India has the largest youth population in the world. Almost a third of Indians are between 15 and 29 years old. The country is set to become the world’s youngest with 64% of its population in the working-age group. By 2020, the average age of the country will be 29. It is observed that India has a relative advantage at present over other countries in terms of the distribution of the youth population.

Individuals are most employable when they have broad-based education and training, basic and portable high-level skills, including teamwork, problem-solving, information and communications technology (ICT) and spoken language skills. This combination of skills enables them to adapt to changing trends in the labour market. Employability results from several factors – a foundation of core skills, access to education, availability of training opportunities, motivation, ability and support to take advantage of opportunities for continuous learning, and recognition of acquired skills – and is critical for enabling workers to attain decent work and manage change and for enabling enterprises to adopt new technologies and enter new markets.
However, youths belonging to disadvantaged and vulnerable sections of society like families below poverty line, backward, marginalized communities and PWDs fail to reap this demographic advantage. They are socially and economically weak, miss out on opportunities for employment, get exploited, and lack resources and guidance, lack employability and other desired skill sets. It is very important to make a focused and targeted intervention for the conversion of these youths into valuable human resources.

Sahbhagi Shikshan Kendra (SSK) has been working on holistic rural development, of which livelihoods form an integral part. To ensure sustainable livelihood opportunities at the grassroots, it is essential to engage the young workforce in the process.