There cannot be true peace and recovery in Afghanistan without a restoration of the rights of women. Girls need you even more now.                  There cannot be true peace and recovery in Afghanistan without a restoration of the rights of women. Girls need you even more now.

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Providing Job Readiness and Skill Training to Girls

Providing Job Readiness and Skill Training to Girls

Introduction and Rationale

India faces a grave challenge when it comes to basic school education for children belonging to under-privileged backgrounds. The number of out-of-school children is huge. As children get older, school dropout rates go higher. Hence retention is a problem. Children who get to go to schools face other problems like low-quality education and lack of school infrastructure. They do not get many opportunities to develop their leadership skills or to improve their academic performance. In this entire scenario, the reality for girls is way worse than boys in every aspect.

While in school, girls are not provided many opportunities to learn any skills suited for current job market or to become entrepreneurs. Many girls do not continue their higher education or develop any employable skills due to social norms or inability/unwillingness of families to invest in higher/ vocational education of girls. These girls then end up being married off at an early age and lose on any chance that they might have to become economically independent.

Solution
  1. increase girls' confidence and job readiness through soft skills and computer literacy
  2. increase girls' employability/ entrepreneurial ability through skill training
  3. assist girls in leveraging resources related to various skill programs and schemes
  4. assist trained girls with job placement/ market linkages

The Model

The model will have a Training Hub and Resource Center in a central location in close proximity to project schools. Training classes will be optional for students who are willing and interested in taking them. However, awareness sessions will be conducted in schools so students are motivated to take advantage of these free classes. The Training Hub and Resource Centre will have the following elements:

  • English Proficiency Classes: These classes will enable students to improve their communication skills so their overall chances of finding income-generation opportunities increase. These classes will be conducted for 9th and 10th graders on weekends/ after school hours.
  • Classes for Computer Literacy: Knowledge of computers and internet functioning is a requirement for any kind of job or business now-a-days. This skill will also increase students' overall chances of finding income-generation opportunities. These classes will be conducted for 9th and 10th graders on weekends/ after school hours. These classes will be theoretical as well as practical. A computer lab will be established for the same.
  • Skill Training in Bed-Side Assistant/ Beautician/ IT-ITES: There are many different kinds of skill training available based on high demand in a particular region. A skill training program will be designed and professional training program will be conducted in a popular skill like Bed-Side Assistant/ Beautician/ IT-ITES. This training program will be designed and conducted in such a way that students obtain theoretical as well as practical tools to be able to carry out their job once employed. This program will involve mobilization and registration of students, development of curriculum, and implementation of 2-3 month skill training program, followed by certification. This program will be offered to students after they pass 10th grade. This program can be offered 2-3 times in a year.
  • Assistance with Placement: A percentage of qualifying and interested students will be assisted with job placement. Linkages will be made with agencies that hire trained and qualified individuals.
  • Leveraging Resources for other Income-generation Opportunities: Girls who either are unable or unwilling to attend the skill program will be assisted with information on other opportunities available for skill training or financing options for entrepreneurship.
  • Developing a Girls' Enterprise addressing Women's Health (optional): A sanitary napkin manufacturing unit can be set up within the Training Hub and Resource Center which will produce high-quality, low-cost sanitary napkins. This enterprise will not only provide income-generation opportunities to girls through manufacturing and marketing, but will also go a long way in addressing the silence related to Menstrual Hygiene Management and women's health. Awareness sessions will be conducted in different community spaces, and they will focus on the shame associated with women's periods and their lack of access to healthy and affordable ways to manage their periods.

By: Soma Dixit