Vocational Education and Training (VET) for Inclusive Growth for Communities in East Indian States of Jharkhand, West Bengal and Orissa.

In an effort to address India’s rising unemployment, Welthungerhilfe and its partner NGOs -- Ramakrishna Mission Ashrama (RKM), Kolkata, Development Research Communication and Service Centre (DRCSC), Kolkata, Agragamee, Bhubhaneshwar, and Centre for World Solidarity (CWS), Jamshedpur -- are undertaking a five year European Union co-funded project to provide skill training to  adolescents and youth in selected backward districts of West Bengal, Jharkhand and Orissa. One of the aims of the project is to support these youngsters in establishing themselves as `Ecopreneurs’. Adolescents and youth from marginalised sections will be trained in Natural Resource Management (NRM) based trades such as sustainable agricultural production, NTFPs, agro processing and value addition, water conservation technologies, renewable rural energy and integrated animal health care and nutrition. Besides increased access to skills and training, the project aims to establish institutional arrangements for planning, quality assurance, certification and linkages. Youth trained in these vocations will benefit by self employment as barefoot technicians, employment in government, private sector or as Ecopreneurs by selling products, services, or technologies related to these themes. To ensure women’s participation, constraints that prevent them from doing so will be addressed and incentives given.

Welthungerhilfe’s initiatives stem from the need to reverse the trend in India, of shrinking employment opportunities, from 2.6% in 1993-94 to 1.92% per annum in 2006-07. This striking shrinkage clearly shows that India’s high economic growth since the mid eighties has not adequately addressed the livelihood securities issues of a majority of its citizens. The importance of Vocational Education and Training (VET) to tackle this can in no way be overstated, but India is lagging far behind the world in providing meaningful VET to the youth.{jcomments off}