Accenture grants $1.93 mn for fostering biz skill in Indians

BANGALORE: IT and IT enabled service provider Accenture and Accenture Foundations have awarded Plan International a grant of USD 1.93 million to help provide training and career opportunities for approximately 3,500 underprivileged young people in India and Vietnam.

"Supporting Plan International helps bring to life Accenture's commitment to building skills ,drawing on our people's passion, experience and dedication to developing and nurturing talent," said Adrian Lajtha, chief leadership officer at Accenture in a statement.

Plan is a children's development organisations and works in 48 developing countries across Africa, Asia and the Americas to promote child rights and lift them out of poverty, it said.

The grant consists of cash as well as the time and skills of Accenture employees and builds on pro bono work done by Accenture in the Netherlands.

The award is part of Accenture's Skills to Succeed initiative, which has plans to equipping 250,000 people by 2015 with the skills to get a job or build a business.

The grant will help provide underprivileged 18 to 25 year olds with skills training, as well as life skills and work readiness training to prepare them for jobs in industries such as information technology, customer relations, business process outsourcing and electronic repair.

An individual will be given two year training under this programme. The two-year programme will build networks of employers to match trainees with local job opportunities.

"It's possible to make a significant, lasting impact on the economic well-being of individuals by developing skills and connecting people with the right job opportunities. These are truly exciting times for the rapidly expanding economies and markets of India and Vietnam," said Plan International CEO Nigel Chapman in the statement.