Aviation firms too setting up schools, creating talent pools

Faced with an acute talent crunch, companies in relatively new businesses such as insurance, retail, aviation, financial services and clinical research are either collaborating with academic institutions or setting up their own schools to create a pool from which they can recruit.
Companies such as Kingfisher Airlines Ltd, Toonz Animation Ltd and a few clinical research organizations such as Bilcare Ltd, Reliance Life Sciences Pvt Ltd and Siro Ltd are setting up academic institutions to offer training to students wanting to make a career in these sectors.
The UB Group has set up the Kingfisher Training Academy. According to Rajesh Verma, executive vice-president (in-flight office) Kingfisher Airlines Ltd, the academy strives to groom new entrants to the customer service industry—airlines, hotels, retail, and insurance. “We expect the first batch to graduate in November 2007. On completion of the course, Kingfisher Airlines would select students from the academy based on their suitability for the positions offered,” he says. By some estimates, the aviation industry could create 200,000 jobs by 2017.
26/06/07 Jeetha D’Silva/Livemint