Launching its pilot project in Andhra Pradesh, Reliance Foundation’s Skilling Entrepreneurship and Alternate Livelihood Support programme has trained 15 youngsters who were selected – all hailing from a marginalised community of Krishna district – in retail skills. And Reliance Retail has employed each one of them, at a starting salary of Rs 8,000 per month. If these youngsters, aged between 20 and 30 years, continue to perform well, in three years’ time they could go on to become retail store managers, earning more than Rs 25,000 per month.
The Reliance Retail jobs have come as boon to the 15 youths, all of whom hail from families of poor, landless farmers and have no means of livelihood.
Reliance Foundation has been engaged in identifying and mobilising deserving youngsters, and imparting them training in requisite retail skills. The team has developed a module that is suitable to every retail format. Adopting the framework of the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), Reliance Foundation have worked with Reliance Retail to develop a customised module comprising both theoretical and practical, on-the-job training sessions.
Reliance Foundation is creating platforms where rural youths from marginalised communities can acquire skills and procure jobs locally. Its skilling programme focuses on the following:
V Neeraja, 23 years old, one of the 15 youngsters picked by Reliance Retail, shares his story. “I have lost my father, and my brother is still studying. I desperately needed a job to support my family. In our 15-day training session, I have learnt a lot, and for that I am grateful to Reliance Foundation. I had lost all hope and the future looked bleak. But with this opportunity, I can now provide my family with two square meals a day, and my brother can continue his education. I wanted to do Masters in Economics, and I am hopeful that someday my dream would come true,” he says.
G Siva Shankar, 25 years old, another one of the chosen 15, says, “Being the son of an agriculture labourer, the going was tough for me. In these hard times, it is harder to believe that a job opportunity would come knocking at your door. But that is exactly what happened to me. Initially I was sceptical about the skilling programme. But now I have a job, and I thoroughly enjoyed learning new skills.”
Mr Jitendra Kalra, COO, Reliance Foundation, says, “The skilling programme of Reliance Foundation has the potential to directly impact lives and families. What is unique about this programme is that, unlike most other programmes that focus on urban areas, Reliance Foundation is making a serious attempt to reach out to the rural marginalised community. Also, there is a conscious effort to work with the youth from these communities, imparting them knowledge and skills to give their self-confidence a boost.”
The National Sample Survey Office has stated that 22.4 crore of the total Indian workforce of 48.74 crore would have to be trained in skills through non-formal channels. The Reliance Foundation’s Skilling programme aims to do just that in select areas of Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and West Bengal over the next five years. Its target outreach is 5,00,000 youngsters by FY 2019-20.
ABOUT RELIANCE FOUNDATION: Reliance Foundation is an initiative of Reliance Industries Ltd. Among India’s largest social initiatives, it is focused on addressing the nation’s development challenges in domains of Rural Transformation, Education, Health, Sports, Urban Renewal, and Arts, Culture and Heritage. Its hands-on approach has directly impacted over 5,500 villages across India.
Led by Founder and Chairperson Smt. Nita Ambani, Reliance Foundation reaches out to the marginalized sections of the population living in remote corners of the country, to provide them with sustainable livelihoods. Reliance Foundation audaciously inspires and facilitates transformative change to ensure higher quality of life by developing the nation’s social capital.
Since its inception in 2010, Reliance Foundation has impacted over four million lives through its work.
www.reliancefoundation.org
Key Contacts:
Enosh Mittakadapa
Reliance Industries Ltd.
+919573664400
Enosh.Mittakadapa@ril.com
David Francis
Reputare
+919884052528
David.Francis@reputare.co.in
