Employability skills for underserved youth

Butterfly is a symbol of transformation because of its impressive process of

metamorphosis. The butterfly unquestioningly embraces the changes of her

environment and her body. This unwavering acceptance is symbolic of true

faith. The butterfly beckons us to accept the changes in our lives as serenely

as she does.

Newsletter Volume 6

April’2013

2

Back to basics

Each one of us has a strong point that keeps us

moving forward. Reflecting back, I was thinking of all

the difficult situations in my own life when I was

engulfed with misery and a sense of hopelessness. I

realized that eventually I did come out of such

situations and every time I felt stronger than before.

While I may have had the support of other people, the

courage to change my situation was my own and it

emerged from a deep sense of self-belief. To me, this

trust in myself is the one basic point that I turn to

when I‟m going through a stressful time, be it at work

or in my personal life.

Every organization also has an inherent point of

strength, which provides the impetus to move on,

challenging any and every obstacle that comes its way.

For NIIT Foundation, I believe, a 100% blend of the

following aspects serve as its strength and that‟s what

I rely upon, when things are just not going as I had

planned:

Belief in the vision of the organization: Our

vision is „We will be global path breakers in

employability training, gainfully employing at

least 2 million underserved youth every year.‟

We are determined to accomplish this goal

and this sense of responsibility gives me the

focus and courage to move forward and see

meaning in everything I do.

EDITORIAL Complete trust in the abilities of the youth

we work with in the communities: When our

students quit their jobs or when they take the

easy way out instead of choosing a path that

will help them grow, it is this belief that keeps

me going. We believe that each student is

trying to improve and therefore we continue

to encourage them to explore their untapped

potential. This is the reason why we will not

give up on any student.

Belief in the collective strengths and

abilities of each team member: We work in

unity towards the larger goal of the

organization. This basic point helps me look

beyond my ego/ limitations, thereby helping

me to stretch beyond what‟s comfortable.

I‟m reminded of the words of Inazo Nitobe, an

educator, “Those courageous enough to „fall down

seven times, but get up eight‟ have a bright future

ahead of them.” In this new financial year, with 100%

belief in my own self, I am looking forward to take on

new challenges, both for myself and my team at NIIT

Foundation. After all that is what keeps life

interesting, isn‟t it?

Best Wishes

Tulika Mehra

3

FOCUS : NF Partner Program (NReach)

How does it work :

India has thousands of NGOs and Low Fee Private Schools providing IT and English education to the underprivileged

youth of rural and urban areas. However many of these institutions lack quality and reach, causing erratic and non-

certifiable impact on the students‟ learning. To address the challenge, NIIT Foundation (NF) launched an initiative

called NReach that strengthens impact of NGOs and Low Fee Private Schools through Partnership by Capacity

Building, Synergizing, and Empowerment.

NF Value Add Domains

Student

Empowerment

Providing Structured Industry Recognized

Courseware

Student Certification

Providing Placement Support

Synergizing Bringing together NGOs by providing a

connecting platform

Bridging the gap between Corporates and

NGOs

NGO

Empowerment

Training of the NGO trainers

Building NGO Infrastructure

Proposal writing

Organizing Workshops

Name: Priyanka

Level: 9th Class

NGO Partner: Saradha Sakthi

Peetham –SSP (Orphanage),

Karaikkal, Pondicherry

Before coming to SSP,

Priyanka‟ s life was constantly

plagued with hunger,

inadequacy, and heavy

household chores. She took 4

months to recover from the undernourishment at SSP

and soon became an independent, cheerful and

confident child. Another change she has welcomed

whole heartedly is a chance to study computers. With

the coming of NIIT Foundation initiative in Karaikal,

Priyanka a topper of her class, discovered a new world

to learn about. Even though English had never been her

subject earlier, she daily seeks to understand the

specifics of the computer from Mr. Alfred, her trainer at

Karaikal, “Her grasping power is very good. She seeks to

learn and tries her best to remember everything she is

taught. I explain all the English terms in Tamil for her, so

that she can practice it on the computer the next day.”

Saradha Sakthi Peetham is an NReach partner of NF.

