India is a country of young people. Approximately 600 million people are below the age of 30 and 400-450 million even below the age of 20. This huge segment of youth population can be converted to a "Demographic Dividend", if they are trained well and converted to productive workforce.

But unfortunately a vast majority of this population is in the brink of a very insecure future. One of the biggest challenges India faces even today after the country has made significant progress, is employment generation. While it is a challenge for all youth seeking jobs, it is certainly more difficult for the youth coming from marginalized sections.Many boys and girls from less privileged sections of the society manage to study up to higher secondary level from Municipal schools, some of them above average if not brilliant. This leads to two situations. Pressed with economic necessities, some may resort to immediately available sources of lower earnings; while many fall prey to unlawful activities and become miscreants instead of becoming productive members of the country.

Education infrastructure in India is inadequate and has little relevance to what the employers are looking for in services and manufacturing sectors. Consequently, a majority end up in the informal sector and fall prey to unfair practices, unable to escape poverty and low wages.Lack of proper skill training and employment opportunities for deprived youth has increased unfair labour practices and rate of migration which has in turn enhanced vulnerability and social insecurity among youth.Some or all usually takes up menial unprofessional and non-progressive jobs on daily wages. But this invariably resulting into a negative effect on their moral and mental states.

Despite one of the largest youth populations in the world, the country lacks the educational programs, systems and training centers to provide up-to-date technical, vocational, literacy and language skills to its ever-growing employable population. In the next 20 years, India will add 250 million people to the working-age population, compared to Brazil's 18 million and China's 10 million during the same period. If the potential of these youth remains untapped, it will not only slow growth, but a cycle of poverty and illiteracy will persist that only further drains society economically and socially.

Construction Industry in India is highest employment generating industry after agriculture. It employs more than 50 million workforce and needs 50 million additional workforce over next 5 years. The demand for skill based jobs has been at its high due to recent boom in construction industry in the country; as a result there are number of skill oriented courses operational in the length and breadth of the country. For employability skill based education, job placement and on the job training should be part of every vocational education. More emphasis should be provided on On the Job training so that it has better connection with real life scenarios than just bookish knowledge.

A majority of the youth passing out from high schools and colleges do not have the specific skill sets required by various sectors in the market. Also, the country has about 90% of children and youth dropping out by class 10. It is found that the proportion of unemployment is the highest in the age-group of 20-24 years and at least 83% of the unemployed belong to the age group of 15-29 years both in rural and urban areas. Providing market aligned livelihood/skill training to deprived youth for the skills in the construction industry, proving them good organized job with large construction companies and providing them On the Job training and career path would help them earn a sustained livelihood.

Pipal Tree Foundation (PTF)has already taken the initiative and established 18 training centers spread across 8 states of India which are Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Telangana, Jharkhand and Maharashtra for skill development in youths benefiting underprivileged youth in India.PTF intends to establish 25 more training centers across these9 states and Assam in North East over next three years.

PTF aims at providing skill enhancement and employability training to around 200 underprivileged youths each year at each of the these centers . However, there will be a focused approach to mobilize maximum youths beneficiaries. The proposed projects will be implemented in partnership with a community based organizations.

The proposed centers will provide employability training to the marginalized youth The employability training would include:

Regular skill based training classes, site visits, workshops, etc
Classes by executives and counseling by employers
Also for work experiance on hands training at site.

All trained youth would be provided jobs in the relevant construction skills through our own resource staffing company on various construction sites. Also major part of this training would be On the Job training to ensure the sustainable livelihood for youth.