The Full Story
About Us
STEP Academy equips rural, tribal, and migrant youth with essential skills for dignified work through focused skilling programs. By partnering with industries and advocating for labour rights, we connect young people with secure employment, and align our efforts with the evolving demands of the
job market.
संदर्भ
India is experiencing a period of significant demographic advantage with a large youth population (aged 15-29) comprising approximately 27.5% of the total population. This presents a unique opportunity for economic growth through effective skilling, employment, and entrepreneurship initiatives. However, several challenges hinder the realization of these benefits. Despite high educational attainment, youth unemployment rates are alarmingly high, with 28.5% of young people not in employment, education, or training in 2022.
The quality of employment remains poor, with a dominance of self-employment, hazardous work conditions and declining real earnings for regular and self-employed workers. Additionally, there is a significant mismatch between the skills possessed by the workforce and those demanded by the market, with only 4.7% of the workforce having undergone formal skill training.
Affirmative action policies have not significantly improved employment for marginalized groups like SCs/STs, who remain in low-paid, temporary, and informal work. Despite numerous government initiatives, inefficiencies persist, requiring greater private sector involvement for better quality assurance and inclusion in training programs. Addressing these challenges is crucial to harnessing India's demographic dividend.
मिशन
Our mission is to empower rural, tribal, migrant youth in India by providing high-quality, market-relevant skill training and facilitating access to secure and dignified employment.
विज़न
We envision a future where young individuals from marginalized communities are equipped with the skills demanded by the market and can access dignified, secure, and gainful employment.
Through collaborative efforts with the private sector and targeted interventions for marginalized communities, we are committed to creating a skilled, resilient, and future-ready workforce.
रणनीति
Recognizing the critical need for a demand-driven approach to addressing skill shortages, STEP conducts extensive labour market research. This involves sector-specific data collection to assess skill gaps in collaboration with industry partners and other stakeholders. By understanding the evolving needs of the market, we design and deliver targeted skilling programs that equip our trainees with the most relevant and in-demand skills. Our strategy also includes continuous engagement with employers to ensure our curriculum remains aligned with industry standards and future workforce requirements.
Additionally, we focus on fostering partnerships with community institutions to ensure our initiatives are inclusive and accessible, particularly for marginalized groups. STEP operates through a network of training and facilitation centers in regions where communities rely heavily on migration and low-paying informal work, often categorized as "unskilled labour."
सिद्धांत
As an institution incubated by a labour rights organization, STEP continues to be unwavering in its commitment to labour rights.
We ensure that our trainees are placed only in organizations that adhere strictly to fair wage policies and ethical labour practices. Safe working conditions and dignified employment are non-negotiable aspects of our placement criteria.
हम कहां काम करते हैं
Our operations currently encompass 15 districts across Rajasthan, Gujarat, and Madhya Pradesh, with a total of 21 operational STEP Academy Training Centers. While half of these centers are directly managed by STEP, the others operate in collaboration with partner organizations.
In these locations, we prioritize working with rural youth who are at the threshold of starting work or have entered labour markets in low waged, hazardous work.