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VOCATIONAL TRAINING CENTRESVOCATIONAL TRAINING MISSION

December 27, 2021

Comparison to Average National Income

The average monthly income of ₹8, 117 from the Sri Sathya Sai Vocational Training Programmes is significant when compared to the national income figures. In 2019, Government of India’s Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation had estimated per capita annual rural income in India to be ₹40.925 (₹3,410 per month) and ₹98,435 in urban areas {₹8.202 per month). According to the All India Rural Financial Inclusion Survey conducted by NABARD (National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development} in 2016-17, the average household income per month in rural areas was only ₹8.059, and the average consumption per month is ₹6,646, leaving a surplus per month of only ₹1 ,413. This surplus often goes towards debt and loan payments leaving truly little buffer for growth, emergencies and other expenses towards health and education.

Compared to the national income data therefore, the value added to the lives of the individual youth trainees of the Sri Sathya Sai Vocational Training Programmes and their households is not only substantial but life changing.

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VOCATIONAL TRAINING CENTRESVOCATIONAL TRAINING MISSION

December 27, 2021

Incomes

Average incomes vary by skill type. Highest average salaries are earned by trainees in the Plumbing, Electrical and Mechanical category, followed by Computer Courses.

A 2012 Tracer Study of Ill graduates by the Government of India found average incomes of ITI graduates to be about ~5,300 per month. Those who entered the Public Sector earned a few hundred rupees per month more than those who were employed in the Private Sector. More recent numbers have a wide range and vary from ~7.500- 15,000 depending on the skill category. Apart from ITI salaries, the average salaries earned by trainees of the Sri Sathya Sai VTCs and RVTCs can be compared to wages they would have otherwise earned.

Agricultural labour and daily wage work under MGNREGA are two options for RVTC graduates. Published agricultural labour wages in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana {where most of the RVTCs in this sample are) are about ~160 per day. If we assume 25 working days per month, an agricultural labourer could earn ~4.000 per month. However, work is not available round the year due to the seasonal nature of agriculture. Further, all the youth in rural areas cannot be accommodated in agricultural wage labour (and are not willing to engage in the sector).

MGNREGA pays about ~180-200 per day (varies by year} and could yield about ~4.000-5,000 per month. However, each rural household is allocated only 1 00 workdays in a financial year, and the days are shared by all working members of the household. Clearly, wages from this scheme will also not match up to the wages that young workers can eam if trained in the right skill and given the opportunities to find jobs and be self-employed. The trainees from RYTCs who qualify with a certificate in Plumbing, Electrical and Mechanical works can serve a wide range of customers in these areas and earn up to ~15,000 per month. This kind of steady income from utilization of these specific skill sets has been a game changer for the youth and their families. Moreover, the said amount is what they earn in the initial years. As they gain proficiency, they can

command higher salaries or higher payments for the services they render, unlike the standard payments received for agriculture labour or MGNREGA-based employment. Thus, the skills training helps them improve the standard of life and living as they progress in their jobs or skill-based entrepreneurial venture.

Average income reported is ₹8. 117 per month; however, some categories like Plumbing, Electrical and Mechanical are able to earn higher incomes (average: ₹1 0,406). Reports from some of the RVTCs indicate that whether self-employed or employed in companies, trainee graduates from Plumbing, Electrical and Mechanical domain are often able to earn ₹15,000-20,000 per month.

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VOCATIONAL TRAINING CENTRESVOCATIONAL TRAINING MISSION

December 27, 2021

Employability

A recent survey by Team Lease Services found that only 18% of vocational training graduates found employment, of which only 7% found formal jobs. They concluded that vocational training programmes in India are not very effective in increasing the employability of youth. Compared to these statistics, the Sri Sathya Sai Vocational Training Programmes are delivering results nearly twice as well with 32% employability overall, and substantially higher employment figures in Plumbing, Electrical and Mechanical domain.

