Urban Company is APAC, and Middle East’s largest home services company. Bhavya Sharma, Director- Communications & ESG, Urban Company, talks about the growing importance of gig workers for companies and the economy, the challenges, as well as the importance of their skilling and training.As per a NITI Aayog Report in 2022, the proportion of gig workers among the total workforce rose from 0.54% in 2011-12 to 1.33% in 2019-20 and will have an estimated 2.35 crore people employed as gig workers by 2029-30. This exponential rise is attributed to several reasons such as increased Internet penetration, rising demand for flexible work, a young employable population, and a need to improve livelihood. Excerpts from the interview:What are the challenges with employing a gig workforce?One of the biggest challenges in building a services marketplace is having a skilled workforce. Despite the presence of a strong informal services and contract labour sector in India, less than 5% of the workforce is formally skilled, compared to 75% in Germany and 96% in South Korea. As a result, skilling, reskilling, and upskilling the country’s youth, to make them employable is critical.The other big challenge is matching the availability of service professionals and consumer demand. A strong technology backbone is necessary to ensure sync between demand and supply, especially during peak times. Through technology, key aspects (such as pricing, availability optimisation, professional assignment optimisation, and incentives) smoothen out mismatch and offer a competitive advantage.What are the initiatives and programs that Urban Company has introduced for its partners?Urban Company has always invested in the growth and development of its service professionals. We have identified and work towards the following four partner enablement pillars:Improved earnings: As per our recently published Urban Company Earnings Index, in Q4 FY 2022, partners who delivered at least 30 orders a month, earned about INR 31,000 per month, with the top 20% earning over INR 40,000 per month. Further, according to the findings of PGA Labs’ Earnings Benchmarking Study, Urban Company partners earn at least 60% higher net monthly earnings than their offline counterparts while working for considerably fewer hours (almost 50% less).Training & upskilling: One of our largest areas of investment is training and upskilling of our service professionals. We train the service professionals on both technical and soft skills through our physical and digital training infrastructure. The training programs range from 4 days to 45 days, depending on the candidate’s skill level and profession chosen. Upon successful completion of the training and clearing of the final assessment, service professionals also get Skill India certificates.Since 2014, the company has invested more than INR 150 crores in through a network of over 100 training centers pan India, and an in-house team of 200+ full time trainers.Safety net: Urban Company also offers a safety net to its partners in the form of insurance and access to financial support. All active partners on the UC platform in India are covered under a comprehensive health insurance plan of up to Rs 2 lakhs and 12 free medical consultations for self and family, whichever is applicable. They also have access to the Group Life and Accidental Insurance cover. Some of the key aspects covered under the policy are life insurance (Rs 6 lakh), disability cover (Rs 6 lakh), accidental hospitalisation (Rs 70,000), accidental OPD treatment (Rs 10,000), among others.Wealth creation: To ensure that our service professionals also benefit from the growth of the platform, in 2022, we announced an industry-first Partner Stock Ownership Program (PSOP). Under this plan, we have so far granted stocks worth more than Rs 5.2 crore to about 500 partners.Overall, these initiatives demonstrate our commitment to the well-being and professional growth of our service professionals. A strong testament to Urban Company’s commitment towards partner development has been our ranking in the recently launched Fairwork India Ratings, where Urban Company scored the highest among industry peers on the principles of fair pay, fair conditions, fair contracts, and fair management.Please throw light on your partnerships with NSDC, PSOP program, and the vast network of training centers?In 2022, we further strengthened our partnership with NSDC on training, financing and promotion of skill-based services in India. Under this partnership, all Urban Company service professionals will be provided co-branded QR-coded digital certificates upon successful completion of the training and clearing of final assessment. By virtue of this partnership, all service professionals will also become members of the Skill India portal (SIP). Further, these certificates will be available on both the NSDC’s Skill India portal and the Urban Company app, enabling customers to view details of the professional delivering the service.In 2022, Urban Company announced an industry-first Partner Stock Ownership Program (PSOP). We have set up a fair and meritocratic process for awarding these shares, considering the performance of service partners and their longevity on the platform. The entire process is rule-based and transparent, with an advisory panel providing complete guidance.Under this plan, we have so far granted stocks worth more than Rs 5.2 crore to about 500 partners. In order to build a diverse and inclusive partner ecosystem, of these 500 recipients, 30% are female partners from the Beauty & Wellness vertical. Further, among the cities, Bangalore had the most number of partner shareholders at 26%, followed by Delhi NCR (22%), Mumbai and Pune (together accounting for 16%) and Hyderabad (15%).What is special about Urban Company’s Cleaning Training Programme?Cleaning services is one of the most booked services on the Urban Company platform. This vertical has received so much customer love because of the experience we deliver on the back of a solid training program. We have a unique training program that covers everything – from technical aspects pertaining to stains and chemicals to grooming and soft skills. Our training centers have mock setups of kitchens, bathrooms, living rooms that allow service professionals to get practical training before they go live on the platform.What is special about Urban Company’s health insurance for partners, loans, etc.?The company also provides health insurance coverage up to Rs 600,000, including personal accident insurance, and partners have access to health insurance benefits up to Rs 200,000. The company has launched a comprehensive health insurance policy in partnership with ACKO Insurance that provides coverage of Rs 2 lakh to all UC Plus service partners. Additionally, the platform provides loans to its partners through tie-ups with NBFCs. These loans are small-ticket personal loans typically in the range of Rs 10,000-50,000 and are easily accessible via the app.What is the vision of Urban Company when it comes to upskilling its partner network?Urban Company’s goal is to train and upskill 500,000 service partners by 2030, including at least 200,000 women service partners.How has the pandemic affected your operations and how did you deal with them?The impact of pandemic on business operations was limited to the early stages of the pandemic due to lockdowns and other restrictions. However, since then, our business has only scaled higher.We expanded our geographic footprint from about 20 cities to 55+ in total. We also introduced new services such as haircuts for men and women, nail art services, laser hair reduction for women and more.