Livelihood Programs in India: Challenges and Opportunities in Mobilization and Placement
India is a largest populated country with 1.3 billion people. It has 70% population staying in rural areas. The rural economy is mostly defending on agriculture sector. Many people are small land holder, daily wagers which make difficult to fulfill their livelihood needs. Most of the people leaving the villages in search of livelihood and ultimately land in urban slums and live a miserable existence to earn and feed their families.
Government of India has initiated various livelihood programs to upgrade people economically. National Rural Livelihood Mission and National Skill Development Corporation are major promoting agencies for Livelihood Program in India. Recently the Government has launched the ‘Skill India’ campaign. The Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana and the Deen Dayal Upadhyay Grameen Kaushalya Yogna are flagship schemes in India. The skill development programs are filling the gap between demand and supply of skill worker to industry. Central Government, State Governments, Corporate Companies, Training Institutes and Organizations are ensuring to upgrade skills which help to generate more opportunities to unskilled workers.
Challenges and Opportunities in Mobilization:
The Livelihood Program implementing agency has many challenges while mobilizing community for particular programs. One of the main challenges training institutions face is not being able to attract enough students to their courses. While many factors contribute to this, a sheer lack of awareness and trust is a main factor. Most students turn to their parents for guidance and are often advised to aspire for government jobs. A bad planning for mobilization in the community would not work correctly. To following the systematic and strategic mobilization process would be more benefitted. The participation of local community institutions and local community leaders help mobilization to be more effective. The things help to make better mobilization such as a good strategic plan, need assessment process, developing a shared vision among community, authentic and productive roles of youth, participation of community for precious mobilization. We should engage civil societies, local organizations, community leaders, government officials, academic institutions, training institutions, hospitals and shopkeepers in mobilization process. The government has started to address the social stigma surrounding vocational professions through a national campaign to promote the dignity of working with ones however; it will take time for societal perception and behavior to change. The greatest opportunity for mobilization is media including social media. The digital world allows you to communicate mass level in different languages which directly impact though television, websites, smart phones, mobile and computer applications etc.
Challenges and Opportunities in Placement:
The biggest parameter to measure success of training institutions is their placement rate or the number of students they are able to arrange jobs. In an ideal scenario, companies should provide trained students a better salary than untrained hires. Even after placement in good jobs, there is a regular incidence of youth dropping out after the first six months for multiple reasons. Those who did not receive soft skill training find it hard to manage with the pressures of a formal work environment. Others who have taken up work in a state or city far away from their home town, after a point cannot deal with the unfamiliar food and language, difficult housing conditions and the lack of social support group. There is a need to promote and support organizations programs which aim to provide new and innovative solutions to existing systemic challenges and issues in Placement.
Written by Jayant Ruthe
