For an investment of ₹4.54 Crores, the Sri Sathya Sai Vocational Training Centres have been
able to train 30,000+ youth who, based on the average income data generated in this
study, now have the potential to generate ₹286 crores per year. This is an impressive
achievement on multiple counts:

• The financial inputs to achieve such a figure are reasonably modest due to the
  organisation’s emphasis on volunteering by highly accomplished and skilled personnel.
• Sa mitis absorb a chunk of other costs like rent and other expenses.
• The student does not pay anything to be trained and therefore has zero monetary
  constraints to access the training.
• The cost per trainee is extremely modest when compared to other national
  programmes.
• The youth being benefited are from both urban and rural areas (where, especially,
  earning a steady income outside of agriculture is a difficult task);
• The intangible gains for the trainees are substantial: Samiti members take personal
  interest in mentoring the trainees, spending time with the youth and sharing their
  knowledge.
• Finally, and more importantly, the trainees are able to eam an income and support their
  families, which can be a game changer for them and their families, allowing them to
  stay in their homes if they wish to, instead of migrating to cities in search of jobs.

The benefits of the Sri Sathya Sai Vocational Training Programmes therefore are
economic and social, psychological and spiritual. Profiles of a few trainee
graduates give us a glimpse of such benefits.

The various district level SSSSO units incurred an expenditure of ₹4.54 crores while training
30,187 candidates between 2014 and 2019.

Of the ₹4.54 crores expenditure, 58% was spent towards Tailoring programmes (₹2.63 crores}
followed by 26% for Computer Courses ( 1 .18 crores), and 15% for Plumbing, Electrical and
Mechanical category (68lakhs}. Some Centres offer multiple skills, and hence the expenditure
cuts across skill categories where multiple skills are offered.The expenditure breakup is in line with the trainee numbers by category: 64% of the trainees
are in the Tailoring domain, 21% in Computer Courses and, 5% in Plumbing, Electrical and
Mechanical. The other skills being offered such as Spoken English, Food Processing or
Agri-based Products are low-resource requirement categories (e.g. for machinery, training
space, maintenance costs and raw materials} and therefore, even though 11% of the
trainees have undergone training, the expenditure is quite low ( 1 %} .SSSSO Samitis consist of a large pool of committed and qualified volunteers (Seva Dais) who
undertake all organisational activities as an opportunity for selfless service. Thus, 71% of the
trainers across programmes are volunteers who accept no remuneration. This is reflected in
the trainer salary costs: only 14% of the costs over the last five years are salary costs for
trainers hired for the specific skill type. Volunteers from the Samitis assist the trainers where
required.Operational expenses like rent,
electricity and maintenance form
the bulk of the expenditure (40%).
Raw materials for the training are
a fifth of the expenditure. Based
on the expenditure reported, the
per-trainee cost is extremely
modest.


Volunteer and Paid Trainers fry Skill Type

Based on employability figures of trainees
from 37% of Centres, the earning numbers
for 30,000+ trainees of the Sathya Sai
Vocational Training Centres have been
calculated. The potential earnings of all
trainees are calculated based on the
average monthly salaries I wages reported
for their categories. Next, the employability
percent (trainees employed or
self-employed] reported by 37% of the
Centres is used to calculate potential
earnings only for that percent deemed
employed or self-employed out of the
total sample. These calculations give a fair
idea of the potential and actual earnings
of the trainees.

To summarize the learnings from the
above figures:

• If all the trainees were employed I
  self-employed, they would earn ~24
  crores per month I ~286 crores per year.
  These are potential earnings of the
  trainees.
• Based on the reported employability
  percentages for each skill type, actual
  average trainee earnings amount to ~8
  crores per month I ~96 crores per year.

As discussed earlier, since employability numbers are not known for all centres/trainees,
~96 crores per year is a conservative estimate, and earnings per year range from ₹96
crores to ₹286 crores at highest rate of employment. Since government training programmes
also demonstrate employability rates of 30-40% or lower in some cases, this is a
reasonable calculation of potential and actual earnings of the graduate trainees.

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.