Jul 21 2014 : The Times of India (Delhi)
Empowering Indian youth
By Madhu Khatri
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More young Indians need the right infrastructure to develop skills
By 2020, India's population is expected to become the world's youngest; more than 500 million Indian citizens will be under 25 years of age and more than two thirds of the population will be eligible to work. This means that a growing number of India's youth need the right educational infrastructure to develop skills and adequate opportunities to get employed or become entrepreneurs.
However, the wide gap between those who have access to education and skill development opportunities and those who do not, is a challenge that has to be overcome.In a bid to bridge this gap, Microsoft launched a series of programmes and initiatives that focus on developing the potential of the youth. Microsoft's YouthSpark Programme, a company-wide, global initiative, aims to provide opportunities that will impact 300 million youth over three years. In India, the programme will train 80,000 youths, help 65,000 in acquiring employment and aid 15,000 of them in starting their enterprise. Similarly, Project Oorja and Sakshartha are two youth-centric platforms that aim to cultivate the spirit of innovation by equipping Indian youth from the ITIs, polytechnics and marginalised sections with essential IT skills.
Unemployed youth, marginalised women and rural communities have also been impacted by the company's input -imparting IT skills training and in stilling basic computer literacy.
These skills enable the marginalised demographic to explore employment opportunities and sustainable livelihood options. Microsoft's partnerships with governments, non-profits and businesses have resulted in such initiatives, which connect young people to greater education, employment, and entrepreneurship opportunities. The project works to make them eligible for jobs that were not open or available to them earlier, while also encouraging entrepreneurship to foster the creation of additional jobs in their communities. Since 2004, through 1,425 learning centres in India, more than 4,70,000 youth have been trained under it and over 70% placed in jobs. Since December 2012, the project has helped start more than 600 youth enterprises.
Cultivating and encouraging innovative entrepreneurs is the ultimate goal of these initiatives. One revealing example is of 22-year-old Vasanti, from western Gujarat, who enrolled in the YouthSpark -iLEAD (Institute for Livelihood, Education and Development) programme run by the Aga Khan Rural Support Programme, a partner organisation. The programme taught Vasanti the basics of operating computers after which she enrolled in the advanced course. However, Vasanti realised that the lack of jobs in areas near her home would be a problem. She decided to acquire a computer, under a government scheme, with which she opened a computer training centre in her single-room house, creating access to computer education for other local women.
Says Vasanti, “Why should the girls in our villages suffer because the training centres are far away? If they cannot travel to the centre, then I will make sure that the centre travels to them.“ She now plans to acquire more computers and expand her training centre to other villages.
Technology has a potential to change the world and improve people's lives. Vasanti's story demonstrates the incredible spirit of a youth-led enterprise and initiative, demonstrating how being empowered and encouraged can help an individual realise their full potential.
Vasanti not only created an opportunity for herself, but also impacted the lives of others in her community.
(The author is associate general counsel, Microsoft India)
However, the wide gap between those who have access to education and skill development opportunities and those who do not, is a challenge that has to be overcome.In a bid to bridge this gap, Microsoft launched a series of programmes and initiatives that focus on developing the potential of the youth. Microsoft's YouthSpark Programme, a company-wide, global initiative, aims to provide opportunities that will impact 300 million youth over three years. In India, the programme will train 80,000 youths, help 65,000 in acquiring employment and aid 15,000 of them in starting their enterprise. Similarly, Project Oorja and Sakshartha are two youth-centric platforms that aim to cultivate the spirit of innovation by equipping Indian youth from the ITIs, polytechnics and marginalised sections with essential IT skills.
Unemployed youth, marginalised women and rural communities have also been impacted by the company's input -imparting IT skills training and in stilling basic computer literacy.
These skills enable the marginalised demographic to explore employment opportunities and sustainable livelihood options. Microsoft's partnerships with governments, non-profits and businesses have resulted in such initiatives, which connect young people to greater education, employment, and entrepreneurship opportunities. The project works to make them eligible for jobs that were not open or available to them earlier, while also encouraging entrepreneurship to foster the creation of additional jobs in their communities. Since 2004, through 1,425 learning centres in India, more than 4,70,000 youth have been trained under it and over 70% placed in jobs. Since December 2012, the project has helped start more than 600 youth enterprises.
Cultivating and encouraging innovative entrepreneurs is the ultimate goal of these initiatives. One revealing example is of 22-year-old Vasanti, from western Gujarat, who enrolled in the YouthSpark -iLEAD (Institute for Livelihood, Education and Development) programme run by the Aga Khan Rural Support Programme, a partner organisation. The programme taught Vasanti the basics of operating computers after which she enrolled in the advanced course. However, Vasanti realised that the lack of jobs in areas near her home would be a problem. She decided to acquire a computer, under a government scheme, with which she opened a computer training centre in her single-room house, creating access to computer education for other local women.
Says Vasanti, “Why should the girls in our villages suffer because the training centres are far away? If they cannot travel to the centre, then I will make sure that the centre travels to them.“ She now plans to acquire more computers and expand her training centre to other villages.
Technology has a potential to change the world and improve people's lives. Vasanti's story demonstrates the incredible spirit of a youth-led enterprise and initiative, demonstrating how being empowered and encouraged can help an individual realise their full potential.
Vasanti not only created an opportunity for herself, but also impacted the lives of others in her community.
(The author is associate general counsel, Microsoft India)
