Essar Foundation signs MoU with National Skill Development Corporation;
Contributes 40 lakhs to skill development initiatives
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Ajeevika Program aimed at employability and skill enrichment of youth launched
Essar Foundation commits to the National Skill Development Mission
1,000 youth targeted for the first phase of skill training in Customer Service, Tele Calling and
Marketing & Sales
May 19th: Essar Foundation, the CSR arm of multinational conglomerate Essar, said that in order to
improve the employability quotient of youth in the country, it has signed a Memorandum of
Understanding (MoU) with the National Skill Development Corporation to provide job-oriented vocational
training. In the first phase, 1,000 youth across 8 cities will be provided training in Customer Service, Tele
Calling and Marketing & Sales skills. Essar Foundation shall fund the programme to the tune of Rs. 40 lakhs
and provide systematic direction to the initiative. The Foundation shall also extend its support in ensuring
linkages towards employing the trained youth.
This collaborative skill development programme, named ‘Ajeevika’, was launched with Mr. Dilip Chenoy,
MD & CEO, NSDC and Mr. Deepak Arora, CEO, Essar Foundation, signing the MoU documents. The first
batch is expected to begin training by June 2015 in Delhi NCR and Ahmedabad.
During the signing event, Mr. Chenoy said “Collaboration is the mainstay of any significant developmental
initiatives and strategic partnerships towards achievement of national goals have caught up as a trend in
India, especially, as corporates have stepped up their roles with integrated and sustainable CSR
programmes. We are happy to join hands with Essar Foundation to provide employment opportunities to
young people to access opportunities provided by economic growth and make that growth more
inclusive.”
“Statistics suggest by 2020, India is set to become the world’s youngest country with 64 per cent of its
population in the working age group. This would mean much greater thrust on skills that make the youth
job-ready and employable in real market scenarios. We are very happy to partner with NSDC to develop
productive, employable and skilled workforce in the country. Essar Foundation is already active in skilling
the youth in the rural and semi-urban areas and with this programme, we can take our initiative even
further,” said Deepak Aroda, CEO, Essar Foundation.
Based on the success of the programme, the scope and profile will be expanded in the subsequent phases.
NSDC, with its nodal institutions across the country, shall execute the identification, training and
management of the structured skill development programme. It shall introduce and integrate vocational
courses in semi urban and urban areas across the country. The programme shall focus on underprivileged
sections of society and backward regions of the country. Similarly, focus shall be significantly on the
unorganized or informal sector workforce, where induction of new skills shall provide the edge the
industry is seeking.
About Essar Foundation:
Essar Foundation is the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) arm of Essar committed to making positive
impact in communities across more than 500 villages of India. The Foundation facilitates development
initiatives in line with provisions under the Companies’ Act, 2013, and aligns its vision with Essar’s
philosophy of 4Ps – PEOPLE at the core, PROGRESS towards aspirations, POWER of synergy, and PASSION
with compassion.
About NSDC
National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) is a unique Public Private Partnership (PPP), with 51 per
cent equity held by private sector and the balance 49 per cent by the Union Government. Formed in 2010,
NSDC is a professionally run not-for-profit company that includes 33 Sector Skill Councils and over 203
training partners with over 3611 training centres spread across over 497 districts in the country. NSDC is
mandated to skill 150 million Indians by 2022.
For more information on NSDC kindly visit our website, and Facebook page:
www.nsdcindia.org
https://www.facebook.com/NSDCIndiaOfficial
www.twitter.com/NSDCIndia
For more on the Foundation’s initiatives visit www.essarfoundation.com
Media contacts:
Essar Foundation: Navdeep Singh, +91 9819730776, navdeep.singh@essar.com
NSDC: Prateek Aggarwal
Ogilvy: Garima Misra, +91 9910106993, garima.misra@ogilvy.com