Latest news with #SkillImpactBond
Time of India
3 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Women lead India's 1st outcome-based skilling drive
New Delhi : Puja Kumari from a village near Bokaro, Ishrat from a conservative Delhi household, Simran Pandey from the capital's workingclass lanes, and Sakshi from Jharkhand's tribal heartland are part of a quiet but distinct shift in India's skilling landscape. This change is being driven by the Skill Impact Bond (SIB) — the country's first outcome-based skilling initiative. Launched in 2021 by the ministry of skill development & entrepreneurship through the National Skill Development Corporation, SIB is backed by a consortium of philanthropic and private partners, including the British Asian Trust and the Children's Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF) — two key organisations that helped conceptualise and fund the initiative. Along with JSW Foundation, HSBC India and Dubai Cares, they are driving one of India's most ambitious public-private partnerships focused on women-led growth. SIB aims to train 50,000 youth, with at least 30,150 retained in jobs for a minimum of three months. So far, over 23,700 youth—72% of them women—have been trained across 30 job roles in 13 sectors, working with more than 700 employers. Of these, 75% have secured jobs, and 60% have stayed employed for over three months — well above national averages. As India approaches its demographic peak and eyes a $30-trillion economy by 2047, models like SIB offer a roadmap — targeted training, outcome-focused frameworks and sustained post-placement support. 'We are not just experimenting with outcome-based financing—we are institutionalising it to build a resilient, inclusive skilling ecosystem,' said Jayant Chaudhary, minister of state (independent charge) for skill development and entrepreneurship. He cited the Skill Impact Bond and Project AMBER as examples of how public, philanthropic and private investment can together deliver measurable social impact at scale. Outcomebased financing, he added, is becoming a powerful tool to ensure public investment leads to tangible results—particularly in skilling, employment, and women's empowerment. Puja, 26, trained as a CNC operator through Pan IIT Gurukul and moved to Chennai to work with IM Gears, becoming the sole breadwinner for her family. Ishrat, 18, began working in Noida in a data-entry role while pursuing a BA through Delhi University's School of Open Learning—without telling her father. Simran, 21, joined an IT training programme and now works as a customer care executive in Delhi, saving to become an air hostess. Sakshi, 23, a school dropout from the Malto tribal community, enrolled in Pan IIT's apparel programme in Bengaluru and now earns Rs 15,000 a month, supporting her siblings' education. Their journeys reflect a fragile but significant transformation. Many are first-generation formal workers navigating rigid social norms, migration, and financial strain to pursue aspirational livelihoods. Jharkhand leads enrolment figures with 26% of trainees, followed by UP and Delhi. But the broader skilling landscape remains challenging still: only 4% of India's workforce is formally skilled, and nearly 30% of trained individuals are without paid work. Retention is especially challenging for women who have availed traditional schemes. While 84% of those enrolled under such schemes complete certification, fewer than 10% stay in jobs beyond three months. The SIB seeks to reverse this trend by tying funding not to enrolment or certification, but to job placement and retention. Training providers are incentivised to support outcomes through onboarding, counselling and alumni engagement. 'Till we come out of our comfort zone, we can't achieve anything,' says Ishrat. 'At first, I wasn't sure I could manage the machines,' says Puja, now a trainer. 'Now I want girls in my village to see what's possible.' Sakshi says her job gave her more than income, it gave her purpose. 'I didn't want my siblings to face what I did.' Simran says the job gave her confidence. 'I feel I can take care of my dreams & my family's needs too.' For them, skilling isn't just about employment—it's about identity, agency, and finding a place in the formal economy.