SSP has benefitted through Structured courseware,

Training of trainers, and Certification (Capacity building)

and donation of computers (Empowerment).

NReach NGO Partners workshop

School Program ICT Courseware

Engagement Options

NGOs Short Term IT Courses

Schools School Aligned Multi Year IT Curriculum

Training Vocational Training Offered at NF Centers for NGO Partners

Impact

No. of partners 85

No. of students Certified through partner program 9800

Corporate partnership for NGO empowerment

Grassroots operations are the impact machinery for any

NGO , this machinery however very often suffers from the

inadequate infrastructure. For e.g. Many NGOs run subsidized

schools, but have no funds to install IT labs. Yet others that

have IT labs, suffer due to lack of power back up against long

electricity cuts typical of rural and urban slum areas. The

ultimate loss is suffered by the underprivileged students.

Socially inclined corporates can come forward to empower

the NGOs to create better training opportunities in the

following ways:

1. Set up IT lab: Donate a computer lab to an NGO in

education domain struggling to locate funds for the

same

2. Bridge the digital divide: Enable a rural school to run a

multi year IT Curriculum, by providing the

infrastructure from scratch i.e. Computer lab, power

back up and one year curriculum for all classes

4

STUDENT SPEAK

When District Learning Center was first set up in Barkuhi Madhya

Pradesh, most of the placements happen in cities. Mohsin, 28 years,

came to Delhi through one such NIIT Foundation (NF) placement.

Back home he had a family of 7. His father who worked at a coal

factory as a fitter was the sole supporter of the family. Mother was

a home maker. A younger brother and a sister studied in school.

And two younger sisters were married early. Though Mohsin could

have taken financial help from a relative and started his own

business instead of relocating to Delhi, he did not. He had

observed that his married sisters had to go through hardships

because they were not self-dependent.

“I had wanted them to study further but back then I could not speak

up for them as I was still considered an inexperienced youth by my

family. Also I was not confident whether I was right in supporting

them”, remembers Mohsin. May be this need to gain conviction in

himself was at play when after two months into placement, all

Mohsin‟s friends returned home but he stayed back in Delhi alone.

Working in Delhi changed his outlook. He shares, “Women work in

Delhi without any qualms. They can make as much progress as they

like.” Armed with a changed paradigm he went back home and

took a stand in his traditional Muslim family for continuing the

education of his younger sister. This time he was confident and

knew that his decision will be respected. It was!

Mohsin is no longer an inexperienced youth he once was. His

maturity peeps through his bright-eyed smile when he says,

“Parasia can be covered in 10 footsteps, while at NF you can take as

many steps ahead as you like, the road never ends. Then why should

I or my sister put limits on our potential? Today, as a computer

faculty, I am responsible for so many things at my job; I give

trainings and handle reporting. Now I see the difference between me

and friends back home.”

Mohsin: The Road Never Ends

Name Mohsin

Center DLC Barkuhi

Course Certificate Program in Infrastructure

Management

Father’s name Mushtaq Husain

Take the step!

Write to us at Giving@niit.com to change India for the better.

In the pictures:

Top : Mohsin working on the job in Delhi.

Middle: Mohsin on the job, training the trainers.

Bottom: Mohsin training students on Basic IT.

5

EVENTS

“The training provided by CDC is very practical and prepares the youth for entry level jobs. Being Human-The Salman Khan Foundation is proud to partner with this endeavor." u

Popular actor Salman Khan‟s quote about the association.

Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages Pvt. Ltd (HCCBPL), has announced their partnership with actor Salman Khan‟s Being Human Foundation, to scale up Career Development Centre (CDC), an initiative to empower rural, educated and underserved youth. The initiative, in association with NIIT Foundation and NGO Gram Niyojan Kendra, established its pilot center near the HCCBPL bottling plant at Dasna and is now set to extend its reach to the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Odisha.

DLC Barkuhi celebrated the International Women‟s Day by launching a special course for the women called Tech-Mahila. 111 women registered for the course on the first day.

Markus Tehro, Global Head of corporate responsibility activities at Nokia, visited Brahmpuri Center on 7 March‟2013 to see NF efforts and insights within the context of mobile learning.

