McKinsey India and United Way India to train 2,900 students in 2018
In its latest effort to match the ever-increasing demand for skill development in India, the Generation foundation from McKinsey & Company has teamed up with United Way India, a non-profit organisation devoted to building sustainable communities, to launch the Generation United Program aimed at training nearly 3000 students across the country.
As the Indian market moves towards a period of sustained economic growth, a number of initiatives have emerged to ensure that this growth has equitable benefits. Large disparities remain within the Indian population in terms of access to basic education and skills, denying a large portion of the population the chance to have basic employment.
In order to realise its potential as a global and regional economic power, it is imperative for India to equip the entire population with the skills to contribute to this growth. Local public-sector institutions such as the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) have been actively tackling this issue, backed by strong support from the Prime Minister’s Skill Development Scheme (PMKVY).
One international organisation that has recognised this gap, and has been actively involved in covering it, has been the Generation Foundation established by management consultancy McKinsey & Company. The Foundation was created in 2014, and has since expanded its operations into five countries, namely India, Mexico, the US, Spain, and Kenya.
The foundation’s Indian operations are fairly prolific, spanning 20 sites in urban and rural areas across the country. Of Generation’s approximately 5000 graduates, 91% have secured a placement in some role or the other, creating annual incomes of $2m. The majority of these graduates have been reported to perform exceptionally and have retained their positions.
In keeping with this success, Generation recently partnered with the NSDC itself to train, place and track the progress of 5000 candidates as a pilot project under the PMKVY. As usual, the skills imparted will be of lower complexity, such as those involved in roles of General Duty Assistants or F&B stewards.
Generation United
In a similar vein, Generation has now partnered with United Way in India to launch the Generation United skill-training program, which will endow 2,900 students with skills in healthcare and customer service. United Way is a global leadership and support organisation that has operations in 40 countries worldwide.
In India, United Way works in the domains of education, livelihood, health, environment, and disaster response, occupying a presence in the cities of Bangalore, Baroda, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata, and Mumbai. These locations will act as centres for the new programme in partnership with Generation.
Generation United will be a bootcamp-style training program that will last between 4-12 weeks, covering concrete skills such as technical training, as well as softer behavioural skills that are crucial in the workplace. The programme is due to receive substantial support from a number of local organisations, particularly from companies such as Portea, Shangri La, and the Taj Group, who have all promised interviews to Generation United graduates.
Commenting on the new initiative, Sunit Mehra, the Chairman of United Way India said, “Youth Unemployment is one of the biggest issues that India is currently battling with. United Way of India, through this partnership with Generation India Foundation, is attempting to address the issue, by providing thousands of Indian Youth access to skills, leading to meaningful employment.”
Programme director for Generation India, Rajat Gupta said, “Generation United is an exciting new programme that brings together our proven approach to skilling to the large network that United Way India has built across the country over 8 years. I am confident that we will not only achieve our goals in 2018, but that we are putting in place the foundation for a programme of unprecedented scale and impact.”
