Over 1000 Students Placed in 20 Months by Centum Learning and Bharti Walmart

• Placement milestone achieved through sustainable Employability Training Model implemented in Bharti Walmart Training Centers at Delhi and Amritsar
• Milestone aims to bridge the employability gap
• Training Centers have achieved over 7400 walk-ins and over 2900 candidates have been trained

Centum Learning, a Bharti Associate Company, and Bharti Walmart, a joint venture between Bharti Enterprises and Walmart, have placed over 1000 students from diverse backgrounds in various sectors such as retail, BPO, hospitality and financial institutions, in a short span of 20 months. The students underwent stringent selection, training and certification process, using a revolutionary Employability Model. Bharti Walmart has also employed about 168 students for its cash-and-carry Best Price Modern Wholesale stores.

Bharti Walmart, under the Public Private Partnership model, established its first and second Skills Training Centre at Amritsar and Delhi in Partnership with the Government of Punjab in December 2008 and Government of Delhi in July 2010 respectively. The objective is to bridge shortage of skilled manpower in the rapidly growing retail sector. As an integral part of this initiative, Bharti Walmart partnered with Centum Learning to establish, manage and run the centre. Centum Learning has developed, for the Training Centers, a special curriculum in collaboration with Walmart, leveraging its deep global knowledge and expertise. Successful candidates are co-certified by Bharti Walmart and Centum Learning on basis of written evaluations conducted at the end of the programme. All enrolled candidates are awarded 100% scholarships, making this training free-of-cost to the students.

Commenting of the milestone, Mr. Raj Jain, Managing Director and CEO, Bharti Walmart Pvt. Ltd. said, “Skilled manpower will be a key driver of growth for the game changing retail sector in India, especially if Foreign Direct Investment is allowed in front-end retail operations. Bharti Walmart, along with Centum Learning, is committed to equip the country with employable people, thereby generating sustainable livelihoods and bridging the skill gap. ”

Witnessing the success of this initiative, Sanjeev Duggal, CEO & Executive Director, Centum Learning commented – “We are absolutely delighted on achieving this milestone. Together with Bharti Walmart we are striving to promote inclusive growth where every individual is empowered to become a productive member of the society. Today, India is facing a huge skill gap where only 4.3 million skilled people are available against a demand of 13 million skilled people. Hence, we are proud to do our bit in bridging this gap and giving India a sustainable employability model”.

The Training Centers run two short term vocational programs, to equip candidates to become Floor Associates and Team Leaders of 3 and 4 weeks respectively. In the past 20 months, many successful candidates have proved the effectiveness of these programmes by joining leading companies and brands such as Bharti Airtel, Coca Cola, McDonalds, GE Countrywide, Mobile Store, Fossil, Swarovski, Reliance Fresh, TATA AIG, Ray-Ban, Pierre Cardin, PepsiCo, Wipro, among others.

Centum Learning also employs a robust sourcing approach which includes presentations in colleges, seminars in rural areas, display of collaterals in colleges & villages and referral schemes to mobilize and attract local talent. Candidates are required to undergo an evaluation process which comprises of an entrance test and interview.

Centum Learning implements the unique ‘See-Hear-Act’ methodology to impart education which creates employable candidates. Role plays, daily evaluations and field trips form a part of the training.

About Bharti Walmart Private Limited

Bharti Walmart Private Limited is a business-to-business (B2B) joint venture between Bharti Enterprises and Walmart for wholesale cash-and-carry and back-end supply chain management operations in India to serve small retailers, manufacturers, small businesses, hotels, restaurants and farmers. The Company has three stores in India – Amritsar, Zirakpur and Jalandhar. Best Price Modern Wholesale stores sells a wide range of fresh, frozen and chilled foods, fruits and vegetables, dry groceries, personal and home care, hotel and restaurant supplies, clothing, office supplies and other general merchandise items.

About Centum Learning Limited

Centum Learning, a Bharti Associate Company, provides end-to-end learning and skill-building solutions that impact business performance through enhanced employee productivity, customer profitability and effective talent transformation. Focused on 'People and Processes', its solutions cover the entire spectrum ranging from Learning Process Outsourcing, Custom Content Development, Training through Blended Learning Programmes, Executive Coaching and Performance Coaching to Process Management and Certification. It also focuses on building industry specific skills at the entry level for the service sector. In the skill- building domain, Centum Learning Limited has set up more than 130 Centum Learning Centres in 90 cities spread across India, to provide higher order employability skills and bridge the existing talent gap in the service sector. Centum Learning has now launched Centum U - Institute of Management & Creative Studies. It offers various undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in association with world-renowned Universities and Institutes. www.centumlearning.com