Education Industry view

1. May 31–June 06, 2010
Retail in India is next boom industry: Dr. Tarun
Panwar
The whole concept of shopping has altered in terms of format and consumer buying behavior, ushering
in a revolution in shopping
Retailing in India is gradually inching its way to becoming the next boom industry. The whole concept of
shopping has altered in terms of format and consumer buying behavior, ushering in a revolution in
shopping. Modern retail has entered India as seen in sprawling shopping centres, multi-storeyed malls and
huge complexes that offer shopping, entertainment and food all under one roof.
Shopping has become a hobby for the new generation. Thanks to rapid urbanization and emergence of
malls at an ever increasing speed in every upcoming city, retailing has grown into one of the largest sectors
in the global economy and a booming industry in the present century.
Retailing involves a direct interface with the customer and the coordination of business activities from end
to end- right from the concept or design stage of a product or offering, to its delivery and post-delivery
service to the customer. Retail industry has contributed to the economic growth of many countries and is
undoubtedly one of the fastest changing and dynamic industries in the world today.
Retail is a vital part of the business industry that involves selling products and services to consumers for
their individual or family uses. It is a vertical and people-oriented business industry. Retail business in India
boomed in the 80's and within a short span of time, Indian retail industry has been rated as the fifth most
attractive, emerging retail market in the world. Indian retail industry accounts for over 10 percent of the
country’s GDP (Gross Domestic Product) and around nine percent of employment. It is expected to grow at
a compounded rate of over 30 per cent over the next five years.
The Indian retail industry is on the verge of a revolution! Market liberalization and increasingly assertive
consumers are sowing the seeds of a retail transformation that is bringing bigger Indian and multinational
retailers on the arena. Major retailers are entering this advancing market and retailing as an industry is
coming alive in India! A sustained growth in the income and purchaising power of the Indian people has
given a significant boost to the Indian retail industry.
There has been a significant change in retail trading over the years, a transition from traditional retailing to
organized retailing. The business worth of Indian retail at present is more than US$400bN; by 2015 Indian
retail business will be worth more than US $ 720 billion. With around 13% contribution to the GDP and 9%
employment of the national workforce, retailing is undoubtedly a strong pillar of the Indian economy and a
sector which is offering huge opportunities. The fast evolving Indian organized retail scenario is looking
forward to many strong regional and national players emerging across formats and products categories.
Most of these players are now gearing up to expand far more rapidly than the initial years of their start-ups.
Most have regained/improved profitability after going through their respective learning curves. Indian
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2. Consumers too, are rapidly evolving and accepting modern formats overwhelmingly. They are shifting from
simple living to luxurious living patterns. The Indian women who were confined to their homes till the
recent past are now becoming independent thereby presenting more opportunities to the retailers.
Career Prospects
With the tremendous growth of economy, retail management has emerged as one of the fastest growing
career in the country. One could start the career as a management trainee, and with hard work and right
attitude, could reach to manager post in different departments. One can even start his or her own business
and be an entrepreneur
The present scenario depicts that there will be very high demand for talented manpower in the retail
business. It is predicted that retail employers in India will need more than 8 lakh skilled people in various
specialized areas for the retail across the country. Retail is challenging, engrossing and dynamic. Quality
education is required to advance and succeed in the retail industry today.
The career opportunities are in the areas of store Operations, Retail Marketing, Visual Merchandising,
Buying & Merchandising, Brand Management, Store Location & Design, MIS in Retail, Human Resource
Management, E- Tailing and Digital Retailing. There is a large growth opportunity in organized business that
the country will see after a long time. Apart from the direct jobs, every retail job created adds further jobs
in the support business.
Job Prospects
The enormous expansion in the retail sector during the past few years has thrown up big demand for
trained professionals in the field. It is an industry looking for people at all levels.
One can take up a job depending on the interest and aptitude, since retail industry is an array of activities
starting from marketing to branding. This makes retail profession one of the most demanding careers. The
retail sector is changing the perspective of people towards it. Brands world-wide are partnering with Indian
retailers.
