LAHORE: Punjab Skills Development Fund (PSDF) on Friday partnered with Extreme Commerce to launch an online training programme for women to acquire skills as Amazon Virtual Assistants.

Speaking about the venture, PSDF CEO Jawad Khan said that their focus during this pandemic has been to take the initiative to provide sustainable income generation opportunities, particularly for women hardest hit by the pandemic. "Loss of jobs and conventional means of earning have meant that we have had to look at new and creative solutions to provide training and income opportunities; this venture is a prime example of our impetus to do just that. The programme will enable women to earn and be self-employed," he added.

The programme will enable women in Pakistan to assist sellers on the Amazon platform. The 'Virtual Assistant' is an independent contractor who provides administrative services to clients while operating outside of the client's office.

From the broader perspective, the role is multi- scope in areas of interest such as administrative, social media, real estate, research, e-commerce, data entry, book-keeping, and marketing.

The training model is online and home-based, teaching women relevant skills ranging from Online Communication, Customer Service, and e-commerce landscape, to Amazon Product Research Tools, creating listings and order management.

This training by PSDF and Extreme Commerce spans 45 days, with the last leg focused on establishing market linkages. In the pilot of this programme, the target is to train 100 females to become Amazon Virtual Assistants. Extreme Commerce CEO Sunny Ali said that they are extremely happy to partner with the PSDF that will enable unemployed women to acquire online skills on the Amazon platform. "We hope this joint-venture will commence an era of home-based online business activity for women," he added.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2020