Inclusion of Retail job role in TITP to open ample opportunities in Japan for Indian youth: RASCI

NEW DELHI: Good news for the Indian youths looking forward to making their career on foreign soil especially in Asian countries like Japan is that the Indian government might soon broaden the scope of its flagship Technical Intern Training Program (TITP) and add new job roles.

One of the new job roles which are likely to be added to the TITP is retail. And if the ministry of skill development and entrepreneurship (MSDE) goes its way, it will open doors for a plethora of opportunities for hundreds of thousands of students and job seekers from Tier 2 and 3 cities of India to be trained and eventually placed in the global chain of retail stores in Japan.

An indication to this effect was given by James Raphael, the Executive Head, Retailers Association’s Skill Council of India (RASCI) – the largest and most successful Skill Council (SSC) in India that has a mandate of skilling 8.8 million youths in 10 years time.

“Even though we have aggregated demand for the skilled youths from the popular retail chain from Japan with 11,000 outlets there, we cannot send them the skilled manpower. The reason being the retail was not part of the job role under TITP in the agreement between India and Japan. Therefore, we have requested the government for an amendment in the agreement to include retail in the TITP. We expect to get a positive outcome on this front soon,” said James Raphael while participating in the “Jeevitam – Path to Livelihood Webinar” with a focus on “Participative College Placement Drive” recently.

The event was collectively organized by Jeevitam – a livelihood platform, and Asian Community News (ACN) Network.

Raphael said that even if the RASCI had had the entry level youths with an elementary level of proficiency in the Japanese language, they could not be placed in Japan as a retail job role that was not part of the TITP agreement between the two nations.

“Not only Japan but many other nations too that have aging population and longevity is higher. The aging population needs to be serviced and served,” he added.

The TITP that covers sectors like Agriculture, Construction, Food Manufacturing, Textile & Other Sectors but not the Retail, was created to enhance the economic development of countries participating in the program through the generation of new employment opportunities. This is achieved through the internship program which can be anywhere from one year to a maximum of 5 years and through On-the-Job Training (OJT).

Course Curriculum includes Japanese language training, Japanese culture training, and sector-specific training as per Japanese requirements. The TITP offers certification on successful completion.

RASCI is a not-for-profit, independent public limited organization and is funded by the Government of India along with equity participation from Retailer’s Association of India, all major retail chains like Reliance Retail, Future Retail, Shoppers Stop., Globus Stores, Trent, Infiniti Retail, and Connaught Plaza Restaurant to function as the Apex Skill Development Council for the Retail Industry, and it represents the retail industry in India.

While explaining about other overseas opportunities the RASCI’s s executive head said that the government has Transnational Skill Standards in skill development which are benchmarked to the United Kingdom across five job roles under National Occupational Standards that could soon be called Global Occupational Standards.

Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE), along with National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) and UK-India Education and Research Initiatives (UKIERI), has announced the launch of “Transnational Skill Standards” in India.

In his address, Raphael said the MSDE in July had launched the ‘Aatmanirbhar Skilled Employee Employer Mapping’ (ASEEM) portal to help skilled people find sustainable livelihood opportunities.

The ASEEM portal has been envisioned to give a huge impetus to our persistent efforts to bridge the demand-supply gap for skilled workforce across sectors, bringing limitless and infinite opportunities for the nation’s youth. The initiative aims to accelerate India’s journey towards recovery by mapping the skilled workforce and connecting them with relevant livelihood opportunities in their local communities, especially in the post-Covid era.

ABOUT THE KEY SPEAKER: JAMES RAPHAEL

James Raphael – taking over as Executive Head RASCI was a choice made towards nation & skill-building – and he has excelled once again. RASCI is the largest & most successful Sector Skill Council (SSC) on Indian soil.  RASCI is a section 25 (not-for-profit) Public Limited Company funded by the Government of India to function as the apex skill development council for retail in India aligned with the Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship.

A professional with 25 yrs. experience managing & improving Business, People & Processes across Concept, Consumer Durable, Banking, IT, Telecom, HR Solution, Vocational Training, Dairy & Retail companies. In his journey, he has worked with India’s largest – Retailer, Private Sector Company, Mobile Retail Chain, HR Solutions Provider, Telecom Company, Bank, 1st Private Internet Service Provider, Tyre Manufacturing Company & Consumer Durable Company besides having worked for one of the largest conglomerates in Vietnam.

His varied experience is the testimony of his adaptability to perform and excel no matter what the product, service, or function may be – in & out of India whilst progressively managing city, state, regional, national & international profiles. He has played steering roles (start-ups & steady-state) of a concerted strategy to build & hone skills whilst impacting business efficiency positively through process improvements & enhanced people productivity.