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VOCATIONAL TRAINING MISSION

December 24, 2021

The Collaborative Model – Maharashtra

Sri Sathya Sai Seva Organisations Maharashtra have experimented with a different model of youth vocational training. Rather than establishing RVTCs, SSSSO Maharashtra tied up with other organizations that already have well established training programmes. Some of these are: Don Bosco in Karjat. lata Strive in Airoli, and ICICI Academy in Pune. The ICICI Academy in Nag pur is a facility to train female candidates.

The Sri Sathya Sai Samitis in various towns and villages identify rural youth that could benefit from the vocational training courses. Videos of vocational training programmes are used to acquaint the youth with the content. The Samitis recognized that youth do not have to go to distant cities for employment. There is a great need for trained and skilled labour in tier 2, 3 and 4 towns which are underserved. Accordingly, some of the job-oriented courses that youth are sent to after selection are: AC and refrigerator mechanics, electrical, welding, pump repair, appliances repair, office administration and home health assistants programme. Rural and tribal youth from the districts of Akola, Sangli, Aurangabad, Nashik, Buldhana, Satara and Yavatmal have benefited from the vocational training courses.

Once the candidates are selected and sent to the residential training courses, the local SSSSO Samitis continue to support those who cannot afford the costs with boarding and lodging. Thus, SSSSO ensures that all arrangements are taken care of during the training periods that range from three to six months. The host organization that conducts the training pays for the programme. The agencies training the candidates help with placements as well. Some of the trainees from ICICI Academy have received pay packages of ~2-2.5 lakhs per annum. Companies they have been placed in include Kotak Mahindra Bank, Kirloskar, Godrej, Videocon, and Haier. Welders trained at Don Bosco go on to earn ~8000-1 3,000 per month depending on their location, while AC Mechanics working as free lancers manage to earn up to ~20,000 per month.

The rural youth are unused to and unprepared for the regimented training programmes and the work culture required of professionals. Volunteers from Sri Sathya Sai Samitis ensure that some hand holding is continued even after the trainees arrive at the training centre, as well as after they join employment at various companies. Counselling sessions are held to prevent dropouts and moral support is provided during training and employment. Employed youth are encouraged to remit at least ~1 ,000 per month to their families. Consequently, families also convey their happiness at the thought of their boys and girls working as professionals.
Through this collaborative model, SSSSO can contribute by mobilizing youth in rural areas and leverage the strength of already established training academies whose vast networlk of thousands of companies help with successful placements of trainees. About 90% of the trainees go for corporate employment while the remaining are self-employed. So far, 840 youth- both boys and girls-have been selected and sent for training through this model by SSSSO. Access to such resources for rural youth, especially from tribal areas, can be a game changer for their own as well as their families’ futures.

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VOCATIONAL TRAINING CENTRES

December 24, 2021

Skills Offered

More than 40 skills are offered between the 169 Centres. Most of the Centres offer one skill; 39 Centres offer two or more skills. The groups below (called “primary skill groups”) are created for ease of analysis. A Centre offering Tailoring training may also have a computer course (trainees could be different or same). A RVTC offering Plumbing, Electrical and Mechanical skills may also be offering Spoken English, Masonry or Carpentry.

The women’s wing (Mahila Vibhag) of SSSSO generally offers training on Samiti premises or in space donated by volunteers I members. 71% of the trainers in the Tailoring training domain are volunteers from the Samitis (231 volunteers) and only 96 are paid volunteers (29%). For nearly five decades, Tailoring has been an established training programme in SSSSO and therefore, it has scaled up pan-India over the years. Typically, these are delivered through VTCs in urban areas and towns where Sri Sathya Sai Samitis are functioning.

‘Plumbing, Electrical and Mechanical’ is a broad category that encompasses multiple skills offered by RVTCs. Targeted at rural youth, predominantly male, this category offers a variety of skills that help young men to either find jobs in these fields or, to be self-employed in the village(s) they come from. Many RVTCs offer multiple skills in this domain, so that the youth are well equipped to earn an income by offering various services.

