Amway - RASCI to Support Skill India Initiative

Amway teamed up with Retailers Association’s Skill Council of India (RASCI) for the second consecutive year to support and participate in the Indian government’s “Skill India” initiative. The move is part of Amway’s broader vision of empowering its direct sellers with credible certification under National Skill Qualification Framework (NSQF) from an esteemed Government recognized entity like RASCI. The association began last year.

Amway India’s vice president (corporate affairs), Rajat Banerji, RASCI’s executive head- James A. Raphael signed the MOU to this effect in presence of Dharmendra Pradhan, Union Minister of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, on the occasion of the 3rd anniversary of Skill India. The signing of this MoU will enable Amway India to extend the free training for upskilling of its direct sellers for the second year in a row. It is estimated that nearly fifty-one thousand direct sellers and retailers will be benefitted and certified under two categories of ‘Individual Sales Professional and ‘Retail Sales Associate’. Last year, more than six thousand Amway direct sellers were certified as ‘Individual Sales Professional’ under this program.

Speaking on the development, Anshu Budhraja, CEO, Amway India, said, “We are delighted to renew our association with the esteemed government recognised entity like RASCI for the second year in a row. The tie-up with Retailers Association’s Skill Council of India (RASCI) is focused on building skills and competencies of our direct sellers to help them compete in an evolving entrepreneurship landscape. Interestingly, micro-entrepreneurship, generating self-employment through skilling is a key priority for the Centre. We have also aligned our training strategy by focusing on enhancing skills and competencies of our direct sellers. We actually want to empower our direct sellers with government-recognized certification in line with Amway’s vision. We are confident that the certificate course under RASCI, will upgrade selling skills of our direct sellers enabling them to conduct their business with renewed vigour and aplomb.”

Amway India has significantly contributed towards skill development and nurturing entrepreneurship in the country by focusing its training strategy on enhancing skills and competencies of its direct sellers. The company conducts more than 18,000 free training sessions for its direct sellers every year, which enables them to engage and educate the customers, and offer the right products to them to suit their varied needs.

It is estimated that more than eight million jobs are required every year for India as its working-age population is increasing by 1.3 million every month according to world bank report. On the contrary, 7 million jobs are being created annually. There is a huge gap in employment in this country. To address this huge gap, Govt. of India is driving entrepreneurship and self-employment through skilling. Amway India is aligned with Govt. of India’s initiative as the company has led a silent revolution by encouraging more than 5.5 lakh individuals to take up entrepreneurship as a way of living. With zero capital investment and no burden of manufacturing, a direct seller can build his own business with ease.

Looking at the exponential growth of India’s youth population, and with nearly two-thirds of the population under the age of 35 years, the growing young workforce in India will soon be the largest and youngest of the world. It is estimated that only 4.69% of the total workforce in India has undergone formal skill training as compared to European and American countries. The absence of adequate training channels in the country limits people from entering the workforce to acquire skill trainings and certifications. As a result, the majority of the workforce gains skills through informal means which go unrecognized across formal platforms and industries. This also restricts them to explore any formal employment opportunities.