The Hindu Business Line : Dr Reddy's LABS set up in Vietnam

DR Reddy's Foundation, the social arm of the pharmaceutical major Dr Reddy's Laboratories, has started a Livelihood Advancement Business School (LABS) centre in Hanoi, Vietnam, in partnership with Plan International. This is the first LABS centre to be set up outside India.

LABS aims to provide unemployed youth access to new economy jobs.

In a press release here on Tuesday, Dr Reddy's Foundation said since the inception of LABS in the year 2000, over 12,500 youth have been trained and employed. The programme, which was initially started in Hyderabad, has 14 centres across the country, including Bangalore, Chennai, Mumbai and Delhi. Plans are to extend it soon to Maharashtra and Karnataka.

The Hanoi LABS centre now has 124 students undergoing training in the first batch. The training courses offered include IT Enabled Services, Hospitality (Hotel industry), Customer Relations and Sales.

The Foundation's Executive Director, Ms Nalini Gangadharan, said, "It is a significant milestone in our efforts to reach and empower unemployed youth across the world. It reaffirms our belief that the LABS model is adaptable to any livelihood development situation."

The Foundation was started in 1996 as part of Dr Reddy's Laboratories corporate social responsibility. Its objective is to develop self-sustainable social development models. To do this, it has forged partnerships between funding organisations, governmental bodies, companies, business leaders and individuals.

Another programme of the Foundation is the Child and Police (CAP) programme started in 1996. It focuses on rehabilitating working children and putting them back in school. The Foundation collaborates with the local community, the Government and the police in this effort.

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