Talent development firm NIIT and ecommerce major eBay have announced an ecommerce certification program called ePro to increase employability of fresh graduates, bridge the skills divide and create opportunities for entrepreneurs to tap into the growing ecommerce market.
Latif Nathani, Managing Director, eBay India, said, “eBay India has enabled businesses for over 50,000 merchants of all sizes and it has been our constant endeavor to expand the seller base. However, the widening skill gap would become an impediment to the growth of the ecommerce industry. The ePro certification will not only build an employable workforce, but will also aid Government’s endeavor to skill 500 million people by 2022, who can contribute towards the ’Make in India’ campaign.”
“According to the eBay India Online Business Index, the online domestic entrepreneurs employ an average of 4.8 full time staff and 1.6 part-time staff. This is projected to increase to 5.2 full time staff and 2.1 part time staff. The ePro certification will help to bridge this gap as well,” he added.
Shivan Bhargava, Group President – Skills and Careers Group, NIIT Ltd., said, “With the changing face of retail, where online platforms are gaining popularity among consumers, we perceive immense opportunity in the ecommerce space. Hence we have joined hands with eBay India to empower local entrepreneurs with global aspirations, by bringing them at par with the international standards.”
The ePro certification program has been built with an aim to create a sustainable and scalable skills framework via public and private partnerships to increase employability, according to company officials. It will address the skills gaps of the people, enabling a vast system of qualified resources that are not only employable in the overall offline/online retail industry but also fit for opportunities in sales, operations, merchandise, payments and logistics role, they added.
The ePro certification program will cover topics like introduction to ecommerce, marketplaces and eBay, process of selling, inventory management, customer service, marketing and other aspects that will enable merchants to sell online.
