As India steps up its act to realize the Hon’ble Prime Minister’s vision of the country emerging as the ‘Skill Capital’ of the world by 2022, and promote women empowerment in a big way, it is imperative that we recognise the vital role that sectors like beauty & wellness can play in contributing to the realisation of these twin objectives.
The beauty & wellness segment is one of very few sectors in the economy where the workforce is largely dominated by women. Visit a beauty outlet – whether it be a salon, spa, or even the friendly neighbourhood “beauty parlour” – anywhere in the country, and you would find that it’s mainly a women-run show, with them handling everything from providing the beauty services to being in-charge of the billing counters.
A greater focus on skill development in this critical domain – whose market size is projected to rise to almost Rs 150,000 crore in 2020 – therefore could make more women eligible to participate in a big way in this fast-growing segment, surging nearly 15% year-on-year, and, in the process, also empower them to achieve financial independence either through jobs or self-employment.
Including such women who are socially and economically disadvantaged, don’t have high academic credentials, are school/college drop-outs, or live in India’s many small towns/cities and rural areas. For in the beauty & wellness segment, it is the “skills” a person possesses in different arenas of this sector rather than her formal academic background that counts for more when it comes to securing employment.
As per a study conducted by the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Government of India, the workforce requirement in the country’s beauty & wellness sector is slated to witness a manifold increase in the coming years. From 7.39 million in 2017 to 14.27 million in 2022.
The reasons:
- Increasing awareness about beauty & wellness nationwide, including in Tier-II and Tier – III towns and cities, courtesy the spread of the Internet and use of smart phones, which, in turn, is spurring the growth of the sector
- Rapid urbanization and consequent growth in middle-class population with a desire to undergo beauty treatments thereby raising the potential customer pool, and a resultant increased demand for trained professionals to service these clients, and
- Beauty & Wellness becoming more gender-neutral with more males also keen to go in for beauty treatments thus creating a new category of clients, and a rising need for a greater number of beauty & wellness service professionals
The Orane Advantage
Finding jobs, therefore, should be the least of a young woman’s worries if she chooses to undergo training in beauty & wellness from reputed institutions such as the Orane International School of Beauty and Wellness.
At Orane, we have always recognized the transformative power that quality skill training can bring about in the lives of all the young women who come to our 80-plus institutes spread across 10 states and 2 Union Territories, with that burning desire in their hearts to realise their highest aspirations. With it being Orane’s mission to skill 200,000 young people by 2020, all our training, as a result, is laser-focused on providing students that cutting edge and head-start they require to reach the pinnacle of success in the shortest possible period.
The pleasure that we derive from seeing so many Orane International School of Beauty and Wellness alumni now doing so well for themselves both within India and abroad either as job-holders or self-employed professionals/entrepreneurs is something that simply can’t be described in words. I would like to take this opportunity to wish them the very best for the future.
Going forward too, I would like to assure you that Orane would continue to put its best foot forward to ensure that our students may continue to outshine their peers and become standout examples of a young, confident, skilled Indian, with the ability to make a difference in society.
(The author is Co-Founder & CEO of Orane International).
