CSR: Skilling Youth For Internships Abroad

India has the world’s largest youth workforce today and it is estimated that there will be 104.62 million fresh entrants in the labour market by 2022. However, the current youth unemployment rate continues to remain as high as 10% with 31 million unemployed in India and more importantly, 43% of India’s youth are not in employment, education or training. The unemployment rate in Karnataka is 5.1% as of today and one of the main reasons for this is the gaps in skilling, which prevents them from being gainfully employed.

Social enterprises like LabourNet and GRAAM are expanding their focus on skilling youth in Karnataka. LabourNet has been skilling youth and providing them opportunities for wage employment and self-employment through creation of micro-enterprises. By partnering with governments, local corporates and industry bodies, they have trained over 700,000 Indians so far.

LabourNet also shared with us its plans for skilling in the Healthcare and Infrastructure Equipment sectors, which would help provide employment opportunities in India and abroad. It is one of the first few authorized partners for the Government’s strategic Indo-Japan Technical Intern Training Program (TITP) that aims to send more than 3 lakh Indian youth to Japan for a one-year internship program and technical training.

Under this programme, they have partnered with the AyurVAID chain of Ayurvedic hospitals to train more than 10,000 Ayurveda Paricharaks (caregivers) in the next five years. These Paricharaks will be trained for a year as a Caregiver, besides being trained in Japanese language, post which they will be sent to Japan for hands-on internship.

Eldercare workers are in high demand in Japan with more than 380,000 required by the year 2025. These Caregivers need a very high level of professional training in healthcare to be able to provide high quality, standardized care as Japan has developed outstanding technology and know-how in Care Work. Ayurveda Paricharaks trained at AyurVAID shall have the technical expertise, as well as skill sets and hence, shall be suited for this high-class training.