Last but not the least, are the emerging Malls in India, which have taken the country by storm. Retail space
is no more a constraint for growth. With India on the radar of global retailers and suppliers, the retail arena
today is very different and the opportunities are incredible. The brands like Zara, H&M and Ferragamo are
planning to start their operations in India. A sustained growth in the income and purchasing power of the
Indian customers has given a significant boost to the Retail Industry in India which has generated various
jobs across different retailing verticals.
Source-: http://www.indiainfoline.com
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3. Vocational
educational in India
The aim of vocational educational in
India is to develop skilled manpower
through diversified courses to meet the
requirements of mainly the unorganised
sector and to instill self- employment
skills in people through a large
number of self employment oriented
courses. In India vocational education is
imparted through Industrial Training
Institutes (ITIs) and polytechnics.
The skill shortage in the Indian economy
today is largely due to neglect of
vocational education The ASSOCHAM
paper recently published revealed that
nearly 300 million people of the 18-50 age
group are unemployed because they just
do not have any marketable skills. At the
same time, the scarcity of trained
plumbers, carpenters and mechanics in
Indian cities drains the economy of 100
crores a year.
The importance of vocational education
The University Education Commission 1948-49 headed by Dr. S. Radhakrishanan rightly emphasized its
importance in the following words: "Professional education is the process by which men and women prepare
for exacting, responsible service in the professional spirit. The term may be restricted to preparation for fields
requiring well informed and disciplined insight and skill of a high order. Less exacting preparation may be
designated as vocational or technical education." The Kothari Commission (1964-66) was of the view that for a
majority of occupations, university degrees were not necessary; and these jobs could be competently
performed by trained higher secondary students. This Commission felt that it should be possible to divert at
least 50 per cent of students completing 10 year education to the vocational stream, which would reduce the
pressure on the universities and also prepare students for gainful employment.
The National Policy on Education. 1986 further emphasized its importance and observed: “The introduction
of systematic, well planned and rigorously implemented programme of vocational education is crucial in the
proposed educational re-organization. Vocational education will be a distinct stream intended to prepare
students for identified vocations spanning several areas of activity”
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4. Demand for skilled men
In India every year, 6,50,000 engineering graduates and approximately two million graduates pass out of
colleges. Nearly two-thirds of the 6,50,000 engineering graduates need to be re-skilled, so that they can get
jobs in the industry. Meanwhile, the developed world requires knowledge workers and skilled professionals.
By 2020, the developed world will have a shortage of 40 million working people, says a report. A recent study
by global HR consultancy Manpower Inc says that 41 per cent of employers worldwide are having difficulty
filling positions due to lack of suitable talent in their markets. Manpower shortages can cripple economic
growth. It can escalate wage rates, thereby reducing the competitiveness of these countries.
According to a survey, 72 per cent of our population is under the age of 35 and it is estimated that 300 million
people between the ages of 18 and 50 seek employment of some form. While 57 per cent are unemployable,
46 million are registered with employment exchanges with little hope of finding a suitable job. But there is a
mismatch between the skilled manpower required and skilled manpower available and there is huge shortage
of skilled talent. A majority of the youth passing out from our universities and colleges do not have the specific
skill sets required by various sectors in the market. Vocational education is surely going to be an enabler to
help India shine in the unorganised sector.
Source-: http://www.gits4u.com/edu/edu8.htm
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5. Aegis Bpo To Hire Around 11K Employees In The
Current Year
Aegis Ltd, a BPO company from the Essar Group, will hire 11,000 people in the current financial year,
according to its managing director and chief executive officer Aparoop Sengupta.
“We see a huge demand across geographies for BPO services. The hiring is to meet the demand,” said
Sengupta.
Meanwhile, looking at the crunch of people to manage customer experience management across sectors
Aegis is looking to training and recruiting people.
It has set up Institute of Customer Experience Management (ICEM) to train students specifically for the
service industry (retail, banking, financial services and insurance, ITeS) focusing on the customer
experience and customer lifetime value. The first batch of 400 people will start from August this year in
Coimbatore.
“This might be the first of its kind initiative towards improving the entire process of customer experience.
Whenever we spoke to clients, be it of our parent group company or others, they have always said it is
needed. So we would now set up more such campuses across India as well as outside. We would like to
set up another five ICEM campuses in the next three years,” said Subir Ghosh, president - Aegis Global
Academy, the division that runs ICEM.
