Yes Bank has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA), the apex national body representing the automobile retail industry in India, to launch FADA Academy.

FADA Academy will prepare current and future dealer leadership to build front-end and back-end processes, improve customer and technical operations and enhance financial results of each department in the dealership.

The FADA Academy will also work towards providing world-class training and development programs for dealer principals, CEOs, service leaders, finance leaders and sales leaders. The course coverage will be across a spectrum of topics such as finance, strategy, customer experience, digital and innovation, process management techniques and so on. It is all aimed to benefit the auto retailers and their teams to manage their businesses more efficiently. 

The auto retail industry has conventionally been a family managed business, with families running these businesses for almost three to four decades, in case of some of the large dealerships. In such businesses, the first generation’s inclination towards adapting to new technologies is low as opposed to the second and third generation who are B-school graduates but may have a knowledge gap in terms of KPI.

This knowledge-based partnership aims to address skill gaps to make auto retailers in India globally competitive by making the industry technically sound, thereby helping institutionalise the sector. In the first year, the academy aims to upskill over 500 dealer principals and over 3,000 teams on various technical and management programs.

In order to make it more comprehensive, various formats like workshops, certification courses, and management development programs would be included in the courses to be imparted through classroom, online and blended learning sessions through FADA Academy.

Speaking about the partnership, John K Paul, president, FADA said “FADA Academy aims to evolve into a mechanism for constant learning amongst the fraternity. When disruptions become inevitable, ignorance can prove to be fatal. Through this academy, we would not only provide a platform for acquiring knowledge but also encourage to think creatively and adapt to change.”

Commenting on the development, Rajan Pental, Group President and group head - Branch and Retail Banking, Yes Bank, said, “We are pleased to power the FADA Academy towards upskilling, re-skilling and preparing the current and future dealer leaders to build front-end and back-end processes, improve customer engagement and operations, thereby helping improve profitability. The curriculum has been designed to cater to up-skill and upgrade the auto dealers segment.”