New Delhi, December 05, 2007: The NIS Academy announced the launch of two new certificate courses: RETAIL Act and RETAIL Lead, today. Buoyed by the phenomenal growth of the retail industry, and the need for a workforce that is energetic, skilled and ready to take on the retail revolution,

The NIS Academy has designed and developed RETAIL Act, a Certificate course in Front Line Sales (3 months) and RETAIL Lead, a Certificate course in Retail Floor Supervision (6 months).

The two courses together expected to generate over 5000 skilled and groomed retail professionals for the shop floor level, in a year. The courses will be offered at over 28 cities in the country, where The NIS Academy centres are located.

The new courses have been launched to address the Retail industry’s consistent demand for skilled professionals. According to a recent study, the Retail market is set to double in 3 years to $30 billion#; with organised retail occupying 30% of the retail market size in the next 10 years. With 2 million jobs expected to be created by 2010*, the industry needs a workforce that is market-ready, skilled and groomed. To add to this, most management programmes being offered to aspirants, today, are available only to graduates, leaving the under-graduates/ 12th pass-outs from tier-II and tier-III cities with no option and inadequate skills. The launch of retail courses by the Academy will bridge this gap and fulfill specific industry requirements.

Speaking on the launch of the courses, Mr. Muralidhar Rao, President & COO, NIS Sparta said, “There is a huge gap between the requirement of skilled manpower at the shop floor level and their availability. I am confident that our new courses will bridge this gap by providing employability-linked education to aspirants; and grooming a skilled, market-ready workforce for the retail industry.”

A unique SCALE methodology has been used in designing the 3-tiered programmes. Each programme ensures a holistic approach by equipping the candidates with skills related to domain and personal effectiveness. The programmes have been conceptualised by The NIS Academy based on market research, trends in the industry and understanding the role profile requirement, in the Retail environment.

Commenting on the announcement, Mr. Manoj Chawla, Sr. Vice President, The NIS Academy added, “RETAIL Act and RETAIL Lead are designed to develop team performers with a sense of belonging with the organisation. The modules are aimed at building individuals who fully express themselves and are self-motivated.” He further added, “The NIS Academy over past 17 years has assimilated and developed tremendous understanding of the unique Indian Market. Today we have the capability of developing customized programmes, to meet specific skill needs of industry segments such as, FMCG, Retail, Telecom etc. Leveraging this experience and know-how we have developed new courses to fulfill requirements of the retail segment. With launch of these new courses we hope to develop professionals who will deliver extraordinary performances, in their Retail careers.”

RETAIL Act

This career oriented module will brighten the individual’s career prospects in retail by making them skilled sales and customer care personnel. The programme will develop aspirants as a skilled Frontline Sales Executive and Customer Care Associate.

Retail Act is a 3-month Certificate Programme, comprising of 2-months classroom and 1-month internship/ On-the-job Project work. The modules of the programme include domain skills, such as: an Understanding of the Present Retail Scenario in India & Modern Retail Formats; Effective Selling Skills, Customer Care & Service; Daily Store Ops SOP’s; Merchandise Knowledge & In-store Marketing & Promotions; and skills in Personal Effectiveness including Personal Grooming; Hygiene, Attitude & Behavior; Communication & Inter-personal Skills.

The entry profile for candidates desiring to enroll for RETAIL Act is 10+2/ graduates in any discipline, and Basic English speaking skills.

RETAIL Lead

This unique programme will build the individual’s supervisory skills and make them effective Retail professionals. It will prime aspirants for the roles of Store Managers, Floor Supervisors and Team Leaders.

The 6-month RETAIL Lead programme is aimed at developing professionals who will manage stores for efficient operations; supervise teams; sell effectively in a retail environment; and, manage customer relations and in-store promotions.

The entry profile for candidates desiring to enroll for Retail LEAD is graduates in any discipline; with 1-2 years work experience, preferred; and, Basic English speaking skills.

# Ficci-Ernst & Young report. 2007, * Study by Elixir Web Solutions, 2007

About The NIS Academy

The NIS Academy is a division of NIS Sparta Ltd., (a Reliance-ADA Group company), and Asia’s leading training, education and learning solutions provider. In addition to academic knowledge, The NIS Academy aims to hone the student’s professional skills in areas like team building, enhancing flexibility and adaptability, increasing ability to deal with ambiguity and stress, tackling challenges and taking initiatives. These skills are not found in any curriculum and need to be enhanced or developed. The rigorous training provided at The NIS Academy equips students with knowledge, skills and attitudes to succeed and make them market ready.

Possessing over 17 years experience in the learning and training domain, the NIS Academy offers programmes that are based on innovative and interactive teaching methodologies derived from the experience of training the corporate world. In effect, the NIS Academy brings the Corporate to the Classroom. The Academy believes in incorporating state-of-art technology into its education and training programmes. With this purpose in mind, the academy has formed strategic alliances with Eagle’s Flight, Canada and Huthwaite International, UK.

The NIS Academy offers the following employment oriented courses:

Post Graduate Diploma in Applied Management (PGDAM), Advanced Diploma in Management and Applied Skills (ADMAS), MBA in Applied Management*, BBA in Applied Management*, Effective Communication and Personality Development (ECPD), Speak Up

*Note: The MBA in Applied Management and BBA in Applied Management courses are offered through Annamalai University.