For young people who have limited access to formal employment opportunities, this difference can be significant. Without job-oriented training, even educated youth can find it difficult to enter the workforce or identify a sustainable way to earn a livelihood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is the gap that CHORD addresses through its skill development initiatives. Its approach is centred on identifying vulnerable youth, providing professional training and helping participants move towards employment or self-employment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For anyone researching a skill development NGO<\/strong><\/a>,<\/strong> the CHORD model offers an example of how vocational learning can be connected to livelihood opportunities rather than being treated as education in isolation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Turning Training Into Something People Can Use<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Skill development becomes meaningful when a person can apply what they have learned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n CHORD’s Skill Bharath programme was developed to address unemployment among educated and uneducated youth who lack employable skills. The programme identifies and enrols vulnerable young people and provides professional training through experts in relevant fields.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The objective is straightforward: help participants become eligible for employment or develop the ability to pursue an entrepreneurial venture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This makes the programme different from an approach focused only on classroom learning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The emphasis is on skill development for employment<\/strong>, building capabilities that can be used in the workplace or to create an independent livelihood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What Practical Skill Development Can Change<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n For a young person without marketable skills, finding employment can become a cycle of applying for jobs without having the qualifications employers require.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Practical training can interrupt that cycle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n CHORD’s stated objectives for its skill development programme include developing job-readiness among unemployed youth, creating access to free employable skill training in job-oriented courses and providing skill-based training and counselling aimed at long-term employment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The organisation also focuses on creating awareness about the relevance of skill training in the current job environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That last point matters. Skills have value when they connect with real opportunities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n From Vulnerability to Self-Reliance<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n CHORD does not frame skill development simply as a way to complete a training course.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Its programme aims to help vulnerable youth move towards self-reliance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to CHORD’s programme information, more than 9,000 young men and women have been trained and employed through its skill development programme over thirteen years. The programme has operated through 12 training centres, offering vocational training supported by Accenture and the NASSCOM Foundation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During 2022\u201323, CHORD reports that 1,400 beneficiaries were trained through the Skill Bharat programme, while around 30% obtained employment opportunities in fields related to their training.<\/p>\n\n\n\n These outcomes illustrate an important principle: training becomes more meaningful when it creates a pathway towards earning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Skill Development Does Not Stop With Youth Employment<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n CHORD’s broader work shows that livelihoods, education and community development are closely connected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The organisation works with children, youth, women and communities through different programmes. Its stated mission includes educating children, training youth in employable skills, sensitising society and empowering communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This makes CHORD more than a standalone vocational training initiative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n