SOS Vocational Training Center Raipur, India
Creating Employment Opportunities for Disadvantaged Youth
The distribution of wealth in Raipur, in the state of Chhattisgarh, is unequal with the number of families living in poverty nearly doubling in the last ten years. Vulnerable families live mostly in slum areas; there are dozens of such shanty towns in Raipur. The housing is precarious, and there is little basic infrastructure. Access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation, as well as essential services such as medical care and education, is poor.
Over 30% of youth aged 15-29 in the area are neither employed, nor receiving education or training.
SOS Children’s Villages opened the SOS Vocational Training Center (VTC) in 2010 to support and cater to the needs of vulnerable youth growing up in the area. The center was created with the goal to create employment opportunities to disadvantaged and marginalized youth by providing them with quality training and a chance for a bright future.
This year, the VTC welcomes and trains 156 students, with about a third of whom are young women. Approximately 85% of enrolled students come from vulnerable families in the area, and the remainder are youth who grew up supported by SOS Children’s Villages after being orphaned or abandoned.
In partnership with the Directorate General of Training and the Chhattisgarh State Skill Development Authority, the VTC has now trained more than 1,500 students in a variety of trades. In total, 28 trades are taught including finance, human resources management, electrical sciences, welding, marketing, IT, and automotive mechanics.
The center has well-equipped workshop rooms as per modern industrial requirements. The center is also composed of a conference hall, a library room and a residential facility with a dining area where some students can stay while receiving training.
To ensure the successful integration of its students into the labor force, the VTC also supports its graduates with placement options. Thanks to partnerships with local companies, approximately 80% of VTC students find employment after graduating from the center.