New Center in Kolkata Opens to Provide Critical Job Skills for Impoverished Youth

KOLKATA, India, March 3 /PRNewswire/ -- Impoverished youth living in the slums of Kolkata find hope in a new center where they will learn skills to help them overcome poverty. The center, called the Livelihood Training Center, marks the partnership of Children International, a U.S.-based humanitarian organization, in India and iLead programme of Aide et Action International.

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According to the United Nations 2007 World Youth Report, over 1.5 billion of the world’s population consists of youth ages 15-24. Many of these youth are no longer in school and are ready to enter the workforce.

By partnering with the Geneva based Aide et Action’s iLead programme, Children International will provide teens from an employable age-group marketable job skills and match them to jobs in demand in the local market. At the center, iLead programme will provide young people with skills in  areas, preparing them for jobs in information technology, hospitality, cosmetology, welding, cell phone repair, dress design and secretarial training. The Livelihood Training Center houses some of the equipment to be used to provide practical training. It includes a sewing lab, computer lab, and classrooms.

Along with providing on-the-job training which can lead to employment, Children International’s new center plans to eventually provide 2,500 youth from 18-24 years in 4 countries with skills critical to obtaining and progressing in a job or start their own enterprise. Some of those skills -- like effective writing, verbal communications, computer literacy, financial literacy, market analysis, negotiation and customer service -- are often overlooked and taken for granted in developed economies.

Children International’s President and CEO Jim Cook said, “Youth living in the slums of Kolkata live every day trying to overcome the crushing burden of poverty. The Livelihood Training Center will offer them a real opportunity to escape the trap of poverty. We are pleased to partner with Aide et Action to initiate iLead programme to provide a solution to preparing young people to become self-reliant adults.”

As an effective community development tool, graduates will network with future students to train them and provide contacts within the employment community.

About Children International:

Established in 1936, Children International is a humanitarian organization with its headquarters in Kansas City, Missouri. Children International's programs benefit more than 335,000 children and their families in 11 countries around the world, including Chile, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, Zambia, Honduras, India, the Philippines and the United States. For more information about Children International or to sponsor a child, visit www.children.org.

SOURCE Children International