ETASHA Society

ETASHA was founded in 2006 by Dr Meenakshi Nayar to work with youth from low resource settings. While conducting a career guidance workshop for students at Gautampuri, a resettlement colony in South Delhi, Dr Nayar realised that while these students had tremendous potential it would be extremely hard for them to achieve their dreams and take control of their futures. Professional courses would prove too expensive for these resource-poor youth and lack of training opportunities would drift them further from acquiring organised-sector jobs. At the same time, with her decades-long experience of Human Resource Management in the Corporate sector, she was aware of a growing service sector which required active, high school educated youth for various entry-level positions. Recognising the opportunity, Meenakshi sought to connect the two for mutual benefit. ETASHA became a bridge connecting resource-poor youth with the organised sector, enabling them to break out of the vicious cycle of poverty and the associated problems of violence, substance abuse and social unrest.
Over a decade of running vocational training and placement programmes, ETASHA has widened its approach and reach to impact the entire ecosystem of the youth. Today, ETASHA runs innovative interventions in 5 verticals – Vocational Training & Placement, Employability Skills Development & Placement, Counselling & Guidance in Schools, Training of Trainers, and, Women Entrepreneurship Programs, and undertakes whole-community- based projects.
The Prevailing Reality
Unemployment of youth, skills mis-match, lack of employability skills and the prospect of increasing social strife stare us in the face today. It is estimated that over 75% of the new jobs to be created in India will be 'skill-based'. However, only 20% of the Indian workforce possesses 'marketable skills'. This represents a particularly daunting challenge for the large and growing numbers of unemployed youth in low income communities.

ETASHA’S STRATEGY
ETASHA’s approach is to work with multiple interventions geared to helping several segments in low-income communities to become aware of the changing realities of the employment and income generation marketplace and to develop appropriate mindsets, attitudes and skill-sets required for gainful work and living lives of self-respect and dignity.
Vision
An India where every adult is skilled for income generation to lead a life of self-respect and dignity.

Mission
To Provide Training and Mentoring to resource-poor communities for Sustainable Employment and Income Generation