CHENNAI: For the underprivileged in north Chennai, there is some light at the end of the tunnel. Through the efforts of two NGOs, they have now been able to equip themselves with certain skill sets that have made them employable.The two NGOs, American India Foundation (AIF) and Aide et Action- India (AEAI), organised a job fair for the disadvantaged on Sunday and the turnout of recruiters was a clear indication of the employability of these youth. There were 17 stalls put up by recruiters from the hospitality, automobile, Information Technology and finance sectors. The organisers, however, said that they would not like to divulge the names of the recruiters.Martin, Project Manager, AEAI, said that the MAST iLEAD job fair is one of a kind held in Chennai to cater to youths around the city’s suburbs. They lacked guidance and appropriate skills, resulting in labour exploitation. The AEAI ran three centres in Chennai imparting basic skills to higher secondary passouts.Training is provided based on industry requirements, and corporate tie-ups with industry leaders play a major role. They provide necessary inputs frequently and interact with students in training centres, he said.However, the organisers were confident that the youth enrolled in the Market Aligned Skills Training (MAST), a three-month training programme aimed at making them industry ready, would get placed in the organised sector.“Joining the organised sector is a dream for anyone in India,” says Chacko, a recruiter. Echoing his words, Velayudham, a recruiter from the automobile sector, said, “As recruiters, we are expecting candidates like these people who were neglected by companies citing lack of training.” Being industry ready trainees is an advantage as the candidates end up spending less time on training, and then go ahead to work as professionals.Talking to City Express, Neelima Khetan, Country Director, AIF, said there was a growing gap between skilled workers in remote places and resource hungry employers in cities. Like-minded organisations like AIF came forward and provided support to locals and employers. When asked about the support from the government, she said that in the past decade, AIF had reached a majority of states and in Gujarat, the government had set up Gujarat Urban Development Mission (GUDM). In such scenarios, AIF took care of the training curriculum by frequently studying market demand and providing inputs for the mission.She added that the need of the hour was to provide the last mile connectivity. More challenge lay ahead in ensuring benchmark retention rates. With a target to train one lakh youth by August 2012, it would become a successful model and could be showcased as a successful government-NGO partnership programme.Around 210 youths trained at the three centres of AEAI located in Saidapet, Thiruvottiyur and Perambur would try their luck at the job fair. The AEAI also trained 710 differently-abled people from the four southern states .
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