(MissionNewswire) Don Bosco Tech Society, one of India’s largest skills training institutions, launched the Bosco Academy for Skills and Employment thanks to funding received from Axis Bank Foundation, according to The Times of Bengal. This new skills training program is focused on improving workforce readiness among underprivileged youth and will provide training in market-driven courses related to the manufacturing and service sectors.

The goal is to train 4,600 youth in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal and Rajasthan so they are able to secure jobs in the new economy and build better career paths. This project was a great fit for Axis Bank Foundation, which through its vocational training projects focuses on creating employment opportunities for school dropouts, unemployed youth from rural parts of India, tribal communities and women, according to The Times of Bengal article.

Don Bosco Tech and Axis Bank Foundation have had a partnership that spans five years. During that time, Don Bosco Tech has trained more than 50,000 youth and provided employment opportunities that allowed them to obtain a sustainable livelihood.

“This second phase of the skill training program, supported by Axis Bank Foundation, helps us to achieve our 2022 goal of equipping 2 million underprivileged youth with market-driven skills in mechanical and service sectors. This will prepare them for gainful employment leading to a sustainable livelihood. This partnership certainly will be a new model in furthering India’s ability to ensure a new generation is ready for the workforce,” says Father George Mathew, assistant director of Don Bosco Tech, in the Times of Bengal article.

Salesian programs across India are primarily focused on education. Salesian primary and secondary education in the country helps youth prepare for later technical, vocational or university study. Programs also help to support poor youth and their families meet basic needs of shelter, proper nutrition and medical care in order for students to engage in their education and have hope for the future.

Access to professional training and workforce development services is highly valued by youth in India. India, which is home to 1.34 billion people (18 percent of the world’s population), will have overtaken China as the world’s most populous country by 2024, according to the World Economic Forum. While India has the world’s largest youth population, the country has yet to capitalize, leaving some 30 percent of this population not in employment, education or training.

India has the world’s fourth largest economy but more than 22 percent of the country lives in poverty. About 31 percent of the world’s multi-dimensionally poor children live in India, according to a new report by the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative. A multi-dimensionally poor child is one who lacks at least one-third of 10 indicators, grouped into three dimensions of poverty: health, education and standard of living.

India’s youth also face a lack of educational opportunities due to issues of caste, class and gender. Almost 44 percent of the workforce is illiterate and less than 10 percent of the working-age population has completed a secondary education. In addition, many secondary school graduates do not have the knowledge and skills to compete in today’s changing job market.

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Sources:

The Hindu – India has 31% of world’s poor kids: report

The Times of Bengal – Don Bosco Tech Society and Axis Bank Foundation launch the second phase of Bosco Academy for Skills and Employment

World Economic Forum – 8 things you need to know about India’s economy