Date:10/03/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/03/10/stories/2007031003621100.htm

Tamil Nadu

Salespersons may come under Apprenticeship Act as retail trade expands

Priscilla Jebaraj

Reliance plans programme for high school dropouts "Employment potential is moving from manufacturing to services"

CHENNAI: With organised retail expanding rapidly, the Government may include the work of salespersons among the trades listed under the Apprenticeship Act, 1961.

Reliance Retail, which has initiated the move, says the proposal, at an advanced stage, is likely to be implemented within three months. Once it comes through, the company plans an apprenticeship programme, which will give high school dropouts an ITI diploma and a chance to `earn-while-you-learn' and fill Reliance Retail's stores with trained salesmen.

"The employment potential is moving from manufacturing to services. We've been trying to impress that on the Government," says B. Venkataramana, vice-president, human resources, Reliance Retail. Reliance Retail alone will directly generate 20,000 jobs in Tamil Nadu by 2010. Its support systems and contractors will create another 20,000 jobs. With more organised retailers entering the fray, the shortage of trained personnel will turn acute and open up new employment avenues for migrant workers and agricultural labourers.

There are two apprenticeship programmes on the cards: one for retail salespersons and the other for senior retail salespersons. While both are for those who have passed the Standard X examinations, the retail salesperson programme will be of one-year duration, with two months of classroom training at an ITI and 10 months of on-the-job training at a Reliance Retail outlet. The senior salesperson programme involves three months at an ITI and 21-month work at a store.

Reliance is likely to tie up with private ITIs for the classroom component of the programme. Participants will receive a stipend of Rs. 820 a month in their first year and Rs. 940 a month in their second year, according to the Apprenticeship Act.

At the end of the programme, participants will receive a certificate from the State Council for Vocational Training (or an ITI diploma), after which Reliance will absorb them into its own workforce.