PROJECT PROPOSAL
Project Title: Building ‘Skills Center’ for SC kids to learn market skills
Project Aim: Enhancing SC livelihood by teaching and providing skilled jobs.
Project Location: Science Technology and Innovation Hub in Surya Enclave, Jalandhar
District, Punjab State.
Target Groups: SC kids, child laborers, orphans.
Introduction
The National Census of 2011 shows that 16.6 percent of the Indian population belongs to the
Scheduled Caste category. Punjab has the highest percentage of any SC population in the
country. 31.94 percent of the state’s population falls under this category, reflecting the biggest
percent composition of SC children in the country. Such a big number asks for more attention,
more care, and more reform.
Need of project
Most of the SC population of the region works minimum-wage jobs and falls below the poverty
line. Vendors, construction workers, laborers account for most of the jobs of SC kids. Average
income is barely enough for food, shelter, and clothes. Thus, a more sustainable source of
income is required for their survival. Most SC children in the area are uneducated due to various
reasons, ranging from lack of resources to parental ignorance. Born in poverty, these kids are left
with no choice but aid their parents in raising the family. Kids that are comparatively well-off do
not work, but still suffer from other problems like improper nutrition, lack of resources, no
parental support etc., and have to find their way into giving themselves a good education. This
results in a big chunk of human potential go down the drain.
Major sectors involved
Reform regarding SC kids’ education and their careers concerns the area of their current
occupation – labor work. Reform will be bought in the labor sector and the new processes that
we will initiate will involve the sectors of clothing, food, and services. Tailoring corresponds to
clothing, cooks correspond to food and driving partners and cosmetologists belong to the service
sector.
Causes of the problem
Most SC kids are uneducated and lack any productive skills. Government schools that provide free
schooling to these kids produce kids with education but no real world skills to help them thrive.
Most parents do not care about their kids’ education because they believe they can never fund their
kids’ higher education and hence the education that they receive is fruitless. The basic education
they receive renders useless without the lack of a skill. This supports their idea that their kids are
better off being laborers as at least they can start at a young age and know the work by the time
they are old. This calls for a training center, where kids after their matriculation can learn real
market skills.
Consequences of the problem
Attending poor-conditioned government schools gives does them an opportunity to learn, but
everything else hinders their try to grab the opportunity. Therefore, most SC kids either work
through their puberty years or end up getting no education. This leaves them with nothing but
continue their living the same way as their parents. Hence, these kids start off with some labor
work and end up choosing that as the source of their livelihood. While labor work is technical
and precise, it is not a criterion to become a labor. This causes anyone to become a laborer and
the surge in people reduces the pay, because of high supply.
Proposed solution
Hence, the DV Singh Foundation, has come up with ‘Skills Centre’, a STI hub of the Indian
Government, which will provide SC children the opportunity to learn some real market skills that
can improve their livelihood by opening doors to other professions, other than their parent’s
unfortunate selection.
To tackle the unproductiveness of free schooling, training centers where market skills are taught
will collaborate the basic education that SC kids receive with the market skills they will learn at
Skills Centre. Where the skill can provide them with a job and the education can help them get
that job. This eradicates the problem of child labor that SC parents force their kids into, makes our
free schooling productive, and also utilizes the much available human resource of this country.
Enhancing the quality of our human resource will not only benefit us in the present by getting more
servicemen but has the potential to bring universal changes in the future.
Objectives of the solution
Skills Center directly tackles the market redundancy of the schooling that the government provides
to the SC children. Most SC children do not attend schools because of numerous reasons and the
ones that do don’t qualify for real-time market jobs just based on matriculation. Parents realize
getting a job needs more than basic education and the skills we will implant in these kids will fill
that void. Skills joined with education will give us skilled working members of our society, that
contribute to our national income. When parents know that their kids are learning skills along with
education, they will not only send their kids to these centers, but rather help them develop these
skills, as they realize their kids can now get real jobs. This will result in change in SC livelihoods
in the area, a shift from laborious work to skilled services. Better jobs will make not only make
more money but will be less harmful for the kids, as they do not have to physically torture
themselves to earn a wage. They are less prone to diseases and will help uplift them in society.
Target areas
Surya Enclave resides most of the SC population and its geographical location will be apt for
providing opportunities for the maximum number of kids. Hence students out of our Skills
Centre will have jobs that can pay them better, jobs that can improve their life, and jobs that can
change their fate.
Expected results
Jalandhar is emerging as one of the main cities in the central part of the state. Clothing outlets
that recently opened in the city are in dire need of some tailors. Such retail work during times of
the internet, ask for delivery partners. With companies like blinkit, Zomato, Instamart that ship
essentials to homes, the need for delivery partner further increases. Clothing brands and any
market company needs drivers. The rise of Zomato has urged many to open restaurants and
cafes, which will also require some skilled cooks. Skills Center has the potential to raise cooks,
tailors, driving partners and cosmetologists to provide us services and bring income in the
tertiary sector.
Indicators of success
In the case of Skills Centre, both pre and post indicators of success are clear. The rise of the
above-mentioned companies near guarantees the outcome of this project, i.e., Jobs for SC kids.
The promising plan sets up a path that is productive and is bound to guaranteed results. Post
indictors of success include quarterly analyses of the centers. Once the centers get running and
are done with a year and produce skilled servicemen, our team will analyze how many kids have
gotten jobs, how many have increased their family income and field researchers can evaluate
how happy they are. These will tell us if the plan has successfully achieved its purpose.
Targeted people and their details