TeamLease Services raises Rs 100 cr for expansion

TeamLease Services raises Rs 100 cr for expansion


Staffing and education firm TeamLease Services today announced that it has raised Rs 100 crore from ICICI Venture and Gaja Capital Partners to fund vocational education expansion.


TeamLease Services, focused on the organised temporary staffing market since 2003, entered vocational education by acquiring the Indian Institute of Job Training (IIJT) in 2010.

IIJT operates over 150 centres that deliver classroom and satellite training in five domains--finance and accounting, IT infrastructure, sales and marketing, retail and English and soft skills.

TeamLease Services said it has also begun work on TeamLease University that will offer associate degree programs in the same domains and will start operations later this year after regulatory and legislative approvals.

The company is also actively engaged with various State governments through Public Private Partnerships (PPP). It runs the only PPP Employment Exchange and one of largest PPP tribal training programs in the country.

"Innovating in India's people supply chain requires operating at the intersection of jobs and skills since companies are looking for trained candidates and candidates are looking for jobs. This fund raise allows us to create a corridor between certificates, diplomas, associate degrees and jobs," TeamLease Services, managing director Ashok Reddy said.

The capital raised will be deployed for the vocational education initiative--a rollout of IIJT centres, national satellite delivery capabilities, building a corporate training business, acquiring a footprint in new domains more suitable for students directly after Class 10 and the TeamLease University project.

Mr Vishakha Mulye, Managing Director and CEO of ICICI Venture, said, the education and staffing sector in India is "poised for an exciting future" as there is clear recognition within the Government as well as the private sector about the need to address gaps in the people supply chain, up-skilling of workforce and quality training.

The National Skill Mission has set a target of making 500 million people employable by 2020.