Skilling of jail inmates and specially abled in Rajasthan

Background

Rajasthan Skill and Livelihoods Development Corporation (RSLDC) has designed specific skilling programmes for Persons with Special Ability (PSAs or Divyang) and the Jail inmates. Both these segments have been largely left out from the skilling arena due to the complexities involved in the skilling process and the varying results coming out of its execution. In Rajasthan, the Working population of Persons with Special Abilities (Divyang) falling in the age group of 15-59 years is around 7.5 lakh, in which the male population is more than 4 lakh and females more than 3 lakh. Therefore, there has been a gradual positive shift in the interventions by the Government of Rajasthan in the formulation and implementation of policies and programmes resulting in the creation of Wage/Self-employment opportunities.

Intervention

One of the fundamental objectives of the training programmes is to ensure rehabilitation and re-entry into the society of people who are imprisoned. As part of the overarching National Education Programme for Young People and Adults, training programmes have been developed for Jail inmates, Juvenile Homes, Balika Grah to achieve the objectives of extending educational coverage to prisons across the state; making sure that skill development in prisons promotes self-reliance and autonomy with the end objective of enabling the inmates to reintegrate into society harmoniously and investigating how the activities which are offered can be improved and optimized by means of a survey of the imprisoned people.

Training agencies establish skill development centres in case of PSAs and coordinate with Jail Management in case of Jail inmates training to impart skill development training in pre-approved courses by RSLDC, The initiative of skill training of jail inmates has been conducted in collaboration with the jail management of Jaipur and Bhilwara districts of Rajasthan. Placement Verification Cell has been established in RSLDC to verify the authenticity of candidates provided placement opportunities.

The upscaling of the skilling programmes for PSAs is underway by RSLDC. The training partners have been asked to set up dedicated residential Skill Development Centres (SDCs) for persons with partial hearing impairment, one lower limb locomotor special ability and/or dedicated non-residential SDCs for persons with mild mental retardation and other PSAs.

Empanelment of Training agencies is done through expression of interests in leading newspapers followed by scrutiny of proposals as per criteria set by RSLDC. Selection of training partners is done through presentation of action plan by eligible agencies before the panel of experts in skilling industry. Selected training agencies are issued sanction orders mentioning District(s), Sector(s) and Target to be covered for a financial year. Post sanction order, MoU has been signed between RSLDC and Training Agency which is valid for 3 years. After the signing of MoU, Training agency sets up the Skill Development Centre (SDC) and conducts training as per RSLDCs guidelines. Training Agency and Community mobilizer of RSLDC mobilizes the eligible candidates for skill training. RSLDC has developed a robust Integrated Scheme Management Systern (SMS) for Registration of Training Partner and Trainees, Monitoring of Training Delivery, Assessment and Certification, Placement Tracking and Payments. The Biometric attendance is compulsory. RSLDC has tied up with 19 sector skill councils to facilitate the training agencies in third party assessment and certification.

The training is provided free of cost, wherein, training, boarding and lodging facilities are provided by the training partner as prescribed by RSLDC. Both residential and non-residential training centres are available to youth aspirants for training in over 200 courses. 100 hours of soft skills training is also imparted along with core skill training to enable the youth to work in private jobs with ease and confidence, in collaboration with District Administration, RSLDC has also provided vacant government buildings to those training partners who are willing to set up SDC in far flung areas and underserved districts. RSLDC provides preference to training partners who are willing to set up SDC(s) in Border Area Districts.

One of the key players in implementation is the Jail Management and District Team, RSLDC, The jail management has shown tremendous zeal in counselling and mobilization of inmates, The convicted inmates were provided training in courses of vermiculture and vermicomposting, nursery management, electrical house wiring and jewellery making inside the jail campus due to security reasons. District Team of RSLDC does a tremendous job right from the mobilization stage to providing Wage/Self-Employment opportunity to youth trained in different sectors. District Manager and District Consultant monitor the training programmes through regular inspections and Community mobilizer go to the door step of youth and counsel them with their parents for awareness of skilling initiatives and their benefits in generation of sustainable livelihoods.

Impact

• These initiatives have led to enhanced employability of prisoners leading to inclusion of under-served segments of society, thereby acting as a catapult in upgrading the fortunes of people from being a mere burden to an earning member of the family.
• RSLDC has fixed free of cost training along with 50% placement as a success outcomes for any training initiative. RSLDC is also providing language, computer literacy and financial literacy skills as an integral part of all skill development programmes. These are coupled with soft skills that teach the trainees the behavioural and inter-personal skills required in any organization.
• RSLDC is also to run 'Skill on Wheels' initiative through Mobile Vans to execute train PSAs in remote areas of the State. This shall adequately facilitate in provision of training for people who may not be able to participate in distantly located Skill Development Centers.

Key takeaways

• The success of training and development programmes for Jail inmates and PSAs is largely due to their ability to address a critical requirement of these underserved sections of the society.
• Government of Rajasthan has introduced multiple interventions to speed up the process and cover the larger part of these sections which includes flexibility in scheme guidelines and norms to conduct training and provision to provide placement opportunity.
• Success depends on choosing / selecting the right training partners, right environment to make these participants comfortable and reduce the reluctance to enroll and retention in training programmes.
• These initiatives have brought a transformational change in the skilling domain by addressing the lack of opportunities provided for this section of society. These initiatives have raised hope among the beneficiaries and encouraged them to be part of such trainings.

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Source : Skilling for employability - Best Practices