Swiggy Skills Academy, a multiskilling and multilingual learning service for its delivery workers and their children, has been introduced by the food tech company Swiggy.
Swiggy Skills Academy will provide free learning and development courses to Swiggy’s delivery employees. According to the company, the program will assist its delivery workers in completing their education, and over 24,000 delivery workers’ children have already signed up for access to educational content.
Swiggy has teamed with Khan Academy, a non-profit educational organization, to provide courses and certificates. It has also collaborated with Google to utilize Read Along, a speech-based reading program, to help children of delivery workers improve their reading skills.
According to a recent analysis, gig workers in India are young, financially stressed, and mainly uninsured, and these ‘gigs’ are rapidly becoming forced long-term commitments.
The courses, which cover topics such as English, IT, personal finance, and computer skills, are available through Swiggy’s delivery partner app. Furthermore, delivery workers’ children, nieces and nephews will be able to use the site to obtain career counseling long after the delivery partner has left Swiggy.
The academy will also include courses for anyone interested in exploring new roles within Swiggy, such as fleet manager or team lead. Employees who take these courses will also obtain certifications from several national institutes and government bodies with which Swiggy will collaborate.
The SoftBank-backed company has also partnered with educational institutions and colleges to assist employees in completing their matriculation, intermediate schooling, further education, or professional certifications.
The program’s launch comes as the company has faced delivery worker strikes in numerous metros over the last few months in protest of low pay and working conditions.
