Digital Life Skills Toolkit
Led by the CAP Foundation and supported by USAID, IYF and Microsoft, this project developed a digital toolkit for workplace readiness and life skills in community based employability training centers. This toolkit used by facilitators helps in training youth, rescued from or who are at risk of being trafficked, in IT and life skills, job training and placement.
The 2007 World Development Report contends that it has never been a better time to invest in young people living in developing countries. A major challenge that India faces today is to ensure better opportunities for youth by training them for productive work; inspiring in them the flexibility to learn new things and innovate; and by inculcating in them a proper work ethic. A recently conducted CII study points out that, across sectors, only 20% to 67% of students passing from schools and colleges are employable. Lack of adequate skills and knowledge are the major reasons for India’s youth not being able to access the various employment opportunities.
Life skills are those critical inter-personal and professional skills that ensure youth are well prepared to lead healthy and productive lives. However due to prohibitive costs, the face-to-face approach is limited in its ability to reach out to at-risk youth living in very remote and rural areas with life skills training. Online training has proven to be more effective in these cases. In remote areas where qualified facilitators are typically harder to find, geographical distances make it too costly, in terms of time and money, to provide on-going facilitator training.
In an effort to reach a greater number of at-risk youth and to take advantage of the power of educational technology to improve access to quality education, digital life skill toolkit was designed and developed. QUEST Alliance provided technical assistance in the areas of Instructional Design and life skills content development to support this joint effort of CAP Foundation and Microsoft.
The digital tool kit for facilitators and program participants include life skills and workplace readiness modules being implemented in community based employability training centers (ETC). Digital toolkit for master facilitators and students consist of multi-media based tools for both the facilitator's own training and for the facilitator to use in helping students with skills training, self-guided skills and remedial academic training.
Facts about the programme
Beneficiaries
• During the project period, the toolkit has benefited 8,960 youth (Male = 4301, Female = 4659) at the various employability training centers.
• 99 life skills facilitators have been trained on digital life skill toolkit at 76 Employment Training centers.
Location
• Hyderabad (Andhra Pradesh)
Partners involved
• Implementing Partner: CAP Foundation
• Funding Partners: USAID, IYF and Microsoft
QUEST's Technical Contribution
QUEST Alliance provided technical assistance in the areas of Instructional Design and life skills content development.
Current status and outlook
Future plans include using the digital toolkit in community based Employability Training Centers (ETC) located in rural and remote areas of India. QUEST is also looking into up-gradation and customization of the digital toolkit to cater the changing needs of youth, the facilitator and the vocational training institutions.
