The Retailers Association of India (RAI) has announced that they have extended their partnership with Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) that will provide a skill-based and employment-oriented BBA (Retailing) academic program that will have a modular approach. Commenting on the collaboration, Kumar Rajagopalan, CEO, RAI says, “The $854 billion Indian retail industry employs over 46 million people and hiring is expected to see an uptrend in the years to come."

He further adds, "We believe that employment in the retail sector will increase by as much as 25 per cent in the next five years. This tie-up is very useful to the industry to attract talent and also to nurture talent for career progression."

This is an initiative by the IGNOU to promote university-industry collaboration as envisaged in the new education policy 2020

In a statement, RAI states that the program has been jointly designed and built by IGNOU in association with RAI and the two parties have renewed their memorandum of understanding, RAI said in a statement.

In this program the learners would be given three months of internship during their study, where they could get practical exposure to major operations of retailing, which would enhances their employability in the retail sector. This is an initiative by the IGNOU to promote university-industry collaboration as envisaged in the new education policy 2020.

With the retails sector gradually recovering from the COVID-19 induced disruptions of last year, RAI said collaboration among different stakeholders including government, financial and academic institutions, industry bodies, businesses and even customers will be key in stimulating growth and recovery.