The CII Foundation was set up by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in 2011 and works across India through a collaborative approach

Skilling and Livelihood

Skilling And Livelihood Initiative

Empowering Communities for Sustainable Futures

Why Skilling and Livelihood

In rural India, skilling is about nurturing the dreams and abilities of people, enabling them to build better lives by using the resources, traditions, and opportunities of their own land. Many rural communities, especially women and youth, face barriers to formal education, skilling and employment but possess deep knowledge of local trades, crafts, and ecosystems. By building on these strengths and tailoring training to local needs, skilling can become a powerful driver of self-reliance and rural prosperity.

What We Do

The CII Foundation has been undertaking skilling of youth across India following the Recruit-Train-Deploy model. In 2024, to intensify the efforts with a focus on rural women, CII Foundation piloted sustainable livelihood programs in select villages of Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Jharkhand.

Location

Pan-India

Outcome

Key Components of the Program

Creating Rural Livelihood: Supporting rural women through livelihood initiatives that build on local strengths-such as beekeeping, tamarind processing, and poultry farming.

Skilling of Youth: Equipping rural and underserved youth with industry-relevant, market-driven skills to enhance their employability, leveraging CII Model Career Centres and CII Multiskill Training Centres.

Key Interventions

Beekeeping for women in Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand.
Poultry farming for rural women in the Sundarbans, improving food security and income.
Tamarind processing for rural women in Jharkhand, enabling income through processing, packaging, and marketing.
Mangrove restoration with livelihoods in Sunderbans, combining ecological resilience with poultry-based income for 120 women.
Skills training for underprivileged youth in hospitality, healthcare, IT, banking, and financial services.
Skilling of women prisoners in Tamil Nadu, equipping them with vocational skills, aiming to establish a model progressive correctional facility striving for the welfare of all.
Soft skills and digital training for rural girls aged 16–18 in Uttar Pradesh.
FPO strengthening to improve agri-food value chains, farmer incomes, nutrition, and food security in Karnataka.

Impact

Women and youth across multiple states are gaining sustainable livelihoods, while ecological restoration initiatives are building resilience in vulnerable communities.

Our Key Supporters

For more details, please contact:
Sarbani Chakravarty : sarbani.chakravarty@cii.in

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