Brands
From first job to fast-track: Jubilant Skilling 5,000 youth for QSR careers
Noida: Serving futures, not just fast food. Jubilant Bhartia Foundation and Jubilant FoodWorks Limited are marking a milestone in youth skilling as their specialised QSR training initiative, JFARM, completes three years, having enabled career pathways for more than 5,000 young people across India.
JFARM, short for Jubilant FoodWorks Academy for Restaurant Operations and Management, is a CSR-led skill development programme designed to prepare youth for the fast-growing quick service restaurant sector. Since its launch in 2023, the programme has focused on equipping candidates with industry-ready skills that translate directly into employment, rather than just issuing certificates.
Over 70 per cent of JFARM alumni are currently employed with QSR organisations nationwide, a figure that reflects the programme’s emphasis on practical training, local placements and long-term employability. To mark the anniversary, the Foundation brought together several alumni, described as “agents of transformation, to share their journeys and inspire others to follow similar paths.
Senior Vice President for Analytics, Innovation, Chief Analytics Officer and CSR at Jubilant FoodWorks Limited, Rahul Bharde, said the programme was built with sustainability in mind. “When skill development is approached with long-term intent, it creates systems that endure. Our focus has been on building practical, industry-linked models where training, employability and continuity come together to deliver real outcomes for young people entering the workforce.”
Senior Vice President and Head of the Jubilant Bhartia Foundation, Vivek Prakash, said the success stories emerging from JFARM go beyond jobs alone. “It fills us with immense pride to see young professionals trained through our programme securing promising careers with QSR brands across the country. By sharing their journeys of resilience and growth, they inspire countless others to dream bigger and pursue brighter futures.”
The JFARM QSR Skill Development Programme has been implemented across 12 states, with special focus on the North-East and Tier-2 cities. Training centres are strategically located near operational hubs, helping smooth the transition from classroom learning to on-the-job roles and improving workforce retention. Many alumni remain in the QSR sector, underscoring the programme’s commitment to sustainable livelihoods rather than short-term placements.
Open to candidates with a minimum qualification of Class 10, the five-week programme blends classroom learning, hands-on training, on-the-job monitoring, and structured placement support. Its accessible design aligns closely with national priorities around youth employability and workforce readiness.
Through initiatives such as JFARM, Jubilant Bhartia Foundation continues to strengthen community capacity and respond to real workforce needs, proving that with the right skills on the menu, young people can build careers that last well beyond their first shift.
Brands
Faber-Castell India appoints Sunaina Haldar as director – marketing
With stints at Tata, SleepyCat and ADF Foods under her belt, Haldar is primed to redraw Faber-Castell’s brand story
MUMBAI: Faber-Castell India has poached Sunaina Haldar from ADF Foods, appointing her director – marketing as the German stationery brand looks to muscle up in a category that is rapidly reinventing itself around creativity and self-expression.
Haldar hit the ground running. “My first couple of weeks have been incredibly energising, understanding consumers, visiting markets, engaging with retailers and immersing myself into the world of Faber-Castell Group,” she said.
She arrives with considerable firepower. At ADF Foods, Haldar ran marketing across India and international markets for a portfolio spanning Ashoka, Aeroplane, Camel and ADF Soul. Before that, she was vice-president – marketing at direct-to-consumer mattress brand SleepyCat, where she helmed brand, content and performance marketing. Her résumé also includes a stint leading marketing, new product development and CRM for Tata SmartFoodz at Tata Consumer Products, no small proving ground.
Between corporate roles, Haldar also operated as a fractional CMO for early-stage startups, building marketing strategy and operational structures from scratch, a signal that she knows how to move fast with limited resources.
With 18 years straddling FMCG, D2C and the startup world, Haldar now takes the reins at a brand that has long owned the classroom but is clearly hungry for the living room. In a stationery market where the pencil has become a lifestyle statement, Faber-Castell has picked someone who knows exactly how to sell that story.
