UNIQLO Launches its First Community Skill Centre Project in India

In partnership with Plan International, project to provide skill development opportunities for underprivileged youth

March 24, 2025, India - Global apparel retailer UNIQLO, in collaboration with Plan International, today announced the launch of its first skill center project in India, the Job Oriented Vocational Training Centre. The project is a collaborative effort aimed at empowering local communities and fostering future talent. This is UNIQLO’s first ongoing social contribution activity in India and will provide practical training and skills to underprivileged youth.

Arriving online and in-store in July

A significant step in UNIQLO’s efforts to invest in local talent and contribute to India’s economic prosperity, the three-year skill center project is designed to equip youth with the essential skills needed to thrive in today’s rapidly evolving job market. The project is funded through a donation by UNIQLO parent company Fast Retailing Co., Ltd. of 120 Million Japanese Yen (INR 7 Cr*) over three years.
*Calculated as per exchange rate of March 18, 2025, Yen 1 = INR 0.58

Kenji Inoue, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer of UNIQLO India, commented, “Inspired by our LifeWear philosophy of making everyone’s life better, we hope this skill centre project will have a life-changing, positive impact for thousands of young Indian people. It is a fundamental for UNIQLO that, in every country and region that we operate, we always contribute to the society, and this new project reaffirms our long-term commitment to the Indian community. Education is an integral part of individual and societal development and, working with Plan International, we look forward to providing opportunities to empower young people.”

The skill centre / saksham centre is located in Dwarka and will offer training in areas such as General Duty Assistant, Retail Trainee Associate, Sewing Machine Operator, and life skills like Digital and Financial Literacy, Gender Equality and Diversity, and Workplace Communication.

Participants for the skill centre are job seekers aged 18-29 living in economically disadvantaged areas of Delhi. Particular priority will be given to young people who have dropped out of school, whose parents/family members are migrant workers, who are in poverty, who have limited opportunities to find employment or receive vocational training. Through its grassroots social development work, Plan International (India Chapter) seeks to create lasting impact in the lives of underprivileged youth, their families and communities, by gender transformative community development.

This skill centre project is funded through UNIQLO’s PEACE FOR ALL project, which was launched in 2022. Through this project, all profits from sales of charity T-shirts are donated to international aid organisations, who use funding for targeted development projects around the globe.

The project will run until December 2027, with the aim of providing 2,700 youths with not just technical skills but also the tools to navigate the complexities of the professional world. Furthermore, UNIQLO is exploring internship opportunities at its stores and facilities for some participants of the program, giving them hands-on industry experience.

Mohammed Asif, Executive Director, Plan International (India Chapter), said that "With the launch of the new Saksham Centre, Plan, along with UNIQLO, will be creating opportunities for young women and men to gain market-oriented skills, secure sustainable livelihoods, and become active contributors to nation building. This initiative aligns with our commitment to quality education, gender equality, and work & economic growth. We are grateful to our partner UNIQLO for their support in making this vision a reality. Together, we are building a future where every youth has the opportunity and determination to contribute to Viksit Bharat."

As a further demonstration of UNIQLO’s strong commitment to fostering community engagement, UNIQLO employees will also be actively involved in the initiative, visiting the center to share their knowledge, offer mentorship, and help participating youth develop both professional and personal skills that are crucial for success. Through this initiative, UNIQLO hopes to make a lasting impact on the lives of young people and create a more inclusive and prosperous society.

About Plan International (India Chapter)

Plan International (India Chapter), commonly known as Plan India, works to create a lasting impact in the lives of vulnerable children, their families, and communities by adopting a gender-transformative, childed approach through grassroots social development initiatives. Plan India is a nationally registered not-for-profit organisation dedicated to advancing children’s rights and promoting gender equality for girls and young women. Since 1996, Plan India has supported and empowered millions of girls, boys, and other programme participants to access government safety nets and schemes for welfare, sustainable development, and humanitarian relief.

For more information https://www.planindia.org/

About UNIQLO LifeWear

Apparel that comes from the Japanese values of simplicity, quality and longevity. Designed to be of the time and for the time, LifeWear is made with such modern elegance that it becomes the building blocks of each individual’s style. A perfect shirt that is always being made more perfect. The simplest design hiding the most thoughtful and modern details. The best in fit and fabric made to be affordable and accessible to all. LifeWear is clothing that is constantly being innovated, bringing more warmth, more lightness, better design, and better comfort to people’s lives.

About UNIQLO and Fast Retailing

UNIQLO is a brand of Fast Retailing Co., Ltd., a leading Japanese retail holding company with global headquarters in Tokyo, Japan. UNIQLO is the largest of eight brands in the Fast Retailing Group, the others being GU, Theory, PLST, Comptoir des Cotonniers, Princesse tam.tam, J Brand and Helmut Lang. With global sales of approximately 3.1 trillion yen for the 2024 fiscal year ending August 31, 2024 (US $21.42 billion, calculated in yen using the end of August 2024 rate of $1 = 144.9 yen), Fast Retailing is one of the world’s largest apparel retail companies, and UNIQLO is Japan’s leading specialty retailer.

UNIQLO continues to open large-scale stores in some of the world's most important cities and locations, as part of its ongoing efforts to solidify its status as a global brand. Today the company has a total of more than 2,500 UNIQLO stores across the world, including Japan, Asia, Europe and North America. The total number of stores across Fast Retailing's brands is now over 3,600. With a corporate statement committed to changing clothes, changing conventional wisdom and change the world, Fast Retailing is dedicated to creating great clothing with new and unique value to enrich the lives of people everywhere. For more information about UNIQLO and Fast Retailing, please visit www.uniqlo.com and www.fastretailing.com.