Bridging the gap of skill deficiency in India is a huge challenge. A vast pool of the rural youth today have no/low opportunities for skill building and little access to sustainable livelihoods. One of the reasons for this is lack of access to formal skill training. This results in unemployability of the youth that are unskilled or unable to match their skill with the available job opportunities. Moreover, with the growing commitment to sustainable principles globally, the demand for new green products and services has increased. The growing emphasis on protecting the environment translates into opportunities for entrepreneurs. A green business owner can offer meaningful employment that is economically rewarding, socially responsible and environmentally beneficial.

We, at DA, look at bridging gaps in skills as a massive opportunity to create sustainable and large scale impacts in rural communities. Through our various programmes youth and women are given vocational training and suitably linked with sustainable forms of employment, self-employment and entrepreneurship. The skill building programmes focuses on improving their employability skills and for developing an enterprise. The focus is also on creating green enterprises and green jobs at the community level. These jobs could be in traditional sectors such as manufacturing and construction, or in emerging green sectors such as renewable energy.