Essar Foundation signs MoU with NSDC on ‘Ajeevika’

Essar Foundation, the CSR arm of multinational conglomerate Essar, today said that in order to improve the employability quotient of youth in the country, it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the National Skill Development Corporation to provide job-oriented vocational training. In the first phase, 1,000 youth across 8 cities will be provided training in Customer Service, Tele Calling and Marketing & Sales skills. Essar Foundation shall fund the programme to the tune of Rs. 40 lakhs and provide systematic direction to the initiative. The Foundation shall also extend its support in ensuring linkages towards employing the trained youth.

This collaborative skill development programme, named ‘Ajeevika’, was launched with Mr. Dilip Chenoy, MD & CEO, NSDC and Mr Deepak Arora, CEO, Essar Foundation, signing the MoU documents. The first batch is expected to begin training by June2015 in Delhi NCR and Ahmedabad.

During the signing event, Mr. Chenoy said “Collaboration is the mainstay of any significant developmental initiatives and strategic partnerships towards achievement of national goals have caught up as a trend in India, especially, as corporates have stepped up their roles with integrated and sustainable CSR programmes. We are happy to join hands with Essar Foundation to provide employment opportunities to young people to access opportunities provided by economic growth and make that growth more inclusive.”

“Statistics suggest by 2020, India is set to become the world’s youngest country with 64 per cent of its population in the working age group. This would mean much greater thrust on skills that make the youth job-ready and employable in real market scenarios. We are very happy to partner with NSDCto develop productive, employable and skilled workforce in the country. Essar Foundation is already active in skilling the youth in the rural and semi-urban areas and with this programme, we can take our initiative even further,” said Deepak Arora, CEO, Essar Foundation.

Based on the success of the programme, the scope and profile will be expanded in the subsequent phases. NSDC, with its nodal institutions across the country, shall execute the identification, training and management of the structured skill development programme. It shall introduce and integrate vocational courses in semi urban and urban areas across the country. The programme shall focus on underprivileged sections of society and backward regions of the country. Similarly, focus shall be significantly on the unorganized or informal sector workforce, where induction of new skills shall provide the edge the industry is seeking.