Rin Career Ready Academy Program Press Meet with Actress Catherine Tresa

2,00,000 people start their Skill India journey with RIN Career Ready Academy

Hyderabad, November 18, 2015: Hyderabad saw eminent personalities from diverse fields like Cricket, Kollywood and Corporates coming together to lend their support and celebrate the success of Rin Career Ready Academy, a social initiative launched by Rin to support the Skill India movement started by Government of India. The event was attended by Mr. Srikkanth K, Former cricketer and director AA Edutech, Ms. Catherine Tresa, Popular Movie Star; Ms. Nirupa Fernandez, Assistant Director, English, British Council India and Mr. Vipul Mathur, Category Head, Core Fabric Wash, HUL.

With the aim to inspire, educate and equip the youth from modest backgrounds with skills in English training, office dressing and interviewing, Rin had launched Rin Career Ready Academy in the states of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana in June 2015. The initiative has received an overwhelming response with over 2,00,000 people registering with the initiative.

Gracing the event, Ms. Catherine Tresa said "It is great that Rin launched an initiative that benefited both the youth and the larger society. I always thought Rin was a brand that added shine to clothes, but am very happy to see it has added shine to the society around us as well. I am proud to be associated with Rin Career Ready Academy because of the positive impact it has had on the youth by making them employable and preparing them for corporate life"

The program allowed all the participants to take the course by simply giving a missed call and answering a few questions to register.Mobile was a key medium for administering the course, enabling the youth to take the course anytime, anywhere and learn at their own pace. The customized content was designed by British Council and contained20 modules, each with 5 lessons. All of this, including talk time was provided completely free by Rin, ensuring the only investment the participant made was of time.
Deserving individuals wereput up for a more intensive face to face course, designed and administered byBritish Councilwhich trained them for three weeks in English Speaking, Office Dressing and Interview Training.

Ms. Nirupa Fernandez, Assistant Director, English, British Council India who was also a part of ceremonysaid "We are very pleased to have partnered with Rin to deliver the three week 'Skill up' English course to learners focusing on improving Spoken English and employability skills. And it is amazing to see the impact that this program has on learners. It is our combined vision to touch many more people through the RIN Career Ready Academy".

To ensure access to everyone, the courses were administered across 8 cities including Chennai, Hyderabad, Vijayawada, Vishakhapatnam, Thiruppathi, Madurai, Coimbatore and Tiruchirappalli. 9 batches of students have successfully completed the Face to Face course. The three week customized course focused on key communication and employment skills including Spoken English, Office Dressing & Interview training. A key focus during the three weeks was instilling the candidates with the confidence to speak up and had exercises to facilitate public speaking, socializing and making presentations and pitches. Receiving one on one mentoring from British Council tutors, helped participants receive individual inputs and ensured students were able to effectively apply the skills they learnt.
Nadhia, one of the participants said, "This is a life changing experience. I thoroughly enjoyed myself during these 3 weeks, and I feel so much better about myself now. I am now confident of facing interviews, and hopefully succeeding as well. Thank you Rin Career Ready Academy". Madhan, another participant said"l cannot thank Rin Career Ready Academy enough for this wonderful opportunity. They have changed my life. I feel so much more confident about myself now"

One of the key highlights was when eminent personalities from corporate world & training coming and taking classes for the students and talking to them about being career ready in a corporate situation.

After interacting with the students, Mr. Sankara Narayanan. K, Strategic Business Unit Head, Aircel said "As a Business Leader, I meet several candidates a month for various positions. Communication and presentation skills remain a huge improvement area for most candidates. In case of Fresh candidates coming from University, while they possess adequate theoretical knowledge, they are often short on practical skills and lack adequate grooming to be industry-ready. It's a commendable initiative by Rin, to make the youth industry-ready by imparting adequate communication skills and grooming thru an intensive three week workshop. I took a few classes for the Rin Career Ready Academy students and in the process realised that this 3 week intensive course has turned them into confident and bright industry-ready individuals"

Dr R. Karthikeyan, a Clinical Psychologist, Corporate Trainer, Management Consultant, Writer and a Management Educator said "Along with my various other roles, being from the HR fraternity, I know the importance of fluency in English, dressing well & being prepared for an interview in getting a job. Most companies face this issue while hiring, and I am glad Rin Career Ready Academy has taken up the job of giving this final finesse to the youth for no cost at all. I interactedwith the Rin Career Ready Academy students and have seen their journey from having just a degree to now being career ready"

The certification ceremony was a grand affair & conducted within the premises of the British High Commission in Chennai. Former cricket legend KrishnamachariSrikkanth,director of AA Edutech,who strongly believes in the initiative, was the chief guest and handed out certificates to participants.

KrishnamachariSrikkanth who took time out from his busy schedule to be present during the event said "I would like to congratulate all of you for successfully completing the 3 week course on Spoken English. English is a key requirement for employability and it is important that you keep practicing using all of the resources that you now have access to".
Speaking on the occasionVipul Mathur, Category Head Laundry said "Rin as a brand has always believed that everyone is talented and more often than not it is lack of opportunity or prejudices of others that stand in the way. This course has allowed the participants to fully express their talent and become career ready. We are proud of the impact we have made on these talented individuals and feel privileged to have been partners in their progress. "

Over 8000 people have completed the course & received certification from Rin and British Council. They are well and truly on their way to become Shining Stars of the corporate world.

Rin, one of the leading detergent brands in Tamil Nadu & Andhra Pradesh, touches the lives of 7 out of every 10 people in these states. Rin's mission is to help its consumers shine by offering solutions that give cleaner, brighter clothes.

About Hindustan Unilever
HUL is India's largest Fast Moving Consumer Goods Company, touching the lives of two out of three Indians. HUL's mission is to "add vitality to life" through its presence in over 20 distinct categories in Home & Personal Care Products and Foods & Beverages. The company meets every day needs for nutrition, hygiene, and personal care, with brands that help people feel good, look good and get more out of life.