GE Healthcare and Tata Trusts have entered into a partnership to train 10,000 youth in various technical areas of healthcare over a three-year period. The partnership will focus on bridging the skills gap in healthcare technical or operating staff.
 
The announcement was made in the presence of Ratan Tata, chairman, Tata Trusts, Terri Bresenham, president & CEO, Sustainable Healthcare Solutions, GE Healthcare and Banmali Agrawala, president and CEO, GE South Asia.
 
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.
 
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, anaesthesia, 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 program. The successful candidates, upon clearing the Healthcare Sector Skills Council (HSSC) exam shall be granted a certification from HSSC.
 
It is estimated that the current requirement for allied healthcare professionals (AHP) in India is nearly 6.5 million as 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 445,000 with an 84 per cent shortfall.
 
According to R Venkataramanan, managing trustee, Tata Trusts, making a sustainable difference to lives is the core essence of philanthropy. We believe that this partnership with GE Healthcare will allow many bright young minds, especially women, to come forward and bridge this gap.”

Sharing her perspective Bresenham, said the partnership would transform individuals and families by providing livelihood opportunities to the students, particularly women. This aligns with our commitment to bring more women leaders in the healthcare space.”
 
Globally, GE Healthcare has committed US$ 1 billion in healthcare education over the next four years to train over 2 million professionals in the healthcare technology space. In India, GE HCI runs its healthcare skill building and skill enhancement programme ‘Yogya Bharat for an Aarogya Bharat’ to improve access to quality healthcare throughout the country by developing skilled healthcare resources. It provides accredited skill building courses for 12th standard pass students and skill enhancement programs for existing healthcare professionals. Over 5,500 people have been trained till date. The Institute has 10 centers across India and delivers 39 different courses through six skilling partners.