While Aegis has tied up with other firms for placement of all 400 students in various companies, the firm
itself would absorb about 100 from every batch of ICEM.
The firm has tied up with IIM-Indore and SQC Singapore to design specific course materials for ICEM.
“I believe this is practical and fruitful strategy by firms to meet the gap between service requirement and
actual execution. Going forward, I see this will be a trend being taken up by firms of other sectors, too,”
said Prof Ravichandran, dean IIM - Indore.
On May 19, the firm purchased education finance service provider Sallie Mae’s customer service centre in
Texas, US.
Under that deal, about 350 of Sallie Mae employees will join Aegis whose headcount stands a little over
40,000
Source-: http://www.bpo.biz.com
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6. Future Growth of Mutual Funds in India
It is estimated that by 2010 March-end, the total assets of all scheduled commercial banks should be Rs
40, 90,000 crore. The annual composite rate of growth is expected 13.4% during the rest of the decade. In
the last 5 years we have seen annual growth rate of 9%. According to the current growth rate, by year
2010, mutual fund assets will be double.
Some facts for the growth of mutual funds in India
• 100% growth in the last 6 years.
• Number of foreign AMC's are in the que to enter the Indian markets like Fidelity Investments, US
based, with over US$1trillion assets under management worldwide.
• Our saving rate is over 23%, highest in the world. Only channelizing these savings in mutual funds
sector is required.
• We have approximately 29 mutual funds which is much less than US having more than 800.
There is a big scope for expansion.
• 'B' and 'C' class cities are growing rapidly. Today most of the mutual funds are concentrating on
the 'A' class cities. Soon they will find scope in the growing cities.
• Mutual fund can penetrate rurals like the Indian insurance industry with simple and limited
products.
• SEBI allowing the MF's to launch commodity mutual funds.
• Emphasis on better corporate governance.
• Trying to curb the late trading practices.
• Introduction of Financial Planners who can provide need based advice.
Source-: http://finance.indiamart.com
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7. Top Opportunities In Education Sector, To Grow By 30%-
35%
New Delhi, May 3, 2010: Education sector offers potential business opportunity that emanates from the
fact that India has world’s largest youth population who wants to boast of receiving quality education
with world-class training systems and also the reality that gap between the number of potentially
employable people and corresponding training institutes available to train them is wide. Backed by ‘The
Franchising World’ report which featured top franchising brands in Established, Emerging, Debutant and
International categories in India and at the same time providing an actionable agenda to education
operators and service providers like play schools, schools, institutes, development & training programs,
vocational trainings, counselors, professional coaching operators to plunge into franchising or grow an
existing franchise network as there is lot to learn about franchise trends in the international education
service industry to assist them to carve a niche for themselves.
According to the report carried by TFW, the growth of the Education sector in the country is pegged at
35% amongst new concepts and it will continue to grow in the years to come and keeping in mind the
markets in India to be capitalized on, it further opens the door for many entrepreneurs. Looking at the risk
and profitable returns variation from business to business, franchising ensures a safe method to own a
brand especially in the Education sector which is least effected territory even in the time of recession. It
also has been noticed in earlier studies that education is the second largest household expenditure after
food. Presently in India, not only middle or upper middle class, even poor families spend 20 per cent of
their disposable income on private schools and universities; then expose their children to 1.2 million,
mostly ill-equipped and under-staffed government school across the country. Private institutions are
typically perceived as hallmarks of quality education and given the demand, Indian education
entrepreneur are ready with massive expansion plans, which will provide thrust for the education sector
to grow multifold.
Speaking on the Education sector growth, Mr. Gaurav Marya, President, Franchise India, said, “Our report
features Education providers from varied backgrounds starting from an established, international and
national to emerging; these findings of the report re-establish the fact that franchise is the next route of
growth for brands in the country. There are around 1200 franchisors in the country, having over 100000
franchisees across country. Out of this number, approximately, 32 per cent are in the education sector.
Foreign investment through franchise route will be more forthcoming in sectors like child skill
enhancement, e-learning, teacher training and finishing schools as also for IT and BPO training. Education
sector is the most franchised sector in India and it is interesting to note that franchise outlets are far
higher in number than company-owned outlets. “
Source-: http://www.free-press-release.com
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