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    Tata Trusts and GE Healthcare to skill 10,000 youths in healthcare tech

    Synopsis

    In the next three years, 10,000 candidates will receive loan scholarships from Tata Trusts upon qualifying for the course.

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    Tata Trusts and GE Healthcare have entered into an agreement to train 10,000 graduates in various technical areas of healthcare over three years.

    The partnership will focus on bridging the skills gap in healthcare technical or operating staff. “Two entities are coming together to save millions of lives via affordable healthcare,“ said Ratan Tata, chairman of Tata Trusts.

    Tata Sons is the promoter of Tata companies and has significant shareholdings in these companies. About 66% of the equity capital of Tata Sons is held by philanthropic trusts endowed by members of the Tata family. Tata Trusts invests annually $125 million (Rs 750 crore) in philanthropy, of which 25% is earmarked for healthcare.

    “The partnership will leverage the leadership that Tata Trusts has in the areas of skilling and livelihood, and GE Healthcare's expertise in designing and running technical courses in healthcare,“ said Terri Bresenham, president of Sustainable Healthcare Solutions, GE Healthcare.

    GE Healthcare Education Institute (GE HCI) will design, develop and execute these courses through a mix of both classroom training and interactive training exercises.

    The courses will help people graduate as x-ray, radiography, medical equipment, anesthesia, operation theatre and cardiac care technicians, as well as diabetic education counsellors. The candidates will also undergo continuous assessment and internships during the course of this programme.

    Successful candidates, upon clearing the Healthcare Sector Skills Council (HSSC) exam, will be granted a certification from HSSC. The candidates will be selected after a screening process and the course fee of Rs 86,000 is made easier through loans and partial or full scholarships.

    In the next three years, 10,000 candidates will receive loan scholarships from Tata Trusts upon qualifying for the course. GE will also fund certain candidates on the basis of their eligibility.

    Globally, GE Healthcare plans to invest $1 billion in healthcare education over the next four years to train more than two million professionals in the healthcare technology space.

    It is estimated that the current requirement for allied healthcare professionals in India is nearly 6.5 million against a supply of less than 300,000. As per National Skill Development Corporation, by 2018, the healthcare technician demand supply gap in India will be 4,45,000, which is effectively translated to a shortfall of 84%.
    The Economic Times

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