A beacon of hope for youth from Hyderabad slums

HYDERABAD: In a bid to help create sustainable livelihood opportunities for individuals from financially poor backgrounds, the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) is set to impart skill development training programmes to the youth from low-income settlement areas.This was inspired by the  success of a similar programme carried out by the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC). The GHMC will also collaborate with the Lighthouse Communities Foundation (LCF) for the implementation of the initiative.

On a pilot basis, the project will be implemented in the Chandanagar circle of Serilingampally Zone of the GHMC. For this purpose, the civic body will allot the Model Market Building, situated near HUDA Colony, for a period of one year to commence the Light House Programme (LHP). GHMC will enter into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with LCF.

Multiple partners
The LHP is a sustainable livelihood programme for disadvantaged urban youth which operates through collective action by building an ecosystem of various stakeholders comprising the government, corporate, NGOs and other implementing partners contributing toward this common purpose to provide social and economic development in the city by enabling agency and sustainable livelihood for individuals and communities.

The programme works on a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) mode. The PMC partnered with LCF for the LHP in 2015. At present, there are 11 LHPs running in Pune city. The LCF is providing vocational training courses to 11,000 students in Pune, and 7,200 former trainees have already been placed in jobs or are self-employed.

Youth will learn workplace competency skills such as digital empowerment and spoken English, and around 60 per cent of the participants would be women, GHMC officials tell Express. They say that 600 youth will be provided training each year through the Foundation Course. It will help them embark on a journey of self-learning in order to be able to make more informed life choices and acquire the necessary skills for improved employability thereby leading to improved self-belief, officials add.

A safe space
They mention that the programme design is centred on creating an inclusive and emotionally safe space for disadvantaged youth, in both physical and virtual form, stands for hope, strength and security and acts as a beacon to guide the youth towards their full potential and to provide with employment opportunities as well as post-employment support and works on PPP model.

The outreach of this project includes the low-income communities and youth, communicating, visiting, relationship building, and working with the leaders and the government. The educators will also help the trainees with CV making and mock interviews and provide support and motivation for youth, say officials.
The administration also looks to establish a connection with industry partners, and employers to make jobs and opportunities accessible to youth and the post-placement mentoring and support to the youth for continuation in the employment.