Samsung India on Tuesday announced a new initiative in partnership with the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) to train 50,000 youth and make them job-ready for the electronics retail sector over the next few years.

Called 'Samsung DOST,' the initiative is touted as the biggest skills training programme in the electronics sector.

"With this new programme, we aim to close the skills and employability gap among youth in the country, helping them find jobs in the fast growing electronics retail sector," said Ken Kang, President and CEO, Samsung Southwest Asia.

Under a pilot with 2,500 participants in the first phase, youth will receive 200 hours of blended classroom and online training, followed by five months of on-the-job training (OJT) at Samsung retail stores, along with a monthly stipend at par with industry standards.

The participants will be trained at various training centres accredited and approved by the NSDC, the company informed.

The training will be in accordance to the National Skill Qualification Framework, which is aligned to industry needs, and will include skillsets such as customer engagement, managing sales counter, handling customer queries, product demonstration and selling skills and several other soft skills, including post-Covid etiquettes.

The participants will be those who have completed school education. They will be mobilised through NSDC's approved training partners at 120 centres across India.

The assessments and certification of the participants will be done by the Telecom Sector Skill Council (TSSC) after the participants complete their training.