The Oberoi Centre of Learning and Development, known in India simply as OCLD, is The Oberoi Group’s own school. It has trained the group’s managers since 1966 and runs the postgraduate Management Programmes that most Indian hotel school graduates mean when they talk about “getting into Oberoi,” alongside STEP, a three year route for school leavers. This page describes both as the company presents them on its own site, and then turns to what the careers pages cannot tell you, which is what a general manager in my books who began his career on the floor of an Oberoi hotel says about those years and what they taught him.
The programmes, as The Oberoi Group describes them
The group publishes a page for the Management Programmes at OCLD under a heading for graduates. It says the centre was “Started in 1966,” describes the programmes as “18 - 24 month programmes,” and calls them “a benchmark for excellence in hospitality and management education” that are “rated amongst the best in Asia.” The structure is two sided: “comprehensive classroom education at The Oberoi Centre of Learning and Development, Delhi” combined with “hands on experience at our award winning Oberoi and Trident hotels.” The page does not name individual tracks, set out how the time is split between the classroom and the hotels, or say what role a graduate of the programme takes afterwards, so I have not done so either. It does say that “The Oberoi Groups’ selection process is purely based on merit,” and it carries a plain warning that the group charges no fee to candidates for interviews or for securing employment.
STEP, the Systematic Training and Education Programme, is the other door. It is a three year programme for school leavers who have passed Class XII from a board recognized by IGNOU and are between 18 and 20 at the time of joining, with a minimum standard in Class X English. The group frames it as being “In keeping with The Oberoi Group’s philosophy of training and developing it’s people,” and it combines on the job training at selected Oberoi and Trident hotels with a Bachelor’s Degree in Tourism Studies from Indira Gandhi National Open University, studied by correspondence with one study day a week and leave for examinations. There are three streams: Hotel Operations, covering front office and food and beverage service, Housekeeping Operations and Kitchen Operations. The hotel you train at is assigned by OCLD for the whole programme. STEP “prepares candidates to join The Oberoi Group as Operations Assistant” at its hotels. The group covers the degree fee and books, duty meals, uniforms and, in selected locations, accommodation.
STEP publishes an annual rhythm: online registration early in the year, assessments and interviews in the spring, results and a July start. The exact dates, the monthly allowance and the current intake change every year and the page carries them. When I read it, the application form also carried an older notice that applications had been temporarily paused, which may well be out of date, so check the page itself before you plan around the timeline.
What a general manager who started at Oberoi says about the first years
No one in my books describes coming through OCLD by name. One of them did start his career at an Oberoi hotel, and in the job the OCLD programmes put their trainees into. Amit Majumder, when I interviewed him, was general manager of Jumeirah Vittaveli in the Maldives; he has since founded Atoll Estates in Dubai with a partner and is its managing partner. He was born in Kolkata, and his first job was at The Oberoi Rajvilas in Jaipur.
“My first job in the hospitality industry was with Oberoi Hotels and Resorts at Rajvilas as a food and beverage associate, which is a fancier name for a waiter, barman, and butler combined. The company put an emphasis on becoming multi-skilled. Early on, I developed a passion for guest service. I also learned the importance of each and every role, no matter how small, and the value of teamwork in achieving success.” Amit Majumder, in A Wealth of Insight (2017)
That sentence about being multiskilled is the Oberoi method in miniature, and it is what the hands on half of the OCLD programmes and the whole of STEP are built to deliver. A trainee at an Oberoi or Trident hotel will be moved between stations rather than parked in one, and the group’s own pages describe exactly that.
Majumder’s first leadership job, at Jumeirah Dar Al Masyaf in Dubai, taught him the lesson he still names as the most important of his career, and it is one a trainee can start practicing in the first month.
“It quickly became clear that with such a large and complicated operation, we had to constantly train and mentor our staff, otherwise we would fail. The best way to do this was through MBWA, or Management by Walking Around. We needed to be as visible as possible to seek feedback from customers and colleagues alike, answering questions and resolving issues swiftly. Walking around and being available to listen, learn, and support is one of the most important lessons I ever learned.” Amit Majumder, in A Wealth of Insight (2017)
He is also honest about the cost of the industry he is recommending, which is the right thing to hear before you register for a programme that will fill three years of your early twenties.
