AXISCADES create 500 Engineering Jobs in Indiana, US

Bengaluru-based AXISCADES said it will set up its North American headquarters in Indiana, a move that will create 500 engineering jobs by 2023. AXISCADES brand represents AXISCADES Engineering Technologies Ltd (A listed entity) and its wholly owned subsidiary AXISCADES Aerospace & Technologies Pvt. Ltd.

Indiana, which is the home state of US Vice President Mike Pence, also hosts one of Infosys' four innovation centres in the US.

AXISCADES, in a statement, said it also plans to invest up to USD 10 million over the next five years to establish the operations in Indiana. "This will enhance the company's US presence, and create 500 high-wage engineering jobs by the end of 2023," it added.

The announcement was made in the presence of Eric J Holcomb, Governor of Indiana State, US, who was hosted by AXISCADES at its Bengaluru facility.

The move was seen as an attempt to woo the Donald Trump administration that has been critical of outsourcing firms for unfairly taking jobs away from US workers.

AXISCADES said it has shortlisted possible sites in Indiana to locate the new facility and will make the final decision by the end of this year. It will launch operations in Indiana by April 2018.

"This is part of our strategic initiatives to continuously evolve and invest in expanding across North America and to provide high-end technology solutions," AXISCADES Vice Chairman Sudhakar Gande said.

The company provides product engineering solutions to aerospace, defence, heavy engineering, automotive, energy, medical and healthcare companies.

AXISCADES employs over 1,900 people across the globe, including about 250 engineers in North America.

Pending approval from the Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC) board of directors, the IEDC offered AXISCADES up to USD 4.3 million in conditional tax credits and up to USD 500,000 in training grants based on the company's job creation plans.

Al Islami Foods factory in Sharjah will create over 100 new jobs

Al Islami Foods has announced the opening of its largest factory in Hamriyah Free Zone, Sharjah which it expected to deliver a major boost to the production of halal food in the region.

Spread across 10,000 square metres, it is the largest food manufacturing factory for the brand and the most modern, complementing the existing logistics facility in Dubai Investment Park, the company said in a statement.

It added that the factory will create over 100 new jobs and is expected to increase the production capacity by 150 percent reaching 18,000 metric tonnes per year of halal processed meat products for Al Islami Foods.

The factory also enables Al Islami to offer new solutions such as air culinary for in-flight catering industry, Sous Vide solutions for the hospitality industry and cooked products for the HORECA sector.

Saleh Saeed Lootah, chairman of Al Islami Foods, said: “We are proud to announce the launch and commencement of operations at our largest factory till date in Al Hamriyah Free zone, and we look forward to utilising the latest technologies to boost our production cycle in capacity as we continue to deliver foods that are healthy and nutritious."

The company said its main aim is to have people "enjoy gourmet and home cooking with quality halal meat products".

Al Islami Foods is a Dubai-based provider of halal products and supplies over 100 frozen products under three brands to cater to various market segments.

Delta Air Line hiring 1,000 Flight Attendants

The Atlanta-based airline announced that they will hire 1,000 flight attendants for 2018.

The average entry-level flight attendant at Delta earns about $25,000 a year, “with an opportunity to earn more depending upon schedule,” according to the airline.

Atlanta-based Delta said applicants must have a high school degree or GED, be at least 21 years old, be able to work in the United States and be fluent in English.Flight attendants also can’t have visible tattoos, body piercings or multiple ear piercings, according to Delta.

The ideal candidate is also fluent in a language other than English, has education beyond high school and more than a year of experience in customer service, patient care or a similar role. Other experience that helps includes work to ensure the safety or care of others such as a teacher, military, EMT, firefighter, coach, law enforcement, lifeguard or nurse, according to Delta.

Those who are multi-lingual and get hired as “language of destination” flight attendants get premium pay and can travel more often to destinations where their second language is spoken, according to Delta.

New hires go through eight weeks of training in Atlanta and get paid a training wage. There’s also some lodging for those who don’t live in the area.

About 150,000 people applied for about 1,200 flight attendant positions last year, and fewer than 1 percent of applicants were selected, according to the airline.

LinkedIn’s New initiative Upskilling Blue-collar workers in India

LinkedIn Co-founder Allen Blue

Professional networking firm LinkedIn has seen "extremely healthy" growth in India and is now working towards bringing blue-collar jobs onto its platform to further expand its offerings here, its co-founder Allen Blue said.

LinkedIn, which has over 500 million members, counts India as its second-largest user base with over 42 million users. The platform allows employers and job-seekers to connect with each other.

LinkedIn announced its partnership with IL&FS Skills Development Corporation Ltd (IL&FS Skills) to help upskill and improve the employability of blue-collar workers and job-seekers in the country.

"The growth in India is tremendous and the way we measure our success, the growth in India is extremely healthy. Moving into the blue-collar space is something we know we need to do to be successful here in India," Blue told PTI.

He explained that India has employers of various sizes, right from global companies to small and medium enterprises and that they need have a variety of skill requirements.

"LinkedIn traditionally has focussed on white-collar jobs...This is an opportunity for us to understand and work with those companies who are interested in hiring all throughout the skills sector," he said.

Allen Blue said the company has done some experiments with blue collar jobs in the US. The partnership with IL&FS Skills will offer a great scope to learn that can be taken to other parts of the world, he added. Under the programme, IL&FS Skills will design and provide skilling modules and training environment, while LinkedIn will help the students find a job.

Through an interface powered by LinkedIn, the students will be able to create a profile, access learning content, build their network by connecting with classmates, seniors and instructors and get a job.

An initial batch of 400 people will be trained in the hospitality sector. The programme will be extended to other industries later.

"India has a massive blue-collar workforce, one that can be a game-changer for businesses and our economy. We hope that this partnership will help narrow the gap between the demand and supply of talent," Akshay Kothari, Country Manager and Head of Product at LinkedIn India, said.

Ministry of Skill Development And Entrepreneurship Secretary K P Krishnan said skilled wage premium has been absent in India, primarily a result of information asymmetry.

                                                                                                                                               

"I have no way of signalling I am a qualified skilled person to a potential employer. Technology hugely helps in addressing this asymmetry," he added.