Core Education to train 3 million personnel over five years

Educational services firm Core Education and Technologies Ltd plans to open a chain of vocational educational institutions focusing on skill development across the country with a proposed investment of Rs225 crore and train three million personnel over the next five years.

''India needs about 500 million skilled personnel by 2022, while there would be a requirement to upgrade skill or re-skill existing 140 million workers. We are looking at addressing this gap, and looking at providing skill-based training for blue collar jobs across six sectors,'' its chairman and chief executive Sanjeev Mansotra said.

It intends to set up about 120 vocational and multi-skill institutions, on a company-owned company-operated model, in the country through its wholly-owned subsidiary Core Skill Development and Careers Pvt Ltd. The company expects revenues of about Rs600 crore by the end of five years.

Core Education provides education continuum for K-12 (kindergarten to class XII), higher education and vocational training and, currently runs 600 centres on a partnership basis in the country.

It would impart training to personnel in sectors like automobile, construction, healthcare, hospitality, information technology and retail, Mansotra added.

The firm will raise funds from either internal accruals, public-private partnerships or raise loans from National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), a government body set up to provide funds and foster private sector initiatives in skill development.

Earlier this year, the company had entered into a management partnership contract with Ras al Khaimah government in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to run an existing higher education institute. The institute, Ras al Khaimah Institute of Engineering, offers courses in architecture and engineering and has student strength of 350.