The Business Bytes
TBB BUREAU
LANJIGARH, JUNE 4, 2022
Vedanta Aluminium, India’s largest producer of aluminium, took trainee students under its Skill Training Program at Lanjigarh in Kalahandi district on a field visit to Orion Hotel in Junagarh, to help them learn the finer aspects of the job role of a housekeeping attendant. Twenty-eight trainee students visited the hotel premises to gain first-hand experience and learn best practices from the highly trained hotel staff. This was the third such visit conducted as part of the program.
In March this year, Vedanta Aluminium had launched a Skill Training Program to create employment opportunities for Lanjigarh’s youth by enhancing their skillsets in the housekeeping trade. The three-month program is being implemented in partnership with NABARD and the Vedanta Foundation.
Housekeeping as a trade was chosen considering the post pandemic boom in demand of semi-skilled workforce in the hospitality and tourism sectors. The first batch of 30 youths hailed from across 8 villages in the vicinity of Vedanta’s Alumina Refinery plant at Lanjigarh. On completion of the 90-day program, the batch will be upgraded to the category of semi-skilled workforce. Post a third-party assessment, successful trainees will be given qualification certificates, and provided appropriate placement opportunities. Vedanta aims to train at least 300 youth under this project in FY 2022-23.
Vedanta Limited Lanjigarh Deputy CEO GG Pal said, “At Vedanta, communities are at the core of our actions and initiatives. Our skill training program for the youth of Lanjigarh is the latest project to empower them with job-ready skills and make them capable for the hospitality industry. The progress, passion,and ambition that our housekeeping trainees have shown are truly remarkable! We wish them the best and look forward to enabling many more youth to stand on their feet, become skilled and financially empowered.”
“This is a great initiative by Vedanta Aluminium in the hinterland of Kalahandi. This industrial visit will enhance the trainees’ understanding of the ecosystem within which they will work. As an employer, I would be happy to see these determined youths at my workplace in the future,” said Santosh Chatterjee, General Manager of Orion Hotel, Junagarh, who oriented the trainees on the job role.
Enabling creation of sustainable livelihoods is crucial in Vedanta Aluminium’s sustainable development agenda. At Lanjigarh, the company’s Sakhi project supports hundreds of rural women in capacity building training, enterprise development and institutional credit. The company has also fostered many farm and non-farm enterprises in poultry, pisciculture, vegetable cultivation, etc. Furthermore, it is nurturing and preserving tribal arts and sports such as Dhokra art, Saura art, and archery, and creating avenues for artisans and sportspeople to build thriving livelihoods.
Vedanta Aluminium, a business of Vedanta Limited, is India’s largest producer of aluminium, manufacturing more than half of India’s aluminium i.e., 2.26 million tonnes in FY22. It is a leader in value-added aluminium products that find critical applications in core industries. Vedanta Aluminium ranks 4thin the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) 2021 world rankings for aluminium industry, a reflection of its sustainable development practices. The company operates a 2 MTPA (million tonnes per annum) capacity alumina refinery in Lanjigarh (Kalahandi district, Odisha), India since 2007 and an associated 90 MW captive power plant. With its world-class aluminium smelters, alumina refinery and power plants in India, Vedanta Aluminium fulfils its mission of spurring emerging applications of aluminium as the ‘Metal of the Future’ for a greener tomorrow.
