NGO plans employment initiatives for poor youth

Over 2,000 youths hailing from flood-hit Uttarakhand and certain areas of Delhi are the target of an empowerment initiative, which seeks to empower them with entrepreneurial and vocational skills.
Saksham, a flagship project of NGO Plan India, has for its fourth phase beginning January 2014, planned initiatives to help youths hailing from humble economic backgrounds generate required entrepreneurial and other market-driven vocational skills to procure employment.
"Although the project was designed before calamity hit Uttarakhand, initiating vocational and self-entrepreneurial training in Uttarkashi and Gairsain will now add to relevance of our effort even more. The aim is to provide area specific trade skills to youths for purposes of self-entrepreneurship," Plan India programme policy and strategy director Meena Narula said today.

The programme, targeted at youths aged between 18 and 29, will expand to Gairsain village in Chamoli district and Uttarkashi, besides Mahipalpur, Mongolpuri, Sultanpuri and other areas of Delhi.
Unlike the three previous phases, Saksham is set to introduce an entrepreneurship drive along with vocational training in customer relation services, retail management and IT enabled services.
"The project is underway. We are studying area specific labour market to tap appropriate skills needed to be imparted and entrepreneurial initiatives required in Gairsain and Uttarkashi areas," said Harshvardhan Sharma, Project Manger, Saksham.

"For those youths who plan to own a boutique or a repair store, they will be able to procure funds from entrepreneurship managed micro-finance (EMFF). Additionally career counselling, life skills training will also be provided to students who wish to study further," he said.

Filmmaker Govind Nihalani, who is also the Chairperson of Plan India, believes it is important to empower communities so they can sustain the change.
The NGO has organised a 'National Workshop on Improving Quality of Life of Children' here today.