The Aide et Action’s skill development initiative has yet again crossed a milestone in the skill development arena. After training more than 2,25,000 marginalized youths and placing more than 70% of them in various related sectors in the last 13 years, it has now moved to promoting enterprise development model and encourage marginalized youths to set up their own business.
On the 24th June 2018, four iLEAD alumni from Bilaspur – Satrupa, Shyaam, Bhima and Rathram opened their own automobile and electrical enterprises. Aptly named as ‘iGarage’ and ‘iCharge’, these enterprises will serve customers alongside providing free skill training to marginalised youths from the nearby villages.
The enterprises were inaugurated by Shri. Amar Agarwal, Honorable Minister, Commerce and Industries, Commercial Tax, Urban and Administration Development, Government of Chattisgarh. While speaking on the occasion, the chief guest congratulated all the young entrepreneurs and said that enterprise development is the only way of nation building. He felt that entrepreneurs not only eke out their livelihood on their own but also provide employment to many. He also released a documentary titled “Employability to Entrepreneurship” featuring these four youths from Bilaspur and a publication highlighting the stories of change of successful youths.
Dr. Aishwarya Mahajan, Director -Livelihood Education, South Asia, Aide et Action International informed the audience that iLEAD has so far trained 2,25,000 youths across the globe of which 46% include women and 76% are working in organised sector. He also informed the participants about the new enterprise development initiative being conceptualized and implemented by Aide et Action.
Bhupendra Pandey, Centre Manager- iLEAD Bilaspur informed that more than 2,900 youth have been trained in Bilaspur with around 80% placement in last 9 years of its inception.