“It takes dedication, commitment, and long working hours. If you do not have a passion for guest service, I would not recommend this industry to you. In order to succeed, you need to be a true people-person.” Amit Majumder, in A Wealth of Insight (2017)
Oberoi as a training ground
What a training programme is for, in Majumder’s language, is software. “You can have the best “hardware” any luxury hotelier could imagine, including a beautiful property with impeccable furnishings and a stunning décor. But if you’re lacking in the best “software,” such as a team that doesn’t possess the right attitude, training, or passion for service, you will always set yourself up for failure.” A company that has run its own school for sixty years has made that bet in the most expensive way available, and the hands on part of the programmes is where the software gets written.
He also describes what the finished product looks like, and it is worth reading as a description of what the hotels will be trying to make of you.
“Beyond having guidelines for how best to observe and document preferences, it takes a lot of training, a keen eye, and the right attitude to intuit a need and take action. A perfect employee for the luxury segment is the one who notices that the bathrobe, for example, is a bit too long for the guest, takes it down to the seamstress to alter its size, and then discreetly places it back on the bathroom hanger.” Amit Majumder, in A Wealth of Insight (2017)
Nobody notices the bathrobe in a classroom. They notice it after months of carrying robes, which is why the group pairs its Delhi classrooms with the hotels and why STEP gives a school leaver three years on the floor before the first title. Majumder’s view of leadership completes the picture: “As a leader, respect is earned, and one of the hallmarks of respect is knowing your team well. You must have a complete understanding of their jobs, their pain points, what inspires or motivates them, and how to instill the confidence they need to be empowered and to take full responsibility for their roles.” A manager who has been the waiter, barman and butler knows the jobs.
What to take from it
Decide which door is yours. The Management Programmes are for graduates and lead toward management; STEP is for school leavers and leads to an Operations Assistant role with a degree earned alongside the work. Both put you in Oberoi and Trident hotels under the centre’s direction, and the group’s pages are the only reliable source for this year’s dates and terms. Treat the hands on months as Majumder treated Rajvilas: learn every station you are given, because the point of being multiskilled is that you will later manage people who do those jobs. Start walking around early. And read his full account on the Voices page above before you apply. Chapter 2 of The Luxury of Attention, The Apprenticeship, is about exactly these years.
Questions people also ask
What are the Oberoi Centre of Learning and Development Management Programmes?
The Oberoi Group’s postgraduate training route for graduates, run since 1966 by the Oberoi Centre of Learning and Development (OCLD) in Delhi. The group describes them as 18 to 24 month programmes that combine classroom education at OCLD with hands on experience at Oberoi and Trident hotels, and calls them a benchmark for hospitality and management education in Asia.
What is the difference between the OCLD Management Programmes and STEP?
The Management Programmes are for graduates and lead toward management roles. STEP, the Systematic Training and Education Programme, is a three year route for school leavers who have passed Class XII and are aged 18 to 20, combining on the job training at Oberoi and Trident hotels with a correspondence degree in Tourism Studies from IGNOU. STEP prepares candidates to join the group as Operations Assistants.
How do you apply to the Oberoi Centre of Learning and Development?
Through the learning programmes section of The Oberoi Group’s own website, where each programme has its own page and application. The group says selection is purely on merit and that it charges no fee to candidates for interviews or for securing employment. STEP publishes an annual cycle of online registration, assessments and interviews, and a July start; dates and allowances change each year and the pages carry them.
Do the Oberoi programmes lead to general manager?
They lead to a first role inside the group, and the career is what follows. No one in my books came through OCLD as far as their accounts say, but Amit Majumder, later general manager of Jumeirah Vittaveli in the Maldives, began his career at The Oberoi Rajvilas as a food and beverage associate, which he describes as waiter, barman and butler combined. He credits that job with teaching him the importance of every role and the value of teamwork.