The project 'Retail Sales Associate Training Programme' is being carried out in aspirational district Kupwara, Jammu and Kashmir with the support of IIFL Foundation, the CSR arm of IIFL Group (India Infoline Limited). REACHA is the organization responsible for implementing the project, while the Indian Army serves as the projects overall custodian.
On 27 th July 2022, the 41 Rashtriya Rifles (RR) of Maratha Light Infantry (LI) Commanding Officer, Colonel MS Navalgatti, along with IIFL Foundation's Zonal Manager Sahil Hamid and REACHA's CEO Nikhil Pant, inaugurated the Retail Sales Associate Training Programme. The center is located on the third floor of Sheikhul Aalam Complex, near the Kupwara bus stand in Jammu and Kashmir.
Kupwara is one of the remotest districts in the country and has been classified as an 'Aspirational District by NITI Aayog. Necessities like safe drinking water, good roads, and electricity are inaccessible and unavailable for the local communities here. Kupwara has remained a site of conflict, as it is a border district. It borders Pakistan on three sides.
The objective of the program is to provide market-related retail associate training, with employability to the youth belonging to District Kupwara in Kashmir. The program's focus is to provide suitable employment to the students given the availability of jobs in Kupwara and surrounding towns.
The project aims to reduce skill gaps in the retail sector space. The goal is to reach out to at least 180 youths in Kupwara to bring holistic professional development enabling them to embark on a retail associate career path, thereby contributing to the economic and social development of Kashmir and the country. Students will undergo a minimum of 250 hours of both technical and practical training.
REACHA has partnered with RASCI (Retailers Association's Skill Council of India) to provide course curriculum, assessments, and certification.
The course duration includes a core training module that focuses on work-related training customized as per RASCI, as well as soft skill training focusing on grooming, dress code, communication skills, resume making, and confidence building for attending interviews. Additionally, the retail associate training includes basic computer skills, basic retail and selling skills, and customer service and sales-related training.
The overall project rollout highlights include:

• Developing a learning ecosystem that promotes co-creation.
• Identifying and enrolling learners into the course.
• Monitoring and evaluating the project rollout with close engagement from the IIFL Foundation team.
• Analysing and identifying improvement opportunities for the program to maximize its use, scale, and impact.

The eligibility criteria for beneficiaries are:

• Youth belonging to rural and urban areas of Aspirational District Kupwara, Kashmir.
• Minimum qualification of 12th pass.
• Age bracket of 18 to 28 years.
• Willingness to work in this industry, with a focus on employability.

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About The Project

Project Report