INDIA | Nitin Paranjpe, Chairman of Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL), shared his views on why developing human capital will play a key role in India's becoming one of the world’s leading economies and how Unilever initiatives have boosted skills development, employment creation, and diversity.
While most nations have been experiencing a slowdown in growth, India has aimed to become the third-largest economy by 2030, creating meaningful employment and livelihood opportunities for the millions entering the workforce each year.
This goal will require the nation to increase its growth rate from the historical average of around seven percent over the last decade to over eight percent.
“While not easy, it is possible. Our young and growing working-age population could prove to be our greatest asset,” said Paranjpe.
With a median age of 28 and over 65 percent of the working-age population, India is already younger than countries like the US, UK, and China.
“While the country will be home to one-fifth of the global working-age population by 2030, it, too, will start aging. So, we need to capitalise on this window of opportunity.”
Projections have indicated that India will need to create 90 million non-farm jobs over the next decade. This will require systemic action, with particular focus on sectors with high employment elasticity, such as financial services, hospitality, retail, and e-commerce. Micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) must play a more significant role.
The government alone cannot address the challenges faced in developing human capital. Corporations must play a vital role in reskilling and upskilling the workforce, creating employment, embracing diversity, and supporting human development.
“At Hindustan Unilever, we have always lived by the philosophy that what’s good for India is good for HUL. We believe that our small steps in building human capital make a difference through a trickle-down effect that impacts our suppliers, partners, and the larger ecosystem.”
In addition to its management development programme, HUL is committed to building a talent pool that is ready for the future. In the last year alone, it invested over 100,000 hours in upskilling across its offices, factories, and salesforce.
For instance, HUL has been upskilling its sales teams in data-driven decision-making. Over the next two to three years, the company aims for over 50 percent of shopfloor employees to be skilled in automation and machine learning.
“Ten years ago, we launched Prabhat, our sustainable community development initiative, through which we have touched the lives of nearly 10 million people in the communities around our factories and depots. Through 18 Livelihood Centres, we’ve trained over 100,000 women and young people in vocational skills and entrepreneurship development.”
Last year, it also ran a supplier diversity initiative that helped accelerate and scale businesses owned by minority and underrepresented groups, including women and people with disabilities.
“Embracing diversity is deeply entrenched in our culture. Take Project Shakti, for example, which aims to enhance the livelihoods of rural women by training them to become micro-entrepreneurs and sell our products. Today, over 200,000 Shakti ammas command respect in their communities.”
Similarly, in HUL’s new manufacturing unit in Sumerpur, Uttar Pradesh, women make up 40 percent of the workforce. This has a ripple effect in the local community, with a 55 percent increase in women enrolling in technical programmes and higher studies.
Traditional employer–employee dynamics are no longer fit for purpose for individuals or businesses. People have increasingly sought more personally and professionally satisfying work tailored to their needs and life stages.
“Our Open2U programme offers people the flexibility to define their work schedule while maintaining the security of structured compensation and benefits. It also offers the opportunity to work on high-impact projects.”
India is well poised to leapfrog into the future and become one of the world’s leading economies.
“We have to build an India that we can all be proud of and do it now.”
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