InterContinental Hotels : Inaugural Class of IHG Academy with IL&FS Graduate

New Delhi, India, 20 August 2014: InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), one of the world's leading hotel companies, today announced the graduation of the inaugural class of the IHG Academy hospitality training programme with IL&FS Skills. The three-month programme in New Delhi saw eight participants graduate and full-time employment opportunities offered to five students at IHG hotels across India.

IHG Academy is a pioneering global collaboration between IHG and local education and community providers which aims to provide local people with skills development and employment opportunities at more than 4,700 IHG hotels across the globe. The collaboration with IL&FS Skills, which is the 15 thIHG Academy programme in India, is the company's first vocational programme in the country providing IHG-approved hospitality training.

IL&FS Skills is one of India's largest skills development organisations which manages and operates institutes providing skills training across a variety of industry sectors. The company has a mandate to train 2 million people in 10 years and currently has a network of 37 Institute of Skills in India. IL&FS has trained more than 400,000 young people to date under the placement linked skills training model, playing a major role in addressing the country's demand for skilled workers.

The course, which commenced on 2 April 2014, combined theory and practical lessons. The participants were first trained to IHG's rigorous and world-class standards in a classroom setting whilst learning about the Indian hospitality sector, followed by on-the-job training to put what they learnt into practice.

Pascal Gauvin, Chief Operating Office, India, Middle East and Africa, IHG said, "250 million people will be joining the Indian workforce by 2030 and there is an urgent need to turn the working-age population into an employable workforce with skills that match the demands of the economy."

"Our partnership with IL&FS was formed out of recognition of that need and we are committed to providing local people with the highest standard of hospitality training which will arm them with the skills they need to deliver great guest experiences at hotels worldwide. The fact that more than half the students of the first class have been offered jobs at our hotels is testament to the quality of training the students received. In time, we believe the programme will help turn the tide and grow the pool of skilled workers in India to support the booming industry."

Arunkumar Pillai, Chief Operating Officer, IL&FS Skills Development Corporation Ltd said: "As one of the largest skills development organisation in India, a substantial number of students pass through our doors. It is therefore vital we tie up with the right partner to deliver an effective vocational training programme for local people looking to gain hospitality skills. IHG's reputation and scale gives us confidence that the graduates from our programme will be amongst the industry's best and we are extremely pleased with the excellent results from the inaugural class. We have also had very positive feedback from the students and we believe these three months of training will go a long way in building India's hospitality sector in the coming years."

"The experience I have gained is invaluable and will last me a lifetime," said Deepak Bhati, a student of the programme who was offered a job at Crowne Plaza Greater Noida upon graduation. "I was pleasantly surprised by the depth and breadth of the programme in just three short months. I learned valuable academic skills but the training also pushed me outside of my comfort zone and allowed me to explore new concepts and to try new things."

IHG currently has more than 300 IHG Academy programmes across 50 countries and more than 6,000 participants were trained last year alone. By 2017, the company aims to provide 20,000 people with the opportunity to develop their skills and improve their employment prospects in hospitality through the IHG Academy.

IHG currently operates 18 hotels across four brands in India: InterContinental, Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express. A further 46 hotels are due to open in the next three to five years.

To find out more about IHG Academy, visit IHG's online Corporate Responsibility Report: www.ihg.com/responsibility.

IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) [LON:IHG, NYSE:IHG (ADRs)] is a global organisation with a broad portfolio of nine hotel brands, including InterContinental® Hotels & Resorts, Hotel Indigo®, Crowne Plaza® Hotels & Resorts, Holiday Inn® Hotels & Resorts, Holiday Inn Express®, Staybridge Suites®, Candlewood Suites®, EVEN™ Hotels and HUALUXE® Hotels and Resorts.

IHG manages IHG® Rewards Club, the world's first and largest hotel loyalty programme with over 80 million members worldwide. The programme was relaunched in July 2013, offering enhanced benefits for members including free internet across all hotels, globally.

IHG franchises, leases, manages or owns over 4,700 hotels and 693,000 guest rooms in nearly 100 countries, with almost 1,200 hotels in its development pipeline.

InterContinental Hotels Group PLC is the Group's holding company and is incorporated in Great Britain and registered in England and Wales.

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