The figure above provides details of skill offerings by the Centres. Of the 122 Centres offering Tailoring and associated skills, 97 offer this skill alone. Another 14 offer Computer courses at the same Centre; 5 offer Plumbing, Electrical and Mechanical skills and 17 offer other courses. Similarly, of the 16 RVTCs offering Plumbing, Electrical and Mechanical skills, 2 offer computer courses and one offers tailoring and associated skills. Together, the 169 Centres have trained 30,187 candidates over the last six years.

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VOCATIONAL TRAINING CENTRES

December 24, 2021

Description of Sri Sathya Sai Vocational Training Centres

There is a wide variety and range regarding almost every aspect of the functioning of VTCs. Geographically, for example, the VTCs are situated in villages, small towns, district headquarters and metro cities like Chennai and Hyderabad. Some have a handful of trainees per batch while others have a few hundreds. Some are new and have run a few batches as of December 2019, while others have been running for several years and have run more than 100 batches. The duration of courses also varies greatly – from a minimum of 10 days to a few that run for 6-9 months.

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VOCATIONAL TRAINING MISSION

December 24, 2021

The Collaborative Model: Bired – Andhra Pradesh And Telangana

Sri Sathya Sai Seva Organisations in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana have been collaborating with the Bankers Institute of Rural and Entrepreneurship Development (BIRED) to provide training to rural youth in various income generating skills and activities. It was established in 2007 jointly by the Government of Andhra Pradesh, National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development {NABARD) and five leading Public Sector Banks working in the state. The Institute, a first of its kind in India, is registered as a not-for-profit society under Andhra Pradesh Societies Registration Act, 2001. After bifurcation of the state, the Institute is serving both the states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. The district officers of SSSSO are responsible for intake of trainees and arrangements at the training venue, while BIRED provides support for trainer costs, boarding and other training expenses. Training is typically taken to the doorstep of trainees. BIRED arranges for trainers to visit various districts and impart training to the youth. It also has its own in-campus training programmes.

During the year 2018-19, 55 programmes were conducted for unemployed rural youth with a participation of 1 ,894 trainees. Various training programmes were offered over the course of the year that included mobile servicing, accounting package Tally with GST, PC hardware and laptop servicing, domestic electrical services and agricultural pump set repair {all for men}; tailoring and fashion designing, MS-Office, Zardosi and Maggam works, beauty parlour management and, accounting package Tally with GST {all for women). Other innovative programmes offered recently include a new course called “GST with Tally ERP 9 proficiency” to unemployed B. Com graduates; and training of women auto drivers in a programme called “SHE AUTO” at Tirupati. A hundred women have been trained so far under this programme. Loans were sanctioned by Andhra Bank to 54 She-Auto drivers to the tune of ₹81 lakhs.

SSSSO has found that such collaborations are rewarding and productive when organizations like BIRED bring in expertise, resources and a mission that aligns with the objectives of SSSSO’s service programmes.

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VOCATIONAL TRAINING MISSION

December 23, 2021

The Csr Funding Model-tamil Nadu

RVTC at Thirukurungudi (Tirune!veti District, Tamil Nadu)

Sri Sathya Sai Seva Organisations Tamil Nadu have been successful in running RVTCs focused on plumbing. electrical and mechanical sldlls by tapping into CSR funds. Sustained corporate support by TVS Motor Company has been instrumental in setting up two such RVTCs-one in Thirukurungudi (Tirunelvefi District} that has been running since 2005 and, the second one in Padovedu {Tiruvonnomoloi District} that was inaugurated in 2018. The CSR support includes initial establishment costs, operational expenses, trainer costs and materials.

The two Centres also supplement the above core training with computer classes and other life-skills like Yoga, Spoken English and spiritual classes. Both training facilities ore well-equipped with leased space (4,000 square feet in Thirukurungudi and 2,000 square feet in Padavedu), work benches, chairs, tables, writing and display boards, computers, fans, charts. cut samples of plumbing and electrical materials, and a store of tools.

