eBay & NIIT Join Hands to Empower eCommerce Industry

According to industry stats, the e-commerce industry is estimated to touch USD 76 billion by 2021 and the demand for employees is pegged at 1.4 million by 2021. However, yet another industry data also says that only 27 per cent of the fresh graduates will be employable by 2020. Considering such industry trends, there could be a huge challenge ahead of the industry to sustain growth on low availability of employable, skilled and fresh graduates by 2020 or 2021.

In an attempt to increase employability, bridge the skills divide and create opportunities for entrepreneurs to tap into the growing e-commerce market, eBay India (www.ebay.in) and global talent development corporation, NIIT (www.niit.com) today announced an industry first ecommerce certification programme: ePro.

The ePro certification program has been built with an aim to create a sustainable & scalable skills framework via Public & Private Partnerships to increase employability.

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 & 1.6 part time staff. This is projected to increase to 5.2 full time staff & 2.1 part time staff. The ePro certification will help to bridge this gap as well,” added Mr. Nathani

Shivan Bhargava, Group President - Skills and Careers Group, NIIT Ltd., said, “At NIIT we have always believed in offering programs customized to the evolving needs of the industry. 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 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 will also enable them to look for opportunities in sales, operations, merchandise, payments and logistics role.

The program will cover topics like Introduction to eCommerce, Marketplaces & eBay, Process of Selling, Inventory Management, Customer Service, Marketing and all such aspects that will enable merchants to sell online.