Overview

A decade ago, earning a degree seemed like a guarantee of a good job opportunity. While degrees still matter, they aren’t sufficient to secure high-paying opportunities. Employers now want individuals who possess impeccable subject-matter knowledge and know how to apply the concepts they have learned in real-world situations.

Unfortunately, this isn’t something that the youth in rural and underserved regions are trained to do. Although government schools in rural areas are trying to match the quality of education in urban regions, they lack the infrastructure, resources, and support to develop practical skills in young learners.

It not only reduces their career readiness but also reduces their chances of landing good jobs. This is why we at Manav Vikas Sanstha (MVS India), a Jaipur-based ISO 9001:2015-certified NGO working for skill development of rural communities, have launched Project Uddaan. Read the full blog to understand how this CSR initiative is helping bridge the gap between people and real-world skills.

What Practical Skills Are We Talking About?

Before we proceed, we’d like to clarify what we mean by ‘practical skills,’ as it can have different meanings for different people. For us, practical skills simply mean the abilities a person develops by doing something, rather than just learning about it.

While theoretical knowledge can help you understand how things work, practical skills will empower you to perform tasks in real life. Practical skills go beyond technical work. It also includes communication, problem-solving, teamwork, and decision-making.

Basically, anything that develops naturally as you start engaging in real situations rather than just studying about them.

The Skill Gap Problem in India

In India, the gap between education and employability is glaringly visible. Although thousands of students graduate each year, many struggle to meet job expectations. The issue isn’t a lack of intelligence or effort. Instead, it lies in how learning is structured.

Much of what they’ve learned was based primarily on theoretical understanding and examinations. While it built their academic foundation, it failed to prepare individuals for real workplace demands. This has created a massive skill gap that is affecting people’s career readiness. We have launched Project Uddaan to fill this gap.

Practical Skills & Career Readiness: The Link That Needs Your Attention

If you’re wondering why practical skills are so important to shape career readiness, the following points will clear your doubts.

• Helps You Apply What You Know

Practical skills can turn theoretical knowledge into real action. Instead of just understanding concepts, you learn how to use them in actual situations, which is precisely what today’s employers want.

• Reduces the Learning Curve at Work

Employers prefer candidates who can start contributing quickly. If you already have hands-on experience, you will require less on-the-job training and will be able to adapt more quickly to job responsibilities.

• Builds Confidence to Handle Real Situations

Facing real tasks before entering a job reduces hesitation. You naturally become confident handling responsibilities, speaking in professional settings, and solving problems because you’ve handled similar situations earlier.

• Improves Workplace Skills Naturally

Practical exposure helps develop real-life skills, such as communication, teamwork, and problem-solving abilities that can help you thrive in professional environments. These skills cannot be developed through theoretical learning. You must work on real tasks and interact with people to nurture them.

Developing Practical Skills Through Project Uddaan

We at Manav Vikas Sanstha (MVS India), an approved training partner of NSDC and a well-known NGO in Jaipur, designed Project Uddaan to instil practical skills in underemployed and unemployed individuals living in rural areas, particularly those aged 18-45.

Since rural areas lack reliable skill development programs, people don’t have the resources or guidance to build a strong, skill-oriented portfolio. It leaves them struggling to get good jobs. Our Project Uddaan is a social initiative that provides practical, market-relevant training to individuals. This training equips them to secure sustainable livelihoods, either through self-employment or landing a job opportunity.

Project Uddaan: Spanning Industries

What has made our project successful is our inclusion of skill-training programs across diverse sectors. For instance, instead of developing skills required to thrive in only the apparel or telecom sector, we’ve focused on covering multiple sectors and job roles.

Here’s a quick glimpse of the roles and sectors our Project Uddaan covers:

• Apparel Sector
• Self-employed tailor
• Hand embroider
• Sewing machine operator

• Textile Sector
• Two-shaft handloom weaver

• Power Sector
• Energy meter technician
• Electrical winder
• Assistant technician – street lighting solutions
• BFSI, Beauty, & Wellness Sector
• Hair stylist

These are just a few sectors and roles our project covers. Over the years, we have trained 40,786 people in rural areas, out of which 23,691 were successfully placed in good jobs. Rest took the route of self-employment.

Grassroots Level Project Delivering Real Impact

Since a significant portion of youth lack access to quality skill development programs, we collaborated with numerous top organisations to expand the reach of these programs across PAN India.

We’ve collaborated with POWERGRID, Indian Potash Limited (IPL), Indian Railway Financial Corporation, Indian Oil, HSIIDC, and others who share our vision of making rural people more skilled so they can earn a sustainable income, either through self-employment or employment in their chosen sector.

The result of this collaboration has been phenomenal. Thousands of people from marginalised and rural communities have already been imparted the necessary skills, which not only aid in their financial growth and social inclusion but also add to the national economy.

Conclusion

Career readiness is directly dependent on the degree of skills a person commands today. Simply earning a degree won’t be enough to land high-paying opportunities or to become self-employed; practical skills are a must. Hence, we at Manav Vikas Sanstha (MVS India), a 25-year-old NGO working for skill development of rural people, by means of Project Uddaan, are helping people from marginalised and underserved rural communities across India develop the real skills needed to create income opportunities.

If you also want to contribute to this social cause, you can join our Project Uddaan as a grassroots-level volunteer or donate to this project. Businesses interested in launching a CSR project aligned with this cause can also collaborate with us. Call us at +91 8955009377/ +91 9549127666 or email us at hello@mvsindia.org for any queries.