Botches runs for three months each, with sessions running for four hours every day {Monday -Friday). Trainees in the age group of 18 to 35, travel to the Centre from villages in a 2Q-35 la’n radius from the Centres. Each batch accommodates between 10 and 25 trainees. The Thirukurungudi Centre has graduated 380 trainees over 19 batches, while the newer Padavedu Centre has graduated 50 trainees in two batches. Students are given an electrical and plumbing tool kit at graduation. The detailed curriculum imports both theory and practical lessons in equal measure over the course of the training. The practical training includes on-the-job training at a work site.

Both Centres report impressive placement figures. Nearly 70% of the trainees have secured jobs while the rest are self-employed in and around their villages. Trainees have joined companies like TVS, Able Tech, Kirloskar, Wind farm, and CPCL. A few have secured government jobs. Average salaries reported are about ₹12,000 per month.

Both RVTCs have found that sustained delivery of the programmes, maintaining high quality and integrity of the training, and achieving maximum employability (whether self-employment or in companies} are all outcomes that are possible due to the CSR model, where the entire funding for the training centres is borne by TVS Motors.

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VOCATIONAL TRAINING MISSION

December 23, 2021

The Corpus Fund Model Andhra Pradesh

Rural youth in Anantapur district have benefited from the three-month residential training in electrical and plumbing trades imparted at the Tadipatri RVTC. More than 150 youth have completed the training since the inception of the Centre in November 2014. Each batch consists of ten trainees who travel to the RVTC from all over the district to

undergo training. The residential component of the training is therefore helpful since youth hailing from as far away as 80 kms from Tadipatri have benefited from the training.

RVTC Tadipatri was set up by the Sri Sathya Sai Trust of Andhra Pradesh following a donation of ₹78 lakhs by an individual donor. The donation helped the Trust to set up a corpus towards the RVTC, buy equipment for the training centre and organize infrastructure to get the training centre off to a start quickly.

Three paid trainers (one full time and two-part time} are tasked with training the youth in all aspects related to electrical and plumbing trades so that at the end of the training, the trainees are well placed to either find jobs for themselves or practice the trade in their own villages. Male candidates from the district who are in the age group of 18-25

years and have passed Class X are eligible to join the training programme. Out of the 150 trainees so far, 90% are self-employed. At the end of the training, such trainees are provided with a Bosch tool kit costing about ~3,500, which is of immense help, especially for starting off their own businesses.

Of the 1 0% who have secured jobs, some are Line Men in their villages, a few work in Tirupati at a Battery company, some have joined KIA Motors in Penukonda and a couple of trainees work in Hyderabad. The 90% that are self-employed are running small businesses in their own and surrounding villages. This is important because one of the aims of such RVTCs is to prevent the distress flight to cities for jobs, by providing training and means of employment in rural areas.

The Centre reports that trainees who have secured jobs earn in the range of ~1 0,000-20,000 per month while those who are self-employed earn in the range of ~9.000-15,000 per month. The Tadipatri RVTC is able to deliver the training at nearly half the cost of the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana rates paid to vendor-training institutes/sites for similar trainings. At less than ~30,000, youth acquire a lifelong skill, and the cost of training (received

free by the trainee} is made up in a mere two months of their career. That most of them are able to stay back in their villages I homes, earn a living, and contribute to the wellbeing of their families and villages adds immeasurable value to the endeavour.

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DISASTER MANAGEMENT

December 19, 2021

DM Team Training for Jammu & Kashmir Police Force

In 2015, the Jammu & Kashmir Armed Police Force invited SSSSO’s Disaster Management Task Force Team to conduct a two-day Emergency Response and Disaster Management Training Workshop at its headquarters in Zewan, Srinagar. Held on April 4 and 5, 2015, this unique partnership saw SSSSO’s DM personnel train 51 members of the Armed Police in rescue and recovery operations during natural catastrophes like landslides, earthquakes, floods, and storms.

Despite unseasonal rains and flooding in the River Jhelum, the DM Team members from Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh and Punjab travelled to Zewan and conducted the training that included classroom sessions as well as practical exercises focusing on fire, high-rise, water-related and other emergency rescue operations.

Police personnel participated wholeheartedly in the training programme and were fully engaged in all aspects of the training, both in-class and in the field practice sessions that included a river-rescue training session over the River Jhelum that had experienced floods.