Time of India
24-07-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Women empowerment stories signal shift in skilling landscape
New Delhi: Puja Kumari from a village near Bokaro, Ishrat from a conservative Delhi household, Simran Pandey from the capital's working-class lanes, and Sakshi from Jharkhand's tribal heartland are part of a quiet but distinct shift in India's skilling landscape. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now And this change is being facilitated by Skill Impact Bond (SIB), India's first outcome-based skilling initiative. Launched in 2021 by the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship through the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), the SIB aims to train 50,000 youth, with at least 30,150 retained in jobs for a minimum of three months. So far, over 23,700 youth have been trained—72% of them women—across 30 job roles in 13 sectors, working with 700+ employers. Of these, 75% have secured jobs and 60% have retained employment for over three months—well above national averages. As India approaches its demographic peak and eyes a $30-trillion economy by 2047, initiatives like SIB offer a roadmap—targeted training, outcome-focused models, and sustained post-placement support. Backed by CIFF, JSW Foundation, HSBC India, and Dubai Cares, the public-private partnership is becoming a scalable model for women-led growth. Puja, 26, trained as a CNC operator through the Pan IIT Gurukul and moved to Chennai to work with IM Gears, becoming the sole breadwinner for her family. Ishrat, 18, secretly began working in Noida in a data-entry role while pursuing a BA through Delhi University's School of Open Learning. Simran, 21, joined an IT training programme and now works as a customer care executive in Delhi, saving to realise her goal of becoming an air hostess. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Sakshi, 23, a school dropout from the Malto tribal community, enrolled in Pan IIT's apparel programme in Bengaluru and now earns Rs 15,000 a month, supporting her siblings' education. Their journeys reflect a fragile but significant transformation among young women from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds. Many are first-generation formal workers, navigating rigid social norms, migration, and financial strain to pursue aspirational livelihoods. Jharkhand leads enrolment figures with 26% of trainees, followed by Uttar Pradesh and Delhi. But the broader skilling landscape remains challenging still: only 4% of India's workforce is formally skilled, and nearly 30% of trained individuals are without paid work. For women, retention is especially challenging for those who have availed traditional schemes. While 84% of those enrolled under such schemes complete certification, fewer than 10% stay in jobs beyond three months. The SIB attempts to reverse this by tying funding not to enrolment or certification, but to actual job placement and retention. Training providers are incentivised to focus on outcomes through onboarding support, counselling, and alumni follow-up. "Till we come out of our comfort zone, we can't achieve anything," says Ishrat, who still hasn't told her father she works. "At first, I wasn't sure I could manage the machines or being away from home," says Puja, now a trainer. "Now I want girls in my village to see what's possible." Sakshi's transformation from a dropout to a salaried worker supporting her family shows what can be achieved with effort.
India Today
24-07-2025
- Business
- India Today
What is Skill Impact Bond, helping thousands with jobs and training across India
India's Skill Impact Bond (SIB), launched in November 2021, is the country's first development impact bond focused on by the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship through the National Skill Development Corporation, it brings together public and private players, including the British Asian Trust, HSBC India, and the Michael & Susan Dell aim is to support 50,000 young people from vulnerable backgrounds with job-ready skills and Importantly, 62% of participants are targeted to be women, addressing long-standing gender gaps in employment. Training focusses on sectors such as retail, healthcare, apparel, logistics, IT-ITeS, and FROM TRAINING TO OUTCOMESThe SIB represents a major shift from input-based funding to outcome-based financing. Rather than measuring success by how many people enrol, it rewards outcomes like certification, placement in jobs, and retention for three candidate must be between 18-40 years of age, unemployed or earning below Rs 15,000 a month (or from a household earning less than Rs 25,000), and have an education level of undergraduate or are verified through a robust process using CATI (computer-assisted telephone interviewing) surveys and document checks. Payment to training providers is linked to these verified IMPACT ON WOMENFrom Cohort (a six-month training and placement cycle) I to IV, female certification rates rose from 86% to 92%, placement from 66% to 81%, and three-month retention from 48% to 66%.The gender gap in all outcomes narrowed significantly, with women matching or even surpassing men in retention by Cohort programme is not only closing gender gaps but also encouraging entrepreneurship. Self-employment amongst women rose from 6% to 14%, especially amongst sewing machine its strong focus on measurable outcomes and gender inclusion, the Skill Impact Bond is proving to be a game-changer in India's skill development more cohorts progress, the initiative holds promise to reshape how success in vocational training is defined -- by real employment, not just enrolment.- Ends
Time of India
22-07-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Skills ministry launches AI programme for school students
The ministry of skills development and entrepreneurship, on Tuesday, launched a national level initiative SOAR (Skilling for AI Readiness) aimed at embedding AI awareness and foundational skills among school students (classes 6–12) and building AI literacy among educators. 'The programme seeks to bridge the digital divide by ensuring equitable access to AI education across geographies, thereby supporting the national agenda of inclusive, future-ready skilling,' the ministry said in a statement issued to mark the 10 years of Skill India Mission . Explore courses from Top Institutes in Please select course: Select a Course Category SOAR comprises three progressive 15-hour modules for students—AI to be Aware, AI to Acquire, and AI to Aspire—and one independent 45-hour module for teachers titled AI for educators. The program introduces concepts such as AI basics, generative AI, AI in daily life, programming fundamentals, ethics, cybersecurity and future career opportunities. On the occasion, Jayant Chaudhary, minister of state (independent charge), MSDE, said his ministry, through the National Skills Development Corporation , has mobilised $14.4 million through Skill Impact Bond (SIB) to transform how skilling is financed, with a clear focus on employment outcomes. Live Events Besides, the National Council for Vocational Education and Training (NCVET) operationalized its advanced digital enterprise portal (DEP), officially named KaushalVerse and launched its revised comprehensive guidelines for the recognition and regulation of assessment agencies, 2025. 'This state-of-the-art platform has been developed to streamline and democratize the core regulatory functions of NCVET, ensuring efficient, transparent, and responsive service delivery in the skill ecosystem,' the ministry said. These guidelines mark a significant step forward ensuring standardized, transparent, and outcome-based assessment across the country, it added. Even the revised guidelines for the recognition and regulation of awarding bodies, 2025, were unveiled to align with the evolving education and employment ecosystem and the National Education Policy 2020 and the National Credit Framework (NCrF). 'These guidelines accentuate the integration of vocational education into mainstream systems, promoting flexible, multidisciplinary learning pathways,' it added.
