Skilled Development of the Youth under CSR – OIL, a case in point
Introduction
Skilled human resources are the most vital propellant of economic progression for any country. Countries with higher and better levels of skills adjust more effectively to the challenges and opportunities in the world of workMethodology. It is also an acknowledged fact that the India population is ageing fast. India, home to the second largest population in the world, has the distinct advantage of having one of the youngest populations globally.
Statistically, 54% of India’s total population fall below 25 years of age and 62% in the working age group of 15-59 years, with about, 12 million to join the workforce every year. With these analytics, comes the responsibility of preparing the youth with skill training and consecutively, employment.
NSDC skill gap report and IL&FS Institute of Skillsanalytic reports on Assam, indicate that 79 lakhsof literate unemployed youth fall into the bracket of 15-35 age group. Assam is majorly driven by tertiary sector, therefore, the biggest challenge faced by the state is to meet the skilled manpower. The state has a huge potential for employment especially in sectors such as Health Care, Hospitality, Construction and Oil & Gas amongst many. Amidst many limitations faced by the state, it’s imperative to conduit the existing skills gap by implementing vocational training.
The Initiative
OIL appreciates the fact that community empower-ment is an integral part of the business environment, and that social welfare is not only an expressionof goodwill but a responsibility towards the empowerment of the nation.
It is this belief that has enabled this ‘People’s Company’ to become a household name in the regions of its intervention, namely Dibrugarh,Tinsukia and Charaideo, in Assam.
Inspired by the various welfare schemes launched by the Government of India, OIL has made sincere efforts in integrating the focus areas of the Government while designing the CSR projects of the company.
In addition to the above, the project interventions under the CSR of OIL have been designed based on alignment to the needs of both the target beneficiaries and the Company through an understanding of OIL’s CSR vision and needs assessment of the identified geography. The needs identified were in the domains of skills, health and
education, namely the projects: OIL Swabalambhan,OIL Arogya, OIL Dikhya. These projects have not only served as mere CSR initiatives, but as milestones as far as the generation of sustainable impact are concerned.
Methodology
Oil India Limited (OIL) in its endeavour to create skilled and employable youth from the Districts of Dibrugarh, Tinsukia, Jorhat, Charaideo, Golaghat & Sibasagar, partnered with IL&FS Skill Development Corporation (ISDC) in 2013, to implement
placement linked skill development trainings under the OIL Swabalamban Project. The objective of the skills programme is to strengthen the community including women, and unprivileged rural youth through placement linked skills training, as well as enhancing opportunities for self-employment.
Acquiring a skill empowers youth, helps them expand their horizons and enhance the quality of not only their lives, but also the lives of their families and communities. More than 8000 youth have been trained for gainful employment in industries, primarily in manufacturing, engineering and service sector. The vocational programmes are inclusive of trades such as Assistant Electricians, F&B Stewards, Industrial Sewing Machine Operators, General Duty Assistants, amongst many.
Under Project OIL Arogya, the company aims to
reduce Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) and Maternal
Mortality Rate (MMR) in its areas of operation, in 20
identified villages of Tinsukia and Dibrugarh districts of Upper Assam, where IMR and MMR were found to be high. This is ensured through information,education, and communication, as well as informal groups of various stakeholders called Saathiya clubs,training of community workers, pre- and post-natal health check-up camps, adoptions of 4 girl’s schools, thereby, benefitting 7000 households and 20,000 persons. This project is handled by IL&FS Education. Under the OIL Arogya project, the company became the first Indian PSU to partner the “Global Fund” in the
fight against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria in
OIL’s operational areas.
Project OIL Dikhya was implemented by IL&FS Education in 2013 for students of rural schools after a baseline study; the project is being implemented in 24 schools (classes VI to VIII) covering the areas of Dibrugarh, Tinsukia and Sivasagar. The programme has so far benefited more than 20,000 students via custom designed and fabricated mobile buses/vans. It also includes the promotion of Digital Literacy through the ‘Computer Bus’, and various associated initiatives. Value Added sessions are implemented, along with the Computer Bus Programme, as additional activities. This programme is introduced for motivating the students towards learning, besides enhancing creative development and application, in addition to team work. Other activities include Life Skills, Value Add Dimensions (enhancement of the school’s infrastructure for enhancing learning and recall), Financial Literacy, and others.