CSR News: Tata STRIVE and Wipro GE Healthcare partner up to bridge healthcare skill gap in India

Tata STRIVE and Wipro GE Healthcare yesterday entered into a partnership to skill youth for jobs in the healthcare sector over a period of three years. The agreement aims to skill 6,200 candidates in various technical and operational areas of healthcare. Tata STRIVE is the skill development CSR initiative of the Tata Community Initiatives Trust, addressing the pressing need of skilling India’s youth for employment, entrepreneurship and community enterprise.

What will Wipro GE Healthcare do?

As part of this CSR partnership, Wipro GE Healthcare will design, develop and implement industry-relevant, hands-on training with a goal of achieving gainful employment for these students, many of whom belong to underprivileged sections of society. Tata STRIVE with the support of Tata Trusts will provide the candidates loan scholarships upon qualifying for the course. This partnership is a significant step to address the increasing demand for Allied Healthcare Professionals (AHPs).

Shortage of Allied Healthcare Professionals

AHPs make a significant contribution to the healthcare delivery system. They provide a range of services including technical and diagnostics as well as help in effective functioning of the system. During any health crisis, like the current pandemic, they are the frontline warriors and help in scaling up healthcare services by complementing skills sets of doctors and nurses. Despite a huge demand for their services, the segment is highly short-staffed and fragmented in India. This comes in the backdrop of approximately 20 million youth educated up to 12th standard not opting for higher studies, of which 60% are women.

India has a huge shortfall of Allied Health Professionals. It is estimated that the current requirement for AHPs in India is nearly 6.5 million as against a supply of less than 300,000. As per National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), in 2018 the healthcare technician demand-supply gap in India was at 84% shortfall.

Speaking at the announcement, Anita Rajan, CEO, Tata STRIVE said, “India’s Healthcare sector is currently starved of an adequately skilled workforce as well as an adequate number of allied healthcare professionals. This partnership between Tata STRIVE and Wipro GE Healthcare, will build a cadre of technical professionals that will support the delivery of quality medical care to reduce this gap. The financial support towards training, provided by Tata’s will democratise the opportunity for youth especially women to aspire for a career in healthcare.”

Shravan Subramanyam, Managing Director, Wipro GE Healthcare, South Asia said, “Building a strong pipeline of allied healthcare professionals can be a strategic intervention in the healthcare sector. This will not only ensure a quality healthcare delivery system but also create meaningful jobs for many. In line with the government’s vision of Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY) launched in September 2018 to improve the efficiency, effectiveness and transparency of the health sector, Wipro GE Healthcare is privileged to partner with Tata STRIVE to skill the youth of the country.”

With an aim to improve access to quality healthcare throughout the country by developing skilled healthcare resources, Wipro GE Healthcare in 2015 established the GE Healthcare Education Institute (GEHCI). As part of this collaboration with Tata STRIVE, GEHCI, a training partner listed under the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), will execute these healthcare training courses through a mix of both classroom and virtual sessions along with interactive training exercises.

The programme will provide opportunity to underserved 12th pass students to enter healthcare sector as X-ray, Operation Theatre, Radiology, or as Cardiac Care technician. In addition, non-technical job roles such as front desk coordinator and medical record technician courses are also offered. All technical training courses under this initiative have been layered with Tata STRIVE’s highly recognised Youth Development Modules comprising soft skills and life skills. The candidates enrolled in this program will also undergo continuous assessment and internships during the course duration.

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