EDUCATION

Visit to Tata STRIVE, Tata Sustainability Group

Visit Initiated by   : Lata Sivaprasad
Members Present : Jayant Pendharkar
Suresh Haridas
Suresh Kumar
Lata Sivaprasad

Location : Tata STRIVE Skill Development Centre, Airoli, Navi Mumbai

About Tata STRIVE:

Tata STRIVE is an initiative of Tata Community Initiatives Trust and is the first
CSR programme for the Tata Group in the area of skills development for India’s youth for
employability. Tata STRIVE under the leadership of COO, Ms.Anita Rajan, addresses some of the challenges in the skill development ecosystem in India. It aims at skilling the youth from disadvantaged communities, including women, physically challenged people, SC/ST etc. They cater to skilling and providing training to the youth through various technical courses like Assistant Electrician, AC Operator, RAV Technician, Solar PV Installation, Auto Technician, Cooking and Baking and through service-oriented courses like Customer care executive, Retail Sales, BFSI – Business Development, Hospitality – Food and Beverages / Hygiene / Housekeeping / General duty assistant and Beauty Therapist and other courses.

As per Companies Act 2013, every company having net worth of rupees five hundred crores or more, or turnover of rupees one thousand crore or more or a net profit of rupees five crores or more during any financial year shall constitute a Corporate Social Responsibility Committee of the Board and 2% of the net profits are to be utilised for CSR activities. Tata STRIVE has collaborated with various Tata group companies in the CSR space towards skills development including TCS, TAJ, Tata Motors and Tata Capital.

 

Tata STRIVE builds up capabilities right from mobilisation to placements through its own development centres in various cities and through collaborations with ITIS, government institutions, NGOs, extension centres of Partners etc. Members of Fortess were invited to one of its state of the art centres at Airoli, Mumbai. The other skill development centres are at Pune, Aligarh, Hyderabad and Mohali.

The purpose of this first visit was for the Fortess members to get to know the activities being
undertaken at the Centre. The Centre-head explained to us the methodology and process adopted right from the mobilization of students, enrollment of students, criteria for selection, training methodology for students to assessment and placement of students. The Fortess members visited the Food and Beverages lab and the Hospitality lab at this centre. We had an interaction session with the students undergoing training and also with the Trainer. It was an amazing experience to see the progress of the students who are 8th, 10th and 12th pass students. At the Airoli centre, about 1350 students have been enrolled over a period of two and half years and roughly 1000 students plus have received placements.Tata STRIVE’s offering of Youth Development Module, which focuses on non-cognitive skills which are blended with the various technical and service-oriented courses offered, and its Empowerment Coaching for Facilitators and Programme Coordinators is unique.
In addition, Tata STRIVE also works towards accreditation to meet the standards set by Sector Skills Councils. Tata STRIVE has a digital platform for the entire lifecycle of training at its various centres.

Having known the above, it will be a good idea for Fortess members to come up with ideas on how Fortess can contribute, maybe through coaching, mentoring, additional technical courses, workshops, etc.

Feedback on the visit from Fortess Members:-

    1. S. Balasubramanya: Thanks Lata for a comprehensive report on the above visit.
    2. Jayant: Thanks welcome views, suggestions from members on how to take this forward.
    3. Kiran Sohani:
      Few suggestions:

      1. There are several NGO that have been working hard to prevent human trafficking in India. Another ugly outcome of human trafficking prevention is to provide a livelihood for the victims of this heinous crime.
        Without proper skills and livelihood, the victims sometimes return to that trade. Our ex-TCS colleagues have an initiative in Kolkata called banglanatak.com. Their company has done several projects funded by US consulate in the eastern part of India and Goa. How about reaching out to them and offering our resources to rehabilitate the lives of these victims?
      2. I had visited Unnati foundation in Bangalore a while back. It was amazing to watch their work and classroom.
    4. Jim Thomas: Lata, excellent report, and I really enjoyed the pictures. When I see things like this, it makes me REALLY MISS my trips to India.
    5. Anita Rajan: Thanks for making this visit happen.

Oct 05, 2018
Mumbai