Delhi region

Siddhartha Pande is Head of the Programme Implementation Unit at Bal Raksha Bharat (also ‎known as Save the Children). The organisation works in several districts in the Bihar region, setting ‎up catch-up courses, vocational and life skill trainings for adolescents and young adults, enrolling ‎children in govt. schools, running campaigns on child labour, etc. Bal Raksha Bharat works in all 3 ‎intervention states of WNCB, namely; Delhi, Bihar and Rajasthan. Bal Raksha Bharat also works ‎intensively in two districts in Delhi that are known for their garment industry, namely East Delhi and ‎South East Delhi. ‎

‎“In the Delhi region, we established and followed a tried and tested process for adolescents and ‎youth to receive proper vocational and skills training”, Siddhartha says. This approach is focused on ‎the principle that youths are supported to pursue education or vocational training leading to ‎decent age-appropriate work. This will not only give them better future perspectives, but it will ‎also break the vicious cycle of poverty and reduce the need for their future children to work or end ‎up in low paid jobs.‎

Vocational training and development kits

“The process around those training activities comprises well-defined steps that lead from ‎identification of youth to their actual employment”, Siddhartha explains. “By following these steps ‎and by adjusting the training programme to the specific needs and context of youths, vocational ‎training programmes provided them with valuable skills and opportunities for employment and ‎entrepreneurship in the field of tailoring.” ‎

The tailoring training programme has been quite successful as it has equipped youths with the skills ‎and knowledge to pursue career in tailoring. For that we ensured youths developed a ‎comprehensive skill set, including basic sewing techniques, pattern making, garment construction ‎as well as soft skills like communication, time management, problem-solving, customer service, ‎marketing, and pricing.‎

In addition, Bal Raksha Bharat provided development kits, to support trained young adults with ‎entrepreneurial ambitions to set up their businesses. For young adults with an interest in the ‎tailoring sector, these kits included sewing machines. But for others there were also different ‎development kits, such as motor bike repair tool kits, and carpenter and masonry kits.‎

Life skills training

“Youth were also provided with life skills training”, Siddhartha adds. “Life skills are a set of abilities, ‎attitudes and social-emotional competencies that enable individuals to learn, make informed ‎decisions and exercise rights to lead a healthy and productive life. Subsequently they may become ‎agents of change.” ‎

Life skills provided were based on the Life Skills for Success (LS4S) common approach of Save the ‎Children International which has been quite successful in the project. The identified and enrolled ‎youth went through robust training on life skills over five days of intensive training during which ‎they were taught aspects of life skills such as a positive self-concept, self-control, communication ‎skills at the workplace, higher-order thinking skills, and social skills. ”We have seen youth using the ‎skills in their workplace and also transferred the skills to others.”

Multi Activity Centres

To further combat child labour, in Delhi, five Multi Activity Centres were set up. The centres ‎focused on providing them with basic-numeracy literacy skills and enrolling children in formal ‎government schools.‎

Also, the Multi Activity Centres provided life skills education and vocational training to adolescents. ‎Following the life skills and vocational training, young adults are linked with decent employment ‎opportunities, and provided with entrepreneurial development toolkits.‎

Close cooperation with employers

Bal Raksha Bharat closely collaborates with employers based in Delhi by thoroughly analysing job ‎requirements and identifying appropriate job opportunities for young individuals. To establish ‎strong relationships with employers, the organization undertook visits to identify suitable ‎employers and job opportunities. These visits were critical in developing relationships with ‎employers, understanding their workforce needs, and assessing the skills and job readiness of ‎young individuals. ‎

‎“This way, we identified local industries and workshops and also mapped their demand of skills ‎sets in youths who have undergone vocational training. We held meetings with local businesses ‎and industries and shared profile of youths with skills set gained over as part of vocational skills ‎training. Sharing profiling of youths with skills sets integrated with market demands let to local ‎businesses and industries to go for our trained youths.” Siddhartha explains. ‎

Follow-up and monitoring

Follow-up meetings with youth and employers to prevent job dropouts were organised by creating ‎platforms for employers to engage with youth even before they were hired. Bal Raksha Bharat did ‎regular follow-ups with the employers to get the feedback and continuation of the youth at the ‎workplace. Siddhartha: “We visited companies and met the employers. Also, we spoke to the ‎youth to get feedback about the company environment, if our youth face any challenges then we ‎discussed with the concerned person in the company and help resolve the issue.”‎

Siddhartha continues: “Citing an example, we had placed a female youth with a reputed company ‎in Delhi. But after some time, our candidate informed us that her manager was harassing her and ‎she did not want to continue her job and requesting us to find another job for her. We talked to ‎her and had a meeting with her manager and explained all the issues to the human resources ‎department. They took appropriate action by transferring the manager, and so our candidate could ‎continue to work there.” ‎

Project staff had meetings with representatives from employers to gather feedback on the ‎performance of trained youths, discussed issues or concerns that have arisen, and identified areas ‎where additional support may be needed. These meetings allowed project staffs to maintain ‎strong relationships with employers, address concerns proactively, and ensure that youths are ‎successfully transitioning into the workforce and no drop-outs are reported. ‎