Since the past year we as a society have been facing an unprecedented crisis on all fronts- social, economic, physical and emotional. The Covid19 pandemic has proved particularly detrimental to the well- being of children, adolescents and youth. Several poor households have been rendered poorer as the Covid19 pandemic has aggravated the unemployment crisis that had reached catastrophic proportions even before the pandemic. Young men and women from vulnerable communities are desperate for jobs. But a large proportion of them lack employable skills even though they may have studied up to pre- university level or completed graduation. 

Rama Bai Ambedkar Integrated Skill Development Training Center

In this context, Spoorthidhama proposes to set up a State of the Art Integrated Skill Development and Training Center with a focus only on youth from Scheduled caste communities. Spoorthidhama is uniquely placed to undertake this program as it already has a fully functioning school and a well- equipped research and training center that has expertise in working with youth. There is adequate space to accommodate construction of additional buildings on campus. Importantly, Spoorthidhama already has a strong network in all districts of Karnataka which will help to identify and enroll students for the courses.   

Rama Bai Ambedkar Integrated Skill Development and Training Center is proposed to be a multipurpose training center that can be utilized for training young men and women in several trades based on needs emerging from the field. In that way, it will not be restricted to any one trade. The current proposal is for mobilizing funds for construction of the Training Center, purchase of necessary furniture and fixtures and other requirements. 

The training center is proposed to be a two storey building. The ground floor will consist of one Training room, Director’s Office and a Library. On the first floor there will be two more training rooms, two faculty rooms and a dining space. The third floor will house two dormitories one each for men and women. The Center proposes to run training programs for three trades simultaneously with roughly 30 students in each trade. Therefore at any given point of time, one can expect around 90 students on campus. While the proposed dormitories may not be able to accommodate all the 90 students, there are facilities on campus which will be converted for the purpose.

The proposed Training Center will focus exclusively on rural young men and women from Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes from the backward districts on Karnataka. The Center will operate on the principle of inclusion, diversity and participation. Special efforts will be made to enroll young men and women with disabilities the SC/ST communities who are further alienated from the larger academic spaces as well as in the job market. Therefore all efforts will be made to ensure their enrolment and participation. Physical infrastructure will adhere to the National Building Code which specifies ensuring ramps, lifts, bathrooms that facilitate easy access for people with disabilities. Similarly disability appropriate teaching learning aids will also be ensured. The Center will have MoUs and tie- ups with the industry to ensure placement of students who complete the course.  The choice of trade in each cycle of training will be decided in consultation with industry experts who will provide suggestions based on the market demands.