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.
Our Journey:
📍 2005 – Recognizing a Growing Crisis
Aajeevika Bureau observed a growing trend of distress migration among rural youth. Many young people, some as young as 14–15 years old, were leaving their villages in search of work.
📍The Reality of Migration
Without skills or formal training, youth entered low-paid, informal, and often hazardous jobs. Despite working long hours, they had few opportunities to learn, grow, or improve their livelihoods.
📍The challenge
Most migrant youth were primary earners for their households. Conventional skill training programs were inaccessible because attending training meant losing wages that their families depended on.
📍 Creating a Different Solution
STEP Academy designed short-duration, intensive training models that enabled vulnerable youth to quickly acquire marketable skills and enter labour markets as skilled workers.
📍 Expanding Opportunities
Over the years, STEP expanded from traditional trades to formal sector employment, entrepreneurship development, migration support, and green skilling pathways.
📍 At Present
Today, STEP Academy equips young people with skills, confidence, and opportunities to build dignified livelihoods through employment, entrepreneurship, and emerging green careers.
Impact in Numbers
47,598
Trainees
30,938
Entrepreneurs Supported
12,717
Placements
13,741
Women Supported
A Message from the Director and Managing Trustee
STEP Academy was founded on a simple belief—that no young person should be denied the opportunity to build a better future because of poverty or circumstance.
For over two decades, we have worked alongside migrant and marginalized youth who possess immense potential but often lack access to skills, opportunities, and support systems. Our journey has been one of continuously listening, learning, and innovating to create pathways that lead to dignified livelihoods.
What makes STEP special is not just the skills we impart, but the confidence, aspirations, and possibilities we help unlock. We remain committed to ensuring that every young person has the opportunity to learn, grow, and thrive.
This journey would not have been possible without the trust of communities, the dedication of our team, and the support of our many partners. Together, we continue to build futures and transform lives."
Sanjay Chittora
Mission
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.
Vision
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.
Where We Work
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.