On 2 March‟ 2013, Renu Bidalia from Tata Communication Service volunteered at Prem Nagar center. She motivated the students and taught them Interview skills.

NIIT Foundation was invited to set up a kiosk at NIIT Technologies Office on 17th of April‟13 in Noida for awareness building among company representatives.

Centralized pre-placement workshops were conducted in Prem Nagar, Madanpur Khadar and Mangolpuri centers during the months of Feb - Apr‟13. Over 200 students were placed during the same time period.

6

SPECIAL MENTION HiWEL

HiWEL : Hole in the Wall Education

Ltd.

Concept: Innovative and award

winning HiWEL learning stations

explore the learning in the play ground

settings.

Since it‟s inception, HiWEL stations

have been installed by many

corporates in the villages/

communities of interest. 5 Learning

stations spread across a community have been seen to bring about

following benefits:

The learning stations encourage

Encourage peer based learning among underprivileged children

Encourages school drop outs to explore the beauty of learning

Are a tool for bridging the digital divide as they can be freely

accessed by anyone

Children through stimulating educational games.

It was found that even with no prior experience of computing, the

children learnt to use the computer on their own.

“I visited the „Hole-in-the-Wall‟ [kiosk] at Kalse [Maharashtra] and

interacted with Konkan fishermen there. The „Hole-in-the-Wall‟ in

their village helps children acquire computer literacy.”

Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, Former President of India

“It‟s not much more than a small kiosk by the side of the track,

with two screens in it. It could be an ATM. But these computers run

internet and educational programs on sanitation, health and basic

school learning. The windows of those small screens are the

windows to the world.”

Mr. Don McKinnon, Commonwealth Secretary General

Rubina, 18 Years

Madangir Community, New Delhi

Started using HiWEL Station at the age of 8 Years, Still an avid user

Rubina recalls her first encounter with the HiWEL Station at the age of 8. “Sheila Dikshit inaugurated the

learning station. I had come back from school and tried my hand for the first time on the computer. Since

that day I have been visiting the learning station regularly.” Being one of the few girls who visited

learning station was a challenge to begin with which became more stringent as Rubina became

adolescent. However, determined to learn, she quietly continued the visits to learning station. Today her

mother feels proud of Rubina who has passed her class 12th and aspires to be a fashion designer. She

shares, “Where else would I have learnt what all options are open after school. The learning station has

been a very important part of my life and that of many more children in the community.”

Stand Alone Model Window Model

Dr. Sugata Mitra received a standing ovation at TED Global Conference by the cream of world intelligentsia for his revolutionary work of Hole in the Wall education. The $1 million prize money would go to further research.

No. of HiWEL Learning Stations installed so far across the world 500

No. of children impacted so far by HiWEL 500,000

Types of HiWEL Learning Stations available 2

7

PROJECT UPDATES

Performance Areas’2008-13 Total

No. of Students Impacted 71709

Percentage of girl students 35%

Percentage of placed students 74%

No. of NGO partners 85

No. of partner employers 250

Volunteer hours 13198

No. of centers 20

Our IT trainers are an enthusiastic

lot. Some of them are ex-students of

NIIT Foundation and have chosen to

stay with the center to help other youth

from their communities to experience

the similar difference that they have

seen in themselves. Be it rural or urban

slums areas, like master craftsmen, our

IT trainers transform lives of

marginalized youth into success stories

every day.

Synergy Project set up in partner-

ship with CII and Delhi University focus-

es on employability of Distance Educa-

tion students at Delhi University espe-

cially the SC/STs.

Career Development Centres

(CDCs) cater to skilling needs of the

vast employable population residing in

urban slums. Currently in Delhi-NCR,

Jaipur, Mumbai, UP and other cities.

NReach builds capacity among

NGOs by providing structured

courseware, training the NGO trainers

and trainer plus student certification.

Program offered nationwide.

District Learning Centres

(DLCs) focus on employability of un-

der-privileged non-working graduates

in rural areas. Currently functional in

Madhya Pradesh.

