Academy of Hospitality Skills will provide two courses in hospitality sector catering to graduates of any discipline as well tenth standard pass outs.
"As of now there is a shortage of skilled and qualified manpower in the industry. We will mentor students to fill the gap between the needs of the academy and the industry," the institute's chairman Rajiv Gujral told reporters here.
The institute will provide a finishing course for graduates, a three-month course consisting of classroom training as well as internship to give them practical exposure.
With five centres in the city to begin with from this year, he said they hope to establish 50 centres in West Bengal by the end of the year.
"Gradually we will move to other parts of the country like Mumbai and Gurgaon," Gujral said.
Describing Kolkata and Chandigarh as the new hotspots of the travel and tourism industry, he said the manpower requirement in Kolkata will be around 8,000 this year.
"There is a gap between supply and demand for manpower here," he said.
According to the 2011 Indian Hotel Industry Manpower Survey, the Indian hospitality industry will need skilled manpower of close to 3 lakh people by 2021.
