Even a the political battle over FDI in retail rages on, Bharti Wal-Mart, a joint venture between Bharti Enterprises and Wal-Mart for wholesale cash-and-carry and back-end supply chain management operations, launched its first training centre in Lucknow on Monday.
The centre will provide free-of-cost training to underprivileged youth and equip them with requisite skills sets, to bridge existing gap, for cash-and-carry and organised retail formats.
The centre, located within the Best Price Modern Wholesale store on Sushant Golf Estate, Sultanpur Road, Lucknow, aims to create a pool of modern retailing professionals by training 40 students per month.
Mr Arvind Mediratta, COO, Bharti Wal-Mart told reporters on Monday, “The training center enables the less privileged youth to find employment and enhance their skills and productivity. It allows them to earn a living based on their chosen skill sets. We are confident that the new center at Lucknow will allow us to reach out to a larger population and help them to leverage their potential. The centre not only provides free-of-cost training, but also offers the youth campus placement assistance, which retailers can avail of.”
The training curriculum is based on Wal-Mart’s global best practices and will be implemented through Centum Learning. This will help students take advantage of Wal-Mart’s global knowledge and expertise in retail business.
Successful candidates will be certified by Bharti Wal-mart, which will help them find employment. The Centre offers short-term vocational certification courses that equip them to become floor and sales assistants or supervisors.