eBay India and NIIT join hands to offer first ecommerce certification

In an attempt to increase employability, bridge the skills divide and create opportunities for entrepreneurs to tap into the growing ecommerce market, eBay India and NIIT have announced an industry first ecommerce certification programme. The ePro certification program has been built with an aim to create a sustainable and scalable skills framework via public and private partnerships to increase employability.

Latif Nathani, Managing Director, eBay India, said, "eBay India has enabled businesses for over 50,000 merchants of all sizes and it has been our constant endeavor to expand the seller base. However, the widening skill gap would become an impediment to the growth of the ecommerce industry. The ePro certification will not only build an employable workforce, but will also aid government's endeavor to skill 500 million people by 2022, who can contribute towards the 'Make in India' campaign.”

Nathani further mentioned that according to the eBay India Online Business Index, the online domestic entrepreneurs employ an average of 4.8 full time staff and 1.6 part time staff. This is projected to increase to 5.2 full time staff and 2.1 part time staff. The ePro certification will help to bridge this gap as well.

Shivan Bhargava, Group President - Skills and Careers Group, NIIT Ltd, said, "At NIIT we have always believed in offering programs customized to the evolving needs of the industry. With the changing face of retail, where online platforms are gaining popularity among consumers, we perceive immense opportunity in the ecommerce space. Hence we have joined hands with eBay India to empower local entrepreneurs with global aspirations, by bringing them at par with the international standards.”

The ePro certification program will address the skills gaps of the people, enabling a vast system of qualified resources that are not only employable in the overall offline/online retail industry but will also enable them to look for opportunities in sales, operations, merchandise, payments and logistics role.

The program will cover topics like Introduction to eCommerce, marketplaces and eBay, process of selling, inventory management, customer service, marketing and all such aspects that will enable merchants to sell online.