08 Oct 2009 EdServ bags Training deal from Government of India

• To impart Modular Employable Skills (MES) training
• Estimated revenue to be around Rs. 100 Crores in the next 12 to 18 months

Chennai based Education and Placement Company EdServ has announced that it hasbeen awarded as Associate Training Provider (ATP) of Apex Hitech Institute, part of Ministry of Labour and Employment, Government of India, whereby the company becomes authorised to provide MES training across India.

Apex Hitech Institute, set up with assistance from the World Bank under Directorate General of Employment and Training (DGE&T), aims to provide training to youth to better their employability by MES programme using a wide range of courses across a host of job domains.

Based on this new relationship, EdServ will train unemployed and under-employed youth aged 14 years and upwards who have dropped out of schools and colleges for various reasons that include affordability and employment needs. Subsequent to EdServ's training, these students will get assessed and certified by DGE&T.

Expected Revenues

Through this relationship with Apex Hitech Institute, EdServ estimates to generate revenues of around Rs. 100 Crores in the next 12-18 months by training around 3 lakh people comprising of school leavers, existing workers, and ITI graduates.

Into the future, EdServ will also be involved in guiding and helping these trained and certified students with relevant employment opportunities.

Commenting on the new development, S. Giridharan, CEO, EdServ said "The new deal fits well into our vision and philosophy of providing education through a holistic approach to enhance the employability of Real India, the bottom of the pyramid and the masses at large. With our wide network of over 250 partner centres that is growing on a daily basis, we are confident of training the target segment Pan India to take part in the Government's objective to provide employability status to the downtrodden."

While the educational attainment and skill level of the Indian workforce determines the productivity as well as the ability to adapt to the changing industrial environment, a majority do not possess marketable skills, often a critical blocking factor in getting employment and improving their economic condition.

On the potential of this under served segment, Giridharan said, "An alarming piece of statistics is that only 5% of the Indian labour force in the age group of 20-24 years has obtained vocational skills through formal education whereas the percentage in industrialized countries varies between 60% and 96%. Given this scenario, we believe that there is a huge potential to be tapped into, in this segment."

Last month, the company announced a 3-stage plan to enter the school segment with a vision to implement Industry Demand Aligned (IDEA) education in Kindergarden - 12 for a seamless career seeding and mapping. EdServ also forayed recently into the Online Tuition Services business with the acquisition of an online portal, 2tion.com, a move that also strengthens the company's plans to expand into the schools space in a big way.