RACHITA MAlHOTRA talks to Mansi Agarwal about her venture in the education sector and how it is a new concept in skill development
Tell us about your venture.
We are in the pace of vocational education for underprivileged youth; the idea is to provide such skills to people that can help them get a job so that they can feed themselves and their family. We started in 2013 and since then we have set up training institutes in Gujarat, Jaipur, etc. The idea was to do something for the youth because that’s what is going to build the nation. We are also doing Government funded projects. We have developed technology products. We are working with different ministries like Ministry of Minority Affairs and Ministry of rural Development in setting up residential and non-residential vocational training centres.
Can you talk about the importance of educating underprivileged youthIJ
There is a lot of poverty in our country and because of poverty there is a high crime rate. The entire youth population which is between the age group of 18 to 35 and this is the prime age of employment but most of them are not skilled or doesn’t have the right kind of education, due to this they tend to do some odd jobs here and there. India is a developing nation, there is a need for employment and on the other hand there is a youth, so the only gap I can see is of the appropriate skills and that is what we provide. We first identify what skills are required and then try to fulfill the gap with those skills. The whole idea is to bridge the gap.
How do you go about training the youthIJ Is there any procedureIJ
We first identify areas, if they are urban youths; we go to slums and talk to local leaders and MlAs. We also go door to door sometimes explaining people about our organisation; we also tell them about our success stories to influence them. That is how we convince people to come to our centres, once they come, they are provided with all the latest technologies and fancy classrooms which usually attract them. After they enroll with us, we do an aptitude test to see their skill set. Through an aptitude test we recognise which field a particular person is good at. We do both practical as well as class training. Once their training is done, they are assessed and are given a national level certificate and then we provide them with jobs.
What about placementsIJ
We tie with different companies like Amazon and Flipkart, we also organise job fairs much like an MBA school that helps them get placed. Apart from this, we also work on soft skills, which are very important for the youth. Many a times what happens is a person might have a certificate or degree but not enough confidence to talk to their colleagues or the audience. So we make sure they are groomed well in all aspects.
What is the duration of the coursesIJ
Most of the courses are for three months, our aim to make a person employable in a three month time, but few courses which are more technical in nature are for six months.
Importance of vocational education.
Vocational education is what makes them employable and gets them bread and butter into their house. Most of the youth is capable, they may also have the required skill sets, and it’s just that nobody has ever told them how they can find a job. A degree doesn’t always get you a job, you may be a MBA, but if you don’t know how to use a computer or if you don’t know how to write a report, you are of no use. That’s when vocational education comes to the rescue.
How has the digital platform improved educational and training sectorsIJ
Digital platform gives us a single view of what is happening. Take an example. I have multiple centres in multiple locations, each location has many batches. It is important for me to keep a track of what is happening at each and every location but I can’t visit each personally. Digital media gives me a single view to know exactly what’s going on where. Digital media also helps to connect students. Classroom training is for three months only, but even after that we try to keep a track of our students.
How should an unemployed or underprivileged youth contact youIJ
We have created a very simple app, where you can go and register yourself, we will get your information and then connect with you. This application was developed with Ministry of Skill Development. The app is called Skill Up. After we get your data, we connect you through your local centres.