HSBC India has launched 'HSBC Skills for Life', a skill development programme that aims to provide young people and women with requisite skillsets to enable them to earn sustainable livelihood.
For this programme, HSBC has committed a sum of ₹100 crore and aims to cover 75,000 young people and women spread over the next five years.
Through this flagship skill programme, HSBC will support non-profit organisations in three focus areas --employment linked skills development of disadvantaged young people; upskilling of educators and teachers; and women's empowerment through livelihood enhancement.
HSBC has also announced ₹50 crore partnership with the Ronnie Screwvala-founded Swades Foundation to roll out the first vertical of the programme.
The partnership will provide employment linked skills training to 30,000 disadvantaged young people for the next five years.
The memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the partnership was exchanged between Stuart P Milne, Group General Manager and Chief Executive Officer, HSBC India and Ronnie Screwvala, Founder Trustee, Swades Foundation, in New Delhi on December 3.
Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Union Skills Development Minister, was present on the occasion.
Speaking on the occasion, Stuart Milne said that skills development is strategic need for India which fits very well with HSBC's global focus on education for young people from disadvantaged communities.
"Our measure of success will be quality outcomes, in particular the number of young people we train who find long term employment, helping them to achieve their hopes and dreams", Milne said.
The second and third verticals will be initiated from 2016 onwards in partnership with other NGOs, he added.