Trust for Retailers & Retail Associates of India (TRRAIN), which is a public charitable trust, has tied up with the Retailers Association of India (RAI) to help make the retail industry more inclusive.
This collaboration will witness TRRAIN and RAI working together to implement diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) policies with retailers registered with the RAI.
The partnership will encourage retail members to offer job opportunities for TRRAIN certified Persons with Disability (PwD) candidates at entry-level and other levels over the next five years.
The two entities will together identify and map job roles at different levels within the industry, taking into account the various types of disabilities.
Experts from TRRAIN will help RAI encourage retailers to sensitise employees and create workplaces that are disability-oriented and accessible, and support hiring PwDs.
BS Nagesh, founder, TRRAIN said, “As thought leaders and catalysts, we want to enable retail organisations in their diversity and inclusion journey, particularly with regard to employing Persons with Disabilities (PwD)”.
Nagesh highlighted that “80 per cent of retail jobs are customer-facing” and therefore, “employing PwDs will lead to creating awareness and sensitisation at a large level. And, since retail has low entry barriers with minimum qualification being 10th Grade, there is a huge talent pool to explore and impact.”
Kumar Rajagopalan, CEO, RAI pointed out that, “India has one store for every 100 citizens making retail one of the top employers employing about 4.5 crore people. The industry is significant not only because of its contribution to the country’s GDP and commerce but also because it employs people with various abilities and backgrounds”.
This agreement signed between TRRAIN and RAI “will not only give PwDs a good chance at employment in retail and thereby support themselves and their families but also contribute towards the progress of retail as an industry.”
The partnership was inked during the Retail Leadership Summit 2022, wherein CEOs and CHROs from retailers such as Nexus Malls, Inorbit Malls, Vishal Mega Mart, and Reliance Retail have pledged their support, reiterating their commitment to making a difference in the industry by fostering diversity and inclusion.
