India is a growing country with a large youth population. A country with such a huge young population must be empowered with appropriate skills. Having relevant skills is the backbone of improving a country 's youth's employability. India, being one of the largest populated countries in the world, faces various changes related to its youth's skills. 

Lack of formal vocational training, an absence of association between skis taught and the need for jobs, and a lack of global accreditation of Indian degrees and certifications are some major issues that youth face in getting employment. The biggest problem is that nearly half of India's graduate population is unemployed and the skills gap is one of the reasons.

To address the issue, the promoters of NIIT established a foundation known as the NIIT Foundation (NF) in 2004. NF is a non-profit education society (NGO) that aims to positively impact underprivileged children and youth through education and skills initiative programs. NF has launched programs like financial literacy, child education, and ski development for the unreached and unattended sections of society. 

One of the programs of NF, NReach, was designed to grant access to education and skills development programs by establishing partnerships with several other NGOs that are working for a similar cause. This maximizes the coactive impact of each program to upskill and enable India's youth for employability.

The Initiative

NIIT Foundation has established many centers for vocational and skis training in urban and rural areas that also offer placement support to the students. It was started with a mission to deliver projects including school programs, digital and financial literacy, college collaborations, and career and skill development courses. 

It also focuses on girls' education and employment. All the programs of NF are designed to reach the needy from 6-60 years of age. NF also supports other NGOs who work for the same cause and increase their capacity.

Within the NReach program, the NIIT Foundation has partnered with more than 200 NGOs that provide education and training opportunities to underprivileged youth. NReach strengthens its capacity by providing the necessary support to start and implement quality programs for the country's youth. Faculty training, assessments, curriculum, and certifications recognized by industries are some services provided to the partner NGOs. NReach trains the trainer program of partner NGOs, certification to the trainer, provides a trainer guide of basic IT courses, packaged courseware for IT courses, and certification to the students.

Efforts

NIIT Foundation has been conducting training sessions online post-COVID-19 lockdown. The online training is available to all NGO beneficiaries and partners. NIIT Foundation reaches out to several youths and creates maximum impact through its NReach program. 

NReach has successfully set up 400 training centers across 27 states, trained 92,952 beneficiaries, and placed 34,148 individuals in various jobs in 2023-2024. NIIT Foundation has partnered with several well-known NGOs that enable the parties to enhance skill and vocational training and impact employability.

The collaboration of NReach with different NGOs is an effort to enable students acquire new skills including vocational training, computer literacy, communication skills, entrepreneurship skills, IT training, and ITI training like welding, painting, and electronics among many. 

NReach identifies and selects an NGO for partnership based on work done by it towards educating and skis training the deprived kids of society. NReach signs an MOU with the selected NGO and offers training and certification for the faculty. It forms batches for students, delivers structured courseware, conducts assessment, and final certification. All this is a joint effort of several volunteers of NReach to have a significant impact on society.

One of the significant initiatives by the NIIT Foundation is the digitization of schools. It is an effort to bridge the digital gap and provide access to digital learning by equipping classrooms to students in government-aided or public schools.  The intention is to develop digital infrastructure within schools and equip instructors to use digital aids for teaching. 

Impact

NReach program is beneficial for both the NIIT Foundation and the various NGO partners. The NGO partners gain trained faculty, industry-standard curriculum, assessments, workshops, and placement orientations facilitating the NGOs to execute their welfare programs. 

Alongside this, the partnership enables NIIT Foundation to attain a greater geographical reach, higher student impact, and a consistent partner to execute projects. NIIT Foundation has aided an impact of nearly 93,000 beneficiaries in FY24 through NReach. The program has allowed the students to have a significant experience and adopt the path of long-term development.

Skill development programs held by NReach among underprivileged students develop a growth mindset, confidence, positive attitude, and motivation toward learning. They help students develop learning habits that prepare them for their career development.

Such programs reduce unemployment, increase productivity, improve the standard of living, and reduce poverty among poorer sections of society. The impact of NReach is quite significant as it enables students and youth to get better jobs in sectors like IT, banking, and manufacturing or start their entrepreneurial journey and improve their quality of life.  

Skill development and vocational training conducted by NF through NReach contribute more than just in education. Skilled people are more likely to improve in social and civic engagement which result in organized and cohesive societies. These skills enable individuals to educate and try new things and improve career possibilities for the future.   

Way Ahead

Looking ahead, NIIT Foundation through NReach will continue to expand its network and impact underserved people. It also aims to partner with capable NGOs to help them enhance their capabilities in driving various societal initiatives with acute success. 

The foundation will continue its mission to fill the skills gap and create employment possibilities and opportunities. It will work with a mission to increase the program’s reach across India and provide the best skills and knowledge. 

The NReach program promises to stand as a testament to the collaborative efforts to empower the country's youth.  It has a goal of educating them with maximum skills and opening the way for employment.