Mumbai: IKEA India (part of Ingka Group), the leading Swedish home furnishings retailer, today announced its partnership with Tata Community Initiatives Trust (TCIT) – Tata STRIVE.
The partnership aims to develop ‘workplace-ready young professionals through knowledge acquisition, skill development, and behavior development through short-term courses. These courses will be focused on job roles of interior design support and assembly of furniture. In this pilot project, youths from Mumbai will be trained at the state-of-the-art infrastructure skill development center located at Airoli (Navi Mumbai).
With the home furnishing market set for growth, demand for interior design support functions such as assemblers, installers, and site supervisors will increase. IKEA India and TCIT- Tata STRIVE will bring together their respective expertise to train, and develop assemblers, kitchen and wardrobe installers through a course duration that spans 7 weeks. The state-of-the-art infrastructure skill development center will help to impart practical knowledge & hands-on experience to the students. The program also offers accreditation of course by respective sector skill council ensuring national recognition to all the trainees.
Preet Dhupar, CFO and Sustainability Lead, IKEA India said, “IKEA is proud of our partnership with Tata STRIVE. Through this partnership, we will be skilling more youth in the society with quality training co-created by IKEA and Tata STRIVE in order for them to get more livelihood and employment opportunities in the industry. For IKEA India, this is another step in our journey to make good design and sustainable home furnishings affordable and accessible to many more people. As part of our people and planet positive agenda, being fair and inclusive is one of our key pillars towards our vision of creating a better and brighter everyday life. IKEA will continue to engage with local communities and create a positive impact on our business. That’s part of our responsibility.”
Speaking on the partnership, Anita Rajan, CEO, Tata STRIVE and VP, Tata Community Initiatives Trust had this to say, “The growth of the housing sector reflects the changing living standards of Indians. There is a growing demand for modern, stylish home décor and home furnishing. IKEA is a global brand that brings both style and functionality into home décor. Tata STRIVE is delighted to partner with IKEA, to co-create a skilling program to create quality professionals to take up emerging jobs in the value chain of modular furniture. The program builds on the established strengths of Tata STRIVE of standardized content, efficient processes, technology innovations, and industry exposure.”
Parineeta Cecil Lakra, Country People & Culture Manager, IKEA India said, “Equality, Diversity and Inclusion is the foundation on which IKEA is built. With this partnership, we are getting ready for the future growth of the home furnishings sector by skill-building men and women who will play a vital role in creating a great customer experience. We are proud that through this program, we can contribute to skill development initiatives in India. Young Women and Men will have the opportunity to join the home furnishing & retail workforce including some of them who might like to join IKEA or even become entrepreneurs running their own businesses.”
In consultation with industry experts, the two entry-level courses in furniture manufacturing and designing space have been identified and received quality inputs. The initiative plans to onboard trainers with relevant industry experience coupled with comprehensive 10-day training and technology orientation sessions to smoothen the process. Representatives from the home furnishing industry will be invited for guest lectures to give industry insights and motivational talks to the trainees followed by industry visits and placement support. Also, post successfully completing the module, the progress of these students will be followed for a period of 12 months.
The horizon of the program would be expanded to different locations basis the success of this pilot Tata STRIVE and IKEA will collaborate in strengthening the skilling ecosystem by creating content, capacity building of the facilitators, assessment, and certification.
