Skill Sakhi

The Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Department, Government of Maharashtra in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), have developed a unique initiative named “Skill Sakhi” which focus on the quality mobilisation of women. This initiative promotes mobilisation and training of employable women in the rural and urban areas through young women community leaders. In this article, we look at the Skill Sakhi in detail.

Objectives of Skill Sakhi

The objectives of the Skill Sakhi are explained below.

To support underprivileged women in India to learn marketable skills and connect with income opportunities.
To helps women become economically self-sufficient through training, employment and entrepreneurial skill development.

Target Group

The underprivileged girls and women in Aurangabad, Nagpur and Mumbai districts of Maharashtra are the eligible participants of Skill Sakhi, Maharashtra.

Background

The Government of Maharashtra has introduced significant reforms, wherein rural women can explore options for alternative income apart from agriculture. It focuses on bridging the gap among women on skill development, creating employment and entrepreneurship opportunities. Also, it enhances the role of the private sector in skill development and employment, promoting women entrepreneurship in selected areas such as small retail, and supporting community-managed resource centres for women.

Intervention

Skill Sakihs are a specific group of women in the age group of 18-25 years with an extensive social network in the village to access the digital content through Pratham's Smart-PC. The digital content includes employment awareness, life skills and details about other elements like hygiene, safety, etc. Also, these groups of women can access this content as well as disseminate it among other women who don’t have direct access to this content. The role of Skill Sakhis in the Nagpur and Aurangabad is to provide career guidance and counselling centres to create inspirational village leaders who can motivate their skills and inspire young women in the village. Skill Sakhis enables the community members to access information and utilise the avenues of higher education and skilling available to them. The Skill Sakhis are envisioned as the next generation leaders, who can be the local change-makers engaged with the panchayat or lead an all-female village committee to Mahila Gram Sabha focusing on women's issues in the community. While reaching the maximum women through 'Skill Sakhi', the State Government also plans to propose innovative projects based on financial requirements and available resources.

Impact

As of now, 1086 “Skill Sakhis” in Nagpur and Aurangabad have mobilised over 15000 girls and young women towards skill training, career guidance and counselling activities and psychometric tests.

Key Takeaways

Women welfare programmes for achieving more significant impact, need to be cross-sectoral and not confined to a single department or ministry. In a clear departure from experience, the state government has demonstrated this by extending the mandate for development and empowerment of women and integrating it with the Department of Education and Skill development.
Involvement of the community is more important to mobilise in a better way.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about Skill Sakhi: Empowering Women in Maharashtra.

The Skill Sakhi initiative is a unique program developed by the Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Department of the Government of Maharashtra in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). It focuses on mobilizing and training employable women in rural and urban areas through young women community leaders called Skill Sakhis.

The primary objectives of the Skill Sakhi initiative are to support underprivileged women in India to learn marketable skills and connect with income opportunities, and to help women become economically self-sufficient through training, employment, and entrepreneurial skill development.

The underprivileged girls and women in the Aurangabad, Nagpur, and Mumbai districts of Maharashtra are the eligible participants of the Skill Sakhi initiative.

Skill Sakhis are young women aged 18-25 years with extensive social networks in their villages. They access digital content on employment awareness, life skills, hygiene, and safety through Pratham's Smart-PC and disseminate this information among other women who may not have direct access to this content. They also provide career guidance and counseling, and serve as inspirational village leaders to motivate and inspire young women.

The Skill Sakhi initiative recognizes the importance of community involvement for better mobilization. The Skill Sakhis are envisioned as the next generation of local change-makers, who can engage with the panchayat or lead an all-female village committee to address women's issues in the community.

As of now, 1086 Skill Sakhis in Nagpur and Aurangabad have mobilized over 15,000 girls and young women towards skill training, career guidance and counseling activities, and psychometric tests.

The Skill Sakhi initiative demonstrates a departure from traditional approaches by extending the mandate for women's development and empowerment beyond a single department or ministry. It integrates this mandate with the Department of Education and Skill Development, promoting cross-sectoral collaboration for greater impact.

Involving the community is crucial for better mobilization efforts in the Skill Sakhi initiative. By engaging young women from the local communities as Skill Sakhis, the initiative can more effectively reach and inspire other women in the villages.

The Government of Maharashtra has introduced significant reforms to enable rural women to explore alternative income opportunities beyond agriculture. The Skill Sakhi initiative is part of these efforts, aiming to bridge the gap among women in skill development, create employment and entrepreneurship opportunities, and enhance the role of the private sector in these areas.

One of the focus areas of the Skill Sakhi initiative is to support women's entrepreneurship in selected areas such as small retail. By providing skill training and guidance, the initiative aims to empower women to become economically self-sufficient through entrepreneurial ventures.