Kolkata, West Bengal :
The All India Gems and Jewellery Trade Federation (GJF),in association with Gem and Jewellery Skill Council of India, has rolled out the National Skill Certification and Reward Scheme branded as the STAR SCHEME (Standard Training Assessment & Reward) to train sales staff of the jewellery retailers.
The Star Scheme has been formulated to encourage skill development for youth by providing monetary rewards for successful completion of approved training programs under the Government of India’s National Skill Certification & Monetary Reward Scheme (NSCMRS). India has 400,000 retail outlets and has over 1.5 million individuals employed as Retail Sales Associates (RSAs).
With the Star Scheme being rolled out, GJF offers all jewellers a fabulous opportunity to upgrade the skills of their existing Retail Sales Associates at no cost . GJF has affiliated with the Gem & Jewellery Skill Council of India (GJSCI) to train the jewellers’ Retail Sales Associates under the Government of India’s National Skill Certification & Monetary Reward Scheme (NSCMRS). The Government of India will reimburse the cost of the training of Jewellery Retail Sales Associates to the trainees under this scheme.
Mr Haresh Soni, Chairman, GJF , said, “The Star Scheme will benefit 10 lakh youth at an approximate total cost of Rs 1,000 crores. We, at GJF, want to ensure that this benefit is availed by our entire Member fraternity and the jewellery Industry at large. The Star Scheme program aims to increase productivity of the existing workforce and align the training and certification to the needs of the country. It provides monetary reward for Skill Certification to boost employability and productivity of youth by incentivizing them for skill trainings. It rewards candidates undergoing skill training by authorized institutions at an average monetary reward of Rs 10,000 per candidate.”
GJF will plan the training programmes for the Retail Sales Associates in every city. Each city will have a minimum of 10 batches scheduled. Each batch will have 25 learneRs The training will be imparted by GJF appointed training providers like Future Sharp, IL&FS Skill Development Corporation, LabourNet, Aptech, etc. GJSCI has developed the content for the training that has been validated by representatives from our industry. The training will be on the product domain knowledge as well as on selling skills and soft skills. At the end of the training the learners will have to undergo as assessment test. The assessment will be undertaken by the GJSCI. Only the successful candidates who have cleared the assessment will be awarded a certificate by the GJSCI and be eligible for the reimbursement of the training costs under the scheme. GJSCI under the aegis of the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) is the implementation agency for the scheme.
The scheme was announced by the Honourable Prime Minister on August 15, 2013 and launched by the Honourable Finance Minister on August 16, 2013. GJSCI will train the jewellers’ Retail Sales Associates under the Government of India’s National Skill Certification & Monetary Reward Scheme (NSCMRS). The Government of India will reimburse the cost of the training of Jewellery Retail Sales Associates to the trainees under this scheme.
Gem and Jewellery has been identified by the NSDC as a high growth sector to initiate skill-training programs. Most of these individuals have learnt on the job and have no any formal training. Formal training would make all Retail Sales Associates STAR performeRs Trained Retail Sales Associates would have a better understanding of the product, competition, learn new sales techniques and be more confident in their job and be in a better position to service the customeRs Trained Retail Sales Associates are more productive and will lead to increased profitability to our jewellery establishments. One of the reasons Jewellers have been hesitant to train their Retail Sales Associates has been the cost of training.
source: http://www.articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com / The Economic Times / Home> News By Industry> Cons. Products / by Sutanuka Ghosal, ET Bureau / November 27th, 2013