Changing Lives

IndiaSkills has been bringing socio-economic changes in the country by making people employable and providing them with suitable employment opportunities. More than 300 million people in India are unemployed. This affects the life of the unemployed individual and his/her family, besides the economy of the country as a whole. One of the major reasons of unemployment is the demand-supply mismatch, where the skills set required for a job does not match the skills that an individual possesses. IndiaSkills equips individuals with relevant skills so that this skill gap is reduced.

Following is the story of one of the many lives IndiaSkills has transformed in last few months.

“Dhupesh Jain had completed Class XII. Family needs and peer pressure meant that he had to begin earning as soon as possible. However, since he lacked a ‘degree education’ and ‘contacts in good places’ he could not find himself a respectable job. 

Things began to change dramatically for this 21-year-old from Panvel, Mumbai when he received skills training through IndiaSkills. He is now working as a Customer Service Associate and earns Rs. 7000 in Hamleys, the upmarket toy store of Reliance Retail. What has happened to Dhupesh Jain is a story of how the CSR initiative of a leading national company and the good intentions of a social contributor active in the national scene, can change the lifestyle of an entire family. 

A brief look at how the story evolved

The key protagonists of the story: IndiaSkills, a joint venture between Manipal Education and City & Guilds—global leaders in education and skills training, the CSR wing of a leading national company and asocial contributor with national reach and appeal. 

IndiaSkills brought to the table its array of world-class qualifications, training methodology, certification and delivery partners. The social contributor, through grassroots presence and charisma got Dhupesh to enrol for the programme. The CSR wing supported Dhupesh with the critical aspect of funding. Started initially as a one-off project, the huge success of this project in terms of delivering social and economic transformation has ensured that it is now an ongoing project with all three stakeholders trying to increase impact at all levels.

The first batch of learners has successfully passed out with the internationally recognised IndiaSkills certifications and the next two batches are currently being trained. The learners now have access to IndiaSkills’ vast list of industry partners for job opportunities – Café Coffee Day, Shoppers Stop, Reliance Retail, Madura Garments and Khadim’s to name a few. Corporate India has in fact, responded splendidly. Reliance Retail and Shoppers Stop have recruited the first batch of students offering remuneration that ranges from Rs. 5500/- to Rs. 7500/- per month and indicates its intention of hiring the remaining batches of students as well.

Mr. Bala Iyer, Vice President Human Resources Reliance Retail said, “The quality of students we got was indeed impressive and I must say the training has really made a difference to them. The industry also gains from this productivity. It is a win-win situation for all stakeholders.”

The success of this initiative and its potential to create social impact has encouraged IndiaSkills to increase the scale and scope of its operation. IndiaSkills is currently in the process of exploring partnerships with like-minded CSR wings of other corporate establishments and well-meaning social contributors.