India trains almost 200,000 new hospitality professionals

India’s Ministry of Tourism has revealed that almost 200,000 new hospitality professionals have now been trained in the country, under its ‘Hunar Se Rozgar Tak’ (HSRT) programme.

Launched in the 2009-10 financial year, HSRT is being implemented across a range of institutions, including the Indian Institute of Tourism & Travel Management, the Institute of Hotel Management, Food Craft Institutes and the India Tourism Development Corporation.

The aim of the scheme is to train young Indian nationals in four key areas of the hospitality industry: food production, food & beverage service, housekeeping and baking and pastry. It also offers courses for drivers and tour guides.

The Ministry announced last week that by the end of the first quarter of 2015, a total of 194,000 people had been trained up under the HSRT initiative.

The free courses take up to eight weeks to complete and are free-of-charge for trainees between the ages of 18 and 28. It is also mandatory for star-rated hotels to train a minimum number of people under the HSRT scheme.

sourced:traveldailymedia.com