Central Bank of India launches CENT Skill Development Loan for TalentSprint and other NSDC Partner Companies

Indian Express, May 23, 2011

Central Bank of India, a leading public sector lender, has launched a first-of-its-kind CENT Skill Development Loan Programme to provide financing for trainees pursuing skill development and vocational training with partners of the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC). TalentSprint, an emerging leader in professional skill development and employability for the IT and BFSI sectors, will be the first to implement this Loan Programme.

NSDC, a public-private partnership company set up under the aegis of the Ministry of Finance, aims to make a significant contribution to the overall target of skilling and upskilling 500 million people in India by 2022 mainly by fostering private sector initiatives in skill development programmes and providing viability gap funding. The first beneficiaries of the CENT Skill Development Loan are the trainees at TalentSprint. In a short span of two years, TalentSprint has successfully skilled over 1500 unemployed college graduates in technology, domain and business communications, enabling them to get their first jobs at salaries ranging from Rs. 1.5 to Rs. 3.2 lacs per annum.

Speaking at the press conference, Mr. S. Sridhar, Chairman and Managing Director of Central Bank of India said, “There is a huge shortage of skilled manpower in India, across all sectors of the economy. Through this newly created scheme we will be able to finance our youth who need skills that will help them get jobs and become contributing members of the society. NSDC is selecting and funding credible organizations, and we intend to support TalentSprint and other NSDC partners as they undertake the mission of skill development across the country."

Mr. Dilip Chenoy, CEO and Managing Director, NSDC, said, “The CENT Skill Development Loan will democratize access to vocational and skill development programmes and make it available to those segments of the society that need it the most. It will lead to a sustainable and scalable ecosystem for skill development in the country and NSDC partner organizations will greatly benefit from it. “

Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Santanu Paul, CEO and Managing Director, TalentSprint, said “TalentSprint is proud of its collaboration with Central Bank and NSDC in terms of the CENT Skill Development Loan. Our trainees can obtain financing for 90% of the cost of programs at a favorable interest, to be repaid after they start earning. We expect 1000 trainees to benefit in the current year. The programme will change the prevailing landscape with regard to skill development, employability, and inclusion."

About Central Bank of India
Established in 1911, Central Bank of India was the first Indian commercial bank which was wholly owned and managed by Indians. The establishment of the Bank was the ultimate realisation of the dream of Sir Sorabji Pochkhanawala, founder of the Bank. Sir Pherozesha Mehta was the first Chairman of a truly 'Swadeshi Bank'. In fact, such was the extent of pride felt by Sir Sorabji Pochkhanawala that he proclaimed Central Bank of India as the 'property of the nation and the country's asset'. He also added that 'Central Bank of India lives on people's faith and regards itself as the people's own bank'. During the past 99 years of history the Bank has weathered many storms and faced many challenges. The Bank could successfully transform every threat into business opportunity and excelled over its peers in the Banking industry.

About National Skill Development Corporation
The National Skill Development Corporation (www.nsdcindia.org) is a one of its kind, Public Private Partnership in India. It aims to promote skill development by catalyzing creation of large, quality, for-profit vocational institutions. It provides viability gap funding to build scalable, for-profit vocational training initiatives. Its mandate is also to enable support systems such as quality assurance, information systems and train the trainer academies either directly or through partnerships. Its objective is to contribute significantly (about 30 per cent) to the overall target of skilling / upskilling 500 million people in India by 2022 mainly by fostering private sector initiatives in skill development programmes and providing viability gap funding.

About TalentSprint
TalentSprint (www.talentsprint.com) is a leader in creating high performance professionals for the global industry through fast-track transformations. Focused on BFSI and IT sectors, TalentSprint has developed experiential learning programmes that are based on industry-designed curriculum and are backed by national or international certifications. Taught by seasoned professionals with deep domain expertise and years of industry experience, the courses are focused on professional education and practical learning that are directly applicable in the workplace. The company has successfully graduated 1200 professional that have been recruited by 40+ leading companies in the IT and BFSI sector.