Tata Trusts, GE Healthcare team up to train 10,000 youth

Tata Trusts and GE Healthcare today announced a strategic partnership to train 10,000 youth in various technical areas of healthcare over a three-year period.

The partnership, which is in line with the central government's Skill India programme, aims at bridging the skill gap among healthcare staff in technical or operating roles.

As per the agreement, GE Healthcare will expand its network of training institutes from 10 to 25 across the country, while Tata Trusts will provide an interest-free loan of Rs86,000 per candidate to cover the course fee for an entire year.

Once the training is completed they will be eligible for full-time employment in healthcare related technical jobs and could earn between Rs.12,000 and Rs.18,000 per month depending on the job location.

Beneficiaries will have to repay the loan in equal installments once they land full-time jobs.

"Our partnership with GE Healthcare will focus on bridging the skills gap in healthcare technical and operating staff. Tata Trusts invests $125 million on philanthropy, of which 25 per cent is meant for healthcare sector," Tata Trusts managing trustee R Venkataramanan said.

"The two enterprises have many common values and goals. Both have joined hands to save millions of lives at an affordable healthcare," Tata Trusts chairman Ratan Tata said.

The current requirement of allied healthcare professionals (AHP) in India is estimated to be nearly 6.5 million against a supply of less than 300,000. As per National Skill Development Corporation, by 2018 the healthcare technician demand-supply gap in India will be 445,000 (84 per cent shortfall).

GE Healthcare Education Institutes (GE HCI) are equipped with advanced healthcare infrastructure will offer courses across 25 cities. The institute has so far trained over 5,500 people and plans to train 10,000 more in the next three years.

Tata Trusts aims to drive improvement in healthcare delivery by enabling availability of skilled and motivated healthcare personnel. This partnership with GE Healthcare will allow many bright young minds, especially women, to come forward and bridge this gap, Venkataramanan said.

"Our partnership will leverage on the leadership that Tata Trusts have in the areas of skilling and livelihood and GE Healthcare's expertise in designing and running technical courses in Healthcare," GE Healthcare president & CEO, Sustainable Healthcare Solutions, Terri Bresenham said.

What makes this initiative even more special is the opportunity it provides to transform individuals and families by providing livelihood opportunities to the students, particularly women, she said, adding that the aim is to enroll 50 per cent female candidates.

GE HCI will design, develop and execute these courses through a mix of both classroom training and interactive training exercises. The courses will help people graduate as X-ray, radiography, medical equipment, anaesthesia, operation theatre and cardiac care technicians as well as diabetic education counsellors.

Globally, GE Healthcare has committed $1 billion in healthcare education over the next four years to train more than 2 million professionals in the healthcare technology space, Bresenham said.