GRAS Acedemy Launches Skill Development & Employment Center In Chaziabad

Online, April 26, 2011 (Newswire.com) - GRAS Academy launched their Skills Development and Employment Center (SD & EC) today in Ghaziabad's Vijay Nagar area. Gras Academy is a pioneer in the field of Vocational education in India, with a focus on offering courses that have enabled thousands of students across India to acquire skill set required to avail employment opportunities in various sectors of the growing Indian economy. The event was felicitated by Mr. Sunil Kumar Sharma, MLA, Ghaziabad.

Speaking at the launch, Mr. Ajay Swarup, Founder & Director, GRAS Academy said, "It gives us immense pleasure to launch our center today. Ghaziabad has the growing number of talented pool of youth who would require skill development and up gradation training with increasing amount of corporate interest thus reducing the gap for needed skilled manpower. We hope and believe that through our extensive experience and qualified trainers at the Ghaziabad skill-development centers we will create entrepreneurs out of the youth, increase their income generation potential, help them in utilization of prior education and personal talent and motivate them to participate in productive activity."

GRAS Academy was launched in 2006, oriented towards addressing the demand created by hospitality and retail sectors in large metropolitan areas. Over the last two years, they have created and developed successful programs in these areas. In 2008, GRAS launched its specialist division - Skill Development and Employment Centers (SD & EC), to encompass skill-development and enhancement across an array of industry verticals, which were a dire requirement by the big corporate and MNCs who were setting businesses in smaller cities and towns.

"Leading industry and corporate bodies, from diverse sectors spanning from FMCG, telecommunications, IT, BPO and retail etc., have associated with us where many of Gras Academy students are working at good packages, while a lot of others have turned entrepreneurs and are now capable and running their own outfits." he further added.

The National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), a Section 25 company promoted by the Finance Ministry to catalyze private sector involvement in training manpower, has decided to fund GRAS Academy which aims to skill 1.3 million youth in different trades across 21 states and 176 districts over a 10â€year period.

NSDC would provide loan to GRAS for executing the project that will provide training in organized retail, healthcare, services, building and construction, automobiles and auto components, tourism, hospitality and the travel trade, electronics, IT, and banking and insurance. The scope of the venture would also extend to imparting spoken English skills to the trainees.

PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PHDCCI) is also associated with Gras Academy for conducting the assessments of passing out students and providing them with an industry relevant certificate, thus certifying their skill set which they acquire during their training at GRAS.

GRAS Academy realizes the potential the youth, especially the girl child, has in the development of the society and the country and in its endeavor to empower them would be providing free education to 10 girls every month with further 50% scholarship on tuition fees for all the girls across all the 30 centers that the academy will be launching in this quarter in Tier II and III cities (of Uttar Pradesh, Uttranchal and Punjab). They already have special scholarship schemes for underprivileged girls.

Calling it as a beginning of the next phase of Ghaziabad's growth story Mr. Sunil Kumar Sharma, MLA, Ghaziabad said, "GRAS has already set up various centers across India to train the unemployed youth in job skills and has also successfully provided them placements with renowned Organizations. We all share a common desire to bring about social change by empowering the unemployed and out - of - work youth with vocational skills and make them 'Eduployable' [Educated + Employable], capable of earning a livelihood and support their families".

GRAS Skill Development and Employment Center offers nearly 50 short duration practical courses to semi-urban and rural youths. These courses are of eight to twelve weeks duration and focus on specific skills development in areas that have been identified as having income generating potential for the students. The company is gearing up to open around 250 centers in the country in three years time, covering all domains.