Rebuilding Rural India and Creating Opportunities For Youth

Half of India’s population is expected to be in rural India by 2050 and the bulk of youth entering the youth force will account for 70% of the total workforce.

However, with the turmoil caused by the pandemic and the subsequent lockdowns, the industries looking to hire fresh employees had changed their required skill sets and created new job demands. Owing to the pandemic, there was an increase in digital adoption across the country. Payments, shopping and even medical consultations were made online.

At the same time, there was a glitch in the country’s progress.

Urban-rural divide
Education took a big hit when classes shifted to the online mode. Although remote education became the new normal in urban India, it was not the same in rural areas. Many youngsters were unable to attend classes as they did not have adequate financial or technological resources, learning platforms and instructors.

While some received necessary help through various organizations that sponsored phones and internet connections, others did not. Either the schools were forced to shut down, or students were forced to drop out of school or college and take up day jobs to sustain their families.

Women and girls faced harsher realities including domestic abuse, child marriage, among others.

According to the World Economic Forum, an Indian worker today needs about 100 days for reskilling to be ready for future jobs in 2022. One of the major stepping stones to achieve this is through skill training programs with a focus on job readiness.

Job preparation and skill development
BharatCares, a non-profit organisation in India is working towards empowering the underprivileged. They strive to do this by providing education, life skills, and creating an entrepreneurial environment. Through their initiative BharatCareers, they are providing placement-linked training programs that have empowered several individuals.

Currently, three programs are being offered - Youth Job Readiness Program, Computer and Digital Literacy Program, and Banking and Financial Skill Development Program.

The Youth Job Readiness Program prepares final year undergraduate and graduate students for the job market. They mentor and train youth with life skills or offer entrepreneurship training to make them future job-creators.

The Computer Training and Digital Literacy Program provide basic computer and digital literacy training for girls and women who have either dropped out from school or are currently pursuing their education. The onsite training program opens up avenues for housewives and married women who want to get hands-on training in the digital literacy space.

BFSI Skill Development Program aims to open avenues for the aspiring youth of our country who are keen on making their career in the banking and finance sector. The program focuses on equipping class 12 graduates, final year undergraduates and postgraduates with the BFSI skills and relevant job-readiness skills.

Skill development programs can help mitigate the impacts of COVID-19 either by immediate coping strategies or when the economy starts to recover. Either way, such programs are the need of the hour to provide adequate skills to the youth and make them a part of the workforce.

Roshini Muthukumar

Roshini Muthukumar, a native of Chennai, started her career as a content writer but made a switch to journalism to pursue her passion. She has experience writing about human interest stories, innovative technology, entrepreneurs, research blogs, and more. Previously, Roshini has done internships with The Hindu, Metroplus and worked as a correspondent with The Better India.