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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.