment grade credit, real assets, and secondary funds, all on a global basis.

About The Indian Hotels Company Limited

The Indian Hotels Company Limited (IHCL)and its subsidiaries bring together a group of brands and businesses that offer a fusion of warm Indian hospitality and world-class service. These include Taj– the iconic brand for the most discerning travellers and ranked as the World’s Strongest Hotel Brand and India’s Strongest Brand as per Brand Finance Hotels 50 Report 2022 and India 100 Report 2022, respectively; SeleQtions, a named collection of hotels; Vivanta, sophisticated upscale hotels; and Ginger, which is revolutionising the lean luxe segment.

Incorporated by the founder of the Tata Group, Jamsetji Tata, the Company opened its first hotel - The Taj Mahal Palace, in Bombay in 1903. IHCL has a portfolio of 257 hotels including 70 under development globally across 4 continents, 11 countries and in over 100 locations. The Indian Hotels Company Limited (IHCL) is India’s largest hospitality company by market capitalization. It is primarily listed on the BSE and NSE.

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