Ambuja Cement Foundation (ACF), Ambuja Cements Ltd’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) arm dedicated to rural youth community empowerment, has partnered with the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) to implement its ‘Employability through Skill Initiative Project (ESIP) Phase II.
ACF received funding from NABARD through the Gramya Vikas Nidhi, a fund established to promote non-farm sector activities.
ESIP will provide two years of skill training in 12 trades across 19 ACF locations and has already reached over 4000 youth despite the pandemic. Apart from skill development, the course includes a module on soft skills and leadership. Following completion of training, students will receive placement assistance and post-placement support.
“Through our invaluable partnership with NABARD, we aim to empower youth with practical skill development training necessary for a better future,” said Pearl Tiwari, Director and CEO, Ambuja Cement Foundation. Going forward, we will work to ensure that each initiative we undertake has a positive ripple effect on our key stakeholders and extends beyond the communities in which we operate.”
“NABARD has been assisting corporates and their foundations in implementing various developmental interventions in the off-farm sector, including skill and entrepreneurship development,” said Shri Devasis Padhi, Chief General Manager, Off Farm Development Department, NABARD. The COVID-19 pandemic has necessitated the retraining of reverse migrant laborer’s. We hope that our partnership with Ambuja Cement Foundation will help rural youth gain employment as a result of their new skills.”
Since 2008, NABARD’s partnership with ACF has resulted in the funding of 32 projects across the country in the areas of agriculture, women empowerment, water, and skills development, benefiting 25,000 people. This association has served as a vehicle for the implementation of other corporate CSR initiatives, increasing the number of Skill and Entrepreneurship Development Institutes from one in 2006 to 33 in 2021.