Indian Express
22-07-2025
- Business
- Indian Express
Jharkhand leads in enrolment, overall gender pay disparities persists: Insights from India's first skill impact bond
As India pushes to make its youth more employable through targeted skilling programmes, new data from the Skill Impact Bond (SIB) results report highlights notable regional and gender-based trends. Launched in 2021 by the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE), the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), and an international coalition of funders, the SIB reveals that Jharkhand has the highest share of enrolled trainees. Moreover, women continue to dominate enrolment in the apparel sector; however, gender-based pay disparities persist — despite improvements in female retention and placement rates. Backed by a $14.4 million outcome fund, the programme targets 50,000 youth, with at least 62 per cent being women, aiming to equip them with skills and link them to jobs in retail, logistics, healthcare, and other high-growth sectors. The focus has been on outcomes like job placement and retention, rather than just training completion, and on reaching vulnerable youth aged between 18 and 40, with a monthly household income under Rs 25,000. The report highlights that across four evaluated cohorts, Jharkhand emerged as the top contributor, accounting for 27 per cent of the total enrolment, followed by Uttar Pradesh (9.1 per cent), Maharashtra (8.7 per cent), Odisha (8.3 per cent), and Telangana (6.7 per cent). Trainees — mostly unmarried and in their early 20s — tend to have an education level of Class 10 or 12. Women form more than 70 per cent of the total enrolments across cohorts. Their predominant area of training has been the apparel sector, though increasing numbers are also moving into IT-enabled services (ITeS), retail, and BFSI (banking, financial services, and insurance). Male trainees are mostly concentrated in construction and automotive sectors, but are also shifting to ITeS and retail over time. For male trainees, the construction sector is the dominant sector of enrolment although, like the apparel sector for females, its share decreases over time. The IT-ITeS sector also demonstrates increasing enrolment of male trainees. The automotive, BFSI, capital goods, retail, and telecom sectors also contribute to this distribution of enrolled male trainees. Across cohorts, the 'Others' category includes sectors such as apparel, healthcare, logistics, and tourism & hospitality, each accounting for less than 5 per cent of the total enrolled male trainees. Female trainees have shown a steady improvement in employment outcomes across the four evaluated cohorts. Certification rates among women increased significantly, reaching 92 per cent by Cohort IV. Their job placement also saw an upward trend, rising to 81 per cent. Perhaps most notably, three-month job retention among female trainees improved from 48 per cent in the first cohort to 66 per cent in the fourth, equalling the retention rate recorded for male trainees. Interestingly, while male trainees maintained high certification (90–94 per cent) and stable placement rates (80–84 per cent), their employment levels declined sharply — from 68 per cent in Cohort 1 to 34 per cent in Cohort 4, due in part to many opting for further studies. In contrast, female employment grew from 35 per cent to 48 per cent, and self-employment rose from 6 per cent to 14 per cent, particularly among those trained as sewing machine operators — indicating rising entrepreneurial ambition among women. Despite growing parity in placement and retention, male trainees continue to out-earn their female counterparts. Male median monthly salaries ranged from Rs 12,400 to Rs 15,700, while females earned between Rs 11,500 and Rs 13,000. The gap remains even as both groups show strong skill acquisition and workplace retention. The Skill Impact Bond marks a significant shift in India's approach to skill development — from output-based to outcome-driven models. It encourages innovation, risk-taking capital, and gender-responsive delivery. The Skill Impact Bond is being implemented over eight cohorts, with each cohort running for six months from mobilisation of candidates, to enrolment, skills training, and certification of skills by a third-party agency. Trainees in the programme are selected based on a broad eligibility framework, with a focus on vulnerable and disadvantaged populations.
