KFC India, ISH launch management training course to induct women leaders into workforce

KFC India has partnered with the Indian School of Hospitality (ISH) to roll out the KFC Area Coaches Programme for Women – a management training module that would enable women operations leaders to grow from strength to strength.

Earlier this year, the brand had pledged to double the women workforce at KFC restaurants by 2024 under its diversity and inclusion programme KFC Kshamata.

Taking the journey ahead, KFC’s women area coach programme aims to build a cohort of women leaders by sharpening their operations know-how, business and financial acumen, and leadership skills.

Candidates are being invited for an exclusive KFC-ISH PGP batch for the 11-month postgraduate management development programme starting from January 2022.

Indian School of Hospitality (ISH) is an institute of higher education focused on reimagining hospitality education for today’s generation and tomorrow’s businesses. ISH is part of Sommet Education’s global network of 18 campuses across eight countries. Affiliated to Gurugram University, ISH is also the only Indian institute to hold an academic alliance with Asia’s leaders in culinary arts, At-Sunrice GlobalChef Academy, Singapore.

According to Aman Lal, Chief People Officer-KFC at Yum! Brands, women’s participation in the Indian workforce is low due to uneven access to education, lack of employment equality, primary caregiving responsibilities of women and societal mindsets. All these issues not only lead to lesser women entering the workforce but also lead to significant dropouts, which further results in lesser women role models at the workplace. This means lesser women to inspire other women to join the workforce, or stay and grow there.

“At KFC, our endeavour is to break this vicious cycle by hiring more women and helping them grow. Hence, one of the strategic steps towards this is our tie up with ISH wherein we aim to hire, train and help in the growth of women leaders who can take up senior roles in our business,” Lal added.

KFC started a women-led restaurant in Hyderabad earlier this year and aims to have more than 5,000 women team members by 2024, including growing them into restaurant leadership roles.

Kunal Vasudeva, Chief Operating Officer at ISH, said, “The postgraduate programme is designed to help accelerate the career of young professionals in the newer normal, and with KFC India as our partners, we are excited to be taking our programme’s vision a step further, to invite more women candidates and prepare them for leadership roles in the industry.”

This association between KFC India and ISH creates a platform for women across India, which is easily accessible, builds on lifelong learning and provides quality assured employment with a globally recognised brand.

The applicants of this programme will be jointly recruited by KFC and ISH on the basis of merit and experience, with deserving women candidates also being extended financial assistance.

Upon successful completion of the programme, 50% of the ISH programme fee will be reimbursed to the candidates over a course of two years of employment with KFC. Once they complete the 11-month training programme, candidates will be awarded a certificate in ‘Service Operations Management’ issued jointly by ISH and KFC, following which they will be hired by KFC as area coaches across select cities in India.