The IKEA Foundation, philanthropic arm of home furnishing major IKEA, has launched a retail training programme for women in Telangana.
The programme named DISHA, is being offered with United Nations Development Program and India Development Foundation and aims to impart skills to one million women in more than 10 industries and help them get employment.
It was launched in the presence of Minister of Panchayati Raj and Rural Development Jupally Krishna Rao, a release from the IKEA said on Wednesday.
The IKEA, which expects to open its first store in India at Hyderabad early 2018, is looking to hire an equal number of men and women. Noting that it “is committed to hiring 50% women across levels in a country where only 27% of women are currently part of the workforce,” the company said DISHA sought to address the challenge of increasing the number of skilled female workers in the retail sector.
The IKEA India CEO Juvencio Maeztu said: “We have a non-negotiable commitment to employ 50% women co-workers in our stores at all levels.”
Under the DISHA retail pilot programme, initially 350 women from Hyderabad would be trained on retail specific roles. It would also help build life skills. The participating women will leave with certified skills that can help them get jobs across the retail sector. About 150 women in Telangana from the programme would have the opportunity to get placed in the IKEA Hyderabad store. This is the first of its pilot and if successful proposed to be taken to Maharashtra, Karnataka, and NCR, the release said.
Welcoming the IKEA’s efforts, the Minister said that the Telangana Government is fully supportive of the programme to increase women workforce. He hoped that more companies would emulate the IKEA.
By empowering women, “we can improve children’s health, education and future,” IKEA Foundation CEO Per Heggenes said.