Vocational education and skill development training company Aptech Ltd. is eyeing growth from countries in Africa, the CIS and eastern Europe, which are lacking in job oriented training infrastructure for their youth, a company official said.
“Our biggest growth markets are India, Africa, Middle East, CIS and east European countries.
The MEA region, in particular, has been growing at a fast pace,” said Shrutidhar Paliwal, vice president, Aptech Ltd.
“In Africa, key growth markets are Abuja, Lagos, Calabar, Kaduna, Enugu, Kano, Uyo, Port Harcourt and Awka. These countries are investing heavily in aligning education with jobs in the industry,” he said.
The company, which started as an IT education training firm three decades ago, has now diversified into several allied segments which include aviation and hospitality, language training, beauty and wellness skill training through Lakme Academy powered by Aptech.
The company, controlled by investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, currently operates in 40 countries through more than 1,100 franchise centres.
Giving a boost to beauty and wellness training, Aptech is gearing up to run 41 Lakmé academies across the country.
“We will have a total of 41 Lakmé Academy powered by Aptech training centres by the end of this financial year. Nearly 50% of them have already been opened,” Mr. Paliwal said. In 2016, Aptech and Hindustan Unilever had entered into a partnership to establish beauty training academies in India.
Branded as ‘Lakme Academy powered by Aptech’, the alliance has plans to set up 100 academies to train 50,000 stylists across India.
Opportunity in beauty
While Lakme has designed the content and course modules and trains trainers and certifies students, Aptech is responsible for the running of the operations.
Lakmé Academy offers both foundation and advanced level training in skin, hair and make-up.
“Aptech has always been at the forefront for providing industry based training and we believe that there is a plethora of career opportunities for professionals in the beauty and wellness industry,” Mr Paliwal said.
“With this alliance, we aim to bridge the skill gap in this booming sector, while ensuring that the youth are empowered to be successfully employed in this field,” he added.
India’s beauty and wellness services industry, estimated at ₹15,000 crore is poised for growth, according to reports.
As per a KPMG report, employment in the beauty sector in India is expected to grow at a CAGR of 20%, with 23% in organised and 15% in unorganised segments.
Rejuvenation is expected to have the largest growth at 30 CAGR with 34% in organized and 27% in unorganized sector, as per KPMG.
According to a recent report by the National Skill Development Council, this sector will need 1.42 crore additional skilled professionals by 2022, making it one of the fastest-growing job creators.
