IKEA India (part of Ingka Group) and Tata Community Initiatives Trust (TCIT) - Tata STRIVE have collaborated  to create employability and entrepreneurship opportunities for youth. 

The partnership aims to develop 'workplace-ready' young professionals through knowledge acquisition, skill development and behaviour development through short-term courses. These courses will be focused on job roles of interior design support and assembly of furniture. In this pilot project, youths from Mumbai will be trained at the state-of-the-art infrastructure skill development centre located at Airoli (Navi Mumbai).

With the home furnishing market set for growth, demand for interior design support functions such as assemblers, installers and site supervisors will increase. 

IKEA India and TCIT- Tata STRIVE will bring together their respective expertise to train, and develop assemblers, kitchen and wardrobe installers through a course duration which spans across 7 weeks. The state-of-the-art infrastructure skill development centre will help to impart practical knowledge & hands on experience to the students. The program also offers accreditation of course by respective sector skill council ensuring national recognition to all the trainees.

Preet Dhupar, CFO and Sustainability Lead, IKEA India said, "IKEA is proud of our partnership with Tata STRIVE. Through this partnership, we will be skilling more youth in the society with quality training co-created by IKEA and Tata STRIVE in order for them to get more livelihood and employment opportunities in the industry. For IKEA India, this is another step in our journey to make good design and sustainable home furnishings affordable and accessible to many more people.  As part of our people and planet positive agenda, being fair and inclusive is one of our key pillars towards our vision of creating a better and brighter everyday life. IKEA will continue to engage with local communities and create a positive impact with our business. That's part of our responsibility."

 
Anita Rajan, CEO, Tata STRIVE and VP, Tata Community Initiatives Trust had this to say, "The growth of the housing sector reflects the changing living standards of Indians. There is a growing demand for modern, stylish home décor and home furnishing. IKEA is a global brand that brings both style and functionality into home décor. Tata STRIVE is delighted to partner with IKEA, to co-create a skilling programme to create quality professionals to take up emerging jobs in the value chain of modular furniture. The programme builds on the established strengths of Tata STRIVE of standardized content, efficient processes, technology innovations and industry exposure."

The horizon of this pilot program would be expanded to different locations basis the success of this pilot Tata STRIVE and IKEA will collaborate in strengthening the skilling ecosystem by creating content, capacity building of the facilitators, assessment, and certification.