Rural Youth

DU SC/ST Students NGOs

Urban Slum Youth

From Left: Priya, Rekha, Anju, Neha, Rohit, Indu and Santosh

You can join our heroes by sponsoring the communities they hold responsibility for. You can start with sharing this

newsletter with all your friends, as any new connection may have the possibility of bringing hope for an at-risk

youth. You could also visit our centers and capture stories of personal victories accomplished, through words,

photography or videography on NF initiatives, or spread the word through your media connections.

The first installment of year long grassroots team

motivation program was conducted on 6th of April‟13 in

Lodhi Gardens.

8

CENTERS

Noida-51: Lavkush Market, near Post Office, main road Hoshiyarpur, Sector 51, Noida -201301, Tel: 9953615123; Begumpur :

Basti Vikas Kendra, Behind Begumpur Bus-stop, Malviya Nagar, Begumpur -110017, Ph. 40580305; Paharganj: 9329/1, Gali No.7,

Multani Dhandha, Paharganj- 110055, Ph. 47506874, 47506873; Prem Nagar : I-180, Prem Nagar II, 70Ft Road, Kirari, New Delhi

-110086, Ph. 25185560; Gurgaon : Vishwas Vidyalaya, Sector 46, near Unitech Cyber Park, Gurgaon -122001, Ph. 7838177728;

Mangolpuri: L-625, DDA Flats, (near Mother Dairy) Mangolpuri, Delhi Ph. 011-27918987; Sunder Nagri: N-25/26, Sunder Nagri,

New Delhi -110093, Ph. 22597745; Madanpur Khadar: H.No 317, Chauhan Mohalla, Manshukh Singh Marg, Near, Anglo Indian

Public School, Madanpur Khadar, New Delhi – 76, Ph: 29947891; Civil Lines: No. 2 Raj Niwas Marg, near Shah Auditorium, Civil

Lines, New Delhi, Ph: 23982620; Ghaziabad: Gram Niyojan Kendra, Adhyatmik Nagar, Opp. IMS Engg. College. Dasna, Ghaziabad,

Ph: 7838177728 Nizamuddin: MCP School, Hazrat Nizamuddin Basti, Delhi -110013. Ph: 9818942279; Gharoli: C-548, Harijan

Basti, Gharoli Extension -110096, Ph. 22628857; Brahmpuri : C-185/36, 1st Floor, Above MTS Office, Main Brahmpuri Road Delhi -

110053, Ph. 22560344; Chennai : Mrs. Padmavathy House, 21 , Mettu Street, Kaziputtur, Pedur Post, Kelambakkam, Kanchipuram

Dist., Tamil Nadu, Pin code – 603103, Ph: 91 -9710404100; Shastri Nagar: DD-82, Vishvakarma Colony, Nahari ka Naka, Shastri

Nagar, Jaipur, Ph: 0141-2309699; Jajpur: JSL Institute of Industrial Training, Trijanga rehabilitation colony, P.O. Danagadi Jajpur

755026, Ph: 07735565556; Mumbai:FSC-1,1st floor shopping complex, opposite Airport high school, New Airport Colony,

(opposite Hanuman road) Airport Authority of India, Vila Parle East Mumbai- 400099, Ph: 09619619074; Hisar: JINDAL INSTITUTE

OF INDUSTRIAL TRAINING, (Formerly Stainless Skill Training Institute - Prerana), 126 Green Square Market, Hisar - 125 005, Ph:

07206790140; Chhindwara DLC: NIIT District Learning Center, near FCI warehouse Seoni road, Chhindwara Madhya Pradesh-

480002, Ph: 0716 2232228, 0716 2232229; Barkuhi DLC: Barkuhi old VTC building, near SBI Barkuhi, Madhya Pradesh- 480447,

Ph: 0716 1263334

Project Director

NIIT Foundation

A-24, Sector –34, Infocity,

Gurgaon,

Haryana-122001,

India

Website: www.niitfoundation.org

Email: niitaffirmativeaction@niit.com,

Giving@niit.com,

Partner@niitfoundation.org

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/

NIITAffirmativeAction

Office: +91-124-491-6500/ 01/ 02,

FAX: +91-124 -491-5178

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