Skilling Her Future

Winner of Nexus of Good Annual Award, 2025, the Skill Development Program for Adolescent Girls is an 18-month intervention led by Kaivalya Education Foundation, supported by GIZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit) under Indo-German Cooperation, and implemented in collaboration with the Ministry of Women and Child Development. It operates in five Aspirational Districts - Gadchiroli (Maharashtra), Dhaulpur (Rajasthan), Dhubri (Assam), West Singhbhum (Jharkhand) and Bastar (Chhattisgarh) - targeting adolescent girls between 14 and 18 years of age. The program was conceptualised in response to the low female labour force participation in India and the limited presence of women in formal skilling ecosystems. National surveys, including ASER and IndiaSpend analyses, point to persistent challenges - early school dropouts, restrictive social norms and limited access to training facilities. In rural regions, these constraints are reinforced by safety concerns, lack of transportation and inadequate information about vocational opportunities.

The selected geographies represent some of the most underserved districts where socio-economic challenges, cultural barriers and weak institutional support limit girls’ mobility and learning. The initiative was designed to address these systemic barriers by combining life skills education with vocational skill development in one structured framework.

Objectives

The project’s objective is to enable adolescent girls to make informed personal and professional choices through:

* Life skills education focused on self-awareness, financial literacy, digital literacy and reproductive health.

* Vocational training under the National Skill Qualification Framework in relevant local trades.

* Institutional linkages that connect girls to employment or self-employment opportunities.

* Strengthened local systems for sustained delivery of life skills and vocational training.

Implementation Design

The project design is built on four sequential pillars - mobilise, train, certify and place.

Mobilisation:

* Large-scale awareness drives were conducted in partnership with local Panchayats, Anganwadi Centres and the Women and Child Development Department.

* More than 46,000 adolescent girls were mobilised across the five districts.

* Convergence platforms such as Kishori Soochana Patal were established in 150 Anganwadi Centres to provide information about schemes, health services and training opportunities.

Training:

* A structured 120-hour life skills curriculum was delivered in regional languages. It covered four domains - financial literacy, digital literacy, sexual and reproductive health rights, and social, emotional and ethical learning.

* Over 37,000 girls completed the life skills course, which also included group sessions, digital exercises and reflection-based learning.

* Vocational training modules were offered under the National Skill Qualification Framework through local partner institutes in trades such as retail management, warehouse operations, office automation, solar panel installation and basic electronics.

* The training followed the Dual Vocational Education and Training model, combining classroom instruction with on-the-job exposure.

Certification:

* The National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) evaluated and certified over 2,000 adolescent girls.

* Certification served as an employment credential and encouraged further participation among peers.

Placement and Post-Training Support:

* The program connected trained girls with local industries, district industries centres and chambers of commerce.

* Placement drives were organised with employers such as TATA, Honda, KL Group and local retail enterprises.

* Pre-placement support included CV preparation, interview practice and basic communication training.

* Discussions are ongoing for apprenticeship models with regional employers.

Institutional Collaboration

The program followed a multi-level convergence model.

* District Administration: Facilitated coordination between departments and issued directives to local industries to consider trained girls for recruitment.

* Women and Child Development Department: Provided access to Anganwadi infrastructure for training and mobilisation.

* Panchayati Raj Institutions: Supported household-level awareness and community participation.

* Private Sector and Training Partners: Delivered technical training and contributed to placement support.

This structure ensured accountability at each level while embedding the intervention into existing government systems.

Community Participation

The initiative engaged families from the outset to address social resistance. Local women and youth were identified as hyper-local trainers and Karuna Fellows, who served as facilitators within their own communities. This model reduced dropout rates and improved attendance.

Awareness sessions for parents were conducted to explain the relevance of vocational skills for girls. The program maintained consistent contact through home visits, school meetings and Panchayat forums, creating local acceptance of girls’ participation in training programs.

Quantitative Achievements (April 2024 – September 2025)

Parameter Achievement

Adolescent girls mobilised 46,000+

Life skills trained 37,749

Vocational training completed 2,000

Girls certified by NSDC 2,000

Trainers trained 72

These results demonstrate a high level of outreach in a short duration with effective community-based implementation.

Qualitative Outcomes

Beyond measurable indicators, three clear qualitative changes were recorded:

* Increased confidence and awareness among adolescent girls to articulate aspirations related to education and employment.

* Improved parental support for girls’ participation in training programs, particularly in rural and tribal blocks.

* Shift in perception among local leaders and institutions about adolescent girls as contributors to the local economy.

Field case studies highlight individual progress. For instance, Karishma Dhore from Gadchiroli completed the retail management course and now assists 30 other girls in preparing for certification exams. Another participant, Gayatri Kalbande, used the digital literacy training to manage academic work independently and guide her peers on health topics.

Innovations

* Dual Vocational Education and Training Model: Integrated industry exposure into classroom instruction.

* Life Skills Olympiad: Introduced as a peer-learning and competency assessment exercise.

* Localised Modules: All materials were translated into regional languages for better comprehension.

* Hyper-local Delivery Mechanism: Use of local trainers and Karuna Fellows ensured relatability and sustainability.

* Digital Tracking: Attendance, progress and certification data were monitored through a centralised dashboard.

Challenges

* Socio-cultural resistance: Early hesitation from families to allow girls to travel for training.

* Infrastructure gaps: Limited space in certain Anganwadi Centres for vocational sessions.

* Economic pressure: Some girls discontinued training due to family income constraints.

* Placement readiness: Bridging the gap between certification and employment continues to require sustained mentorship.

Lessons Learned

* Combining life skills with vocational training creates stronger engagement and retention.

* Community-based trainers are more effective than external facilitators in conservative settings.

* Convergence with government departments enhances scalability and reduces operational costs.

* Regular feedback mechanisms from participants help refine curriculum content and delivery pace.

Way Forward

The program is now transitioning from pilot to scale-up. The next phase aims to reach 100,000 adolescent girls by 2028 by:

* Expanding to new districts through collaboration with state ICDS departments.

* Developing advanced modules in green technologies and digital entrepreneurship.

* Strengthening industry partnerships to formalise apprenticeship pipelines.

* Institutionalising Kishori Soochana Patal as a standard information platform within Anganwadi Centres.

The model’s emphasis on convergence, localised delivery and skill relevance positions it for replication in other states with minimal structural modifications.

The Skill Development Program for Adolescent Girls demonstrates that integrated interventions combining life skills, vocational training and local participation can significantly improve the employability of rural girls. The initiative has created functional linkages between education, livelihood and governance systems, offering a replicable framework in the true spirit of Nexus of Good for future skill development programs.

It is a practical example of how convergence, structured design and measurable outcomes can address systemic gender and skill gaps in India’s rural context.

Views expressed are personal. The writer is an author and a former civil servant