NIS Academy to create 5000 skilled Retail Professionals

The courses have been launched to address the Retail industrys consistent demand for skilled professionals. According to a recent study, the Retail market is set to double in 3 years to $30 billion; with organised retail occupying 30% of the retail market size in the next 10 years. With 2 million jobs expected to be created by 2010, the industry needs a workforce that is market-ready, skilled and groomed. To add to this, most management programmes being offered to aspirants, today, are available only to graduates, leaving the under-graduates/ 12th pass-outs from tier-II and tier-III cities with no option and inadequate skills, informs NIS Academy.

The launch of retail courses by the Academy will bridge this gap and fulfill specific industry requirements.Says Mr. Muralidhar Rao, President & COO, NIS Sparta: There is a huge gap between the requirement of skilled manpower at the shop floor level and their availability. I am confident that our new courses will bridge this gap by providing employability-linked education to aspirants; and grooming a skilled, market-ready workforce for the retail industry. Commenting on the programmes, Mr. Manoj Chawla, Sr. Vice President, The NIS Academy added, RETAIL Act and RETAIL Lead are designed to develop team performers with a sense of belonging with the organisation. The modules are aimed at building individuals who fully express themselves and are self-motivated. He further added, The NIS Academy over past 17 years has assimilated and developed tremendous understanding of the unique Indian Market.

Today we have the capability of developing customized programmes, to meet specific skill needs of industry segments such as, FMCG, Retail, Telecom etc. Leveraging this experience and know-how we have developed new courses to fulfill requirements of the retail segment. With launch of these new courses we hope to develop professionals who will deliver extraordinary performances, in their Retail careers. The RETAIL Act career oriented module programme will develop aspirants as a skilled Frontline Sales Executive and Customer Care Associate. Retail Act is a 3-month Certificate Programme, comprising of 2-months classroom and 1-month internship/ On-the-job Project work.

The modules of the programme include domain skills, such as: an Understanding of the Present Retail Scenario in India & Modern Retail Formats; Effective Selling Skills, Customer Care & Service; Daily Store Ops SOPs; Merchandise Knowledge & In-store Marketing & Promotions; and skills in Personal Effectiveness including Personal Grooming; Hygiene, Attitude & Behavior; Communication & Inter-personal Skills. The entry profile for candidates desiring to enroll for RETAIL Act is 10+2/ graduates in any discipline, and Basic English speaking skills.

The RETAIL Lead programme on the other hand aims at building the individuals supervisory skills and make them effective Retail professionals. It will prime aspirants for the roles of Store Managers, Floor Supervisors and Team Leaders. The 6-month RETAIL Lead programme is aimed at developing professionals who will manage stores for efficient operations; supervise teams; sell effectively in a retail environment; and, manage customer relations and in-store promotions.

The entry profile for candidates desiring to enroll for Retail LEAD is graduates in any discipline; with 1-2 years work experience, preferred; and, Basic English speaking skills. The NIS Academy is a division of NIS Sparta Ltd., a Reliance-ADA Group company. In addition to academic knowledge, The NIS Academy aims to hone the students professional skills in areas like team building, enhancing flexibility and adaptability, increasing ability to deal with ambiguity and stress, tackling challenges and taking initiatives. The NIS Academy offers the several employment oriented courses including Post Graduate Diploma in Applied Management (PGDAM), Advanced Diploma in Management and Applied Skills (ADMAS), MBA in Applied Management, BBA in Applied Management, Effective Communication and Personality Development (ECPD), Speak Up. The MBA in Applied Management and BBA in Applied Management courses are offered through Annamalai University.