India’s leading hospitality group has taken a significant step towards democratising professional training by establishing its newest skilling facility in the picturesque hill station of Nainital. The Indian Hotels Company Limited’s 73rd training centre represents a strategic push to make quality hospitality education accessible to young people in remote and underserved regions.
The facility opened with support from multiple stakeholders including Tata STRIVE, Setu Aayog and Uttarakhand’s state government, with the inauguration led by Shri Rajshekhar Joshi, Vice Chairman of Setu Aayog. This collaborative approach reflects a growing recognition that meaningful skill development requires coordinated effort between corporate expertise, government support and grassroots implementation.
Targeting tangible employment outcomes
Rather than adopting a one-size-fits-all approach, the Nainital facility focuses on disciplines where demand consistently outstrips supply. Over the next three years, the centre aims to equip more than 500 young people with expertise in Food and Beverage Service, Food Production and Front Office Operations roles that form the backbone of hospitality operations.
What distinguishes this initiative from traditional vocational programmes is its emphasis on genuine employability rather than mere certification. The training methodology combines theoretical knowledge with hands-on experience, preparing participants for immediate integration into professional environments. Historical data from IHCL’s existing centres suggests strong placement rates, with three-quarters of graduates securing positions within the hospitality sector.
Shared responsibility, amplified impact
The Nainital centre operates through a partnership model that leverages each stakeholder’s core strengths. Uttarakhand’s government contributes financial resources and physical infrastructure, Tata STRIVE handles day-to-day implementation, Setu Aayog coordinates between partners, and IHCL provides curriculum development and industry connections.
This distributed responsibility model addresses a common weakness in corporate social initiatives – the tendency to operate in isolation from local ecosystems. By prioritising placement within regional hotels and hospitality businesses, the programme keeps trained professionals within their home communities, simultaneously addressing local skill shortages and preventing the brain drain that often accompanies migration for employment.
Embedding social impact within business strategy
The Nainital launch advances IHCL’s Paathya framework, which integrates environmental sustainability and social development into core business operations. The term derives from Sanskrit, signifying “a path”, and structures the company’s initiatives around trust, awareness and joy.
Within this framework, IHCL has pledged to provide professional training to 100,000 young Indians by the end of this decade– an undertaking that positions the company as perhaps the hospitality industry’s most ambitious talent developer. Speaking about the initiative, Gaurav Pokhariyal, who leads Human Resources at IHCL, articulated the philosophy underpinning this commitment: believing that genuine hospitality culture begins with community empowerment rather than ending with guest services.
The programme now touches 21 states and 32 aspirational districts, deliberately targeting geographies where economic opportunity remains limited and where young people often lack pathways to formal sector employment.
From marginalised to mainstream
What makes IHCL’s approach particularly noteworthy is its explicit focus on inclusion. The programme specifically targets socially and economically disadvantaged communities, including tribal populations, groups that typically face systemic barriers to accessing quality education and professional opportunities.
The company’s support extends beyond classroom instruction. IHCL’s knowledge partnership encompasses curriculum design informed by current industry needs, ongoing faculty development to maintain teaching quality, joint certification that carries weight with employers, and crucially, access to hiring networks that might otherwise remain closed to graduates from non-traditional backgrounds.
The initiative also prioritises gender balance, with women expected to comprise over a quarter of all trainees, a meaningful commitment in an industry where women remain underrepresented in many operational roles.
Responding to explosive industry growth
The timing of this expansion reflects broader sectoral dynamics. India’s hospitality industry has experienced remarkable recovery and growth following pandemic disruptions, with companies pursuing aggressive expansion strategies. This rapid scaling has created acute talent shortages, particularly for mid-level operational roles that require both technical competence and service orientation.
Recognising that physical centres alone cannot meet the scale of demand, IHCL has diversified its delivery methods through a partnership with Tata Consultancy Services to provide digital training, targeting an additional 6,000 participants each year. This blended approach acknowledges that whilst hands-on training remains irreplaceable for certain skills, technology can dramatically expand reach and reduce barriers related to geography or scheduling.
Beyond corporate responsibility
The Nainital centre exemplifies how forward-thinking companies can align social impact with business needs. By investing in talent development, IHCL simultaneously addresses its own future recruitment requirements whilst creating genuine opportunity for individuals who might otherwise remain excluded from India’s formal economy.
For the young people of Nainital and surrounding areas, this centre represents more than access to training – it offers a credible pathway to dignified employment, financial independence and professional growth. For the hospitality industry, it represents a sustainable approach to building the workforce required to support continued expansion.
As India’s tourism sector continues maturing and domestic travel becomes increasingly accessible to middle-class families, the demand for skilled hospitality professionals will only intensify. Initiatives that build this talent pipeline whilst prioritising inclusion and local employment don’t simply fulfil corporate social obligations – they create the foundation for an industry that grows responsibly, equitably and sustainably.
The 73rd centre is a milestone, certainly, but more importantly, it’s a promise: that opportunity should not depend on geography, that talent exists everywhere, and that with the right support, young people from any background can build meaningful careers in one of India’s most dynamic sectors.
