NEW DELHI: Smile Foundation under its Manzil project has delivered employability training to about 14,000 young girls while also enabling on-the-job training for an additional 5,000 girls to guarantee their future. The Foundation has given the girls hope by enrolling them in vocational education classes.
Manzil’s girl-centered initiatives (both in-school and out-of-school) based on skills, information, and stakeholder involvement contribute greatly to alleviating the socioeconomic restrictions that lead to early marriage. For example, evidence suggests that adolescent girls with employability skills and job prospects are less likely to marry young. Economic empowerment of women also allows girls to have more influence within the home and on topics such as marriage age.
IPE is implementing Project Manzil, a five-year project supported by the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF).
Smile Foundation is in charge of the in-school component of instruction. This initiative intends to promote girl retention in schools and provide an effective transition from school to higher education and/or work by providing vocational skills training in schools, as well as apprenticeships and jobs for out-of-school adolescent girls (15-19 years).
Smile Foundation is moving another step further in providing quality education to young girls across Rajasthan by giving practical information to pupils in addition to theoretical knowledge through Project Manzil.
NEP 2020 emphasises the need of addressing skill development through vocational training. Skill-based education is an essential component of our educational system, from elementary schools to colleges.
Vocational education can help girls who want to learn skills rapidly but cannot afford a university education. This training provides numerous work prospects for females. The project aims to reduce female dropout rates by introducing vocational training at the high school and college levels.
Manzil aspires to improve vocational education quality through three ways focusing on schools, students, and industry. These techniques improve the overall effectiveness of vocational education by assisting girls in making informed career decisions. Manzil trains girls in fields such as information technology, healthcare, beauty and wellness, security, retail, vehicle, fashion, home furnishing, agricultural, tourism and hospitality, and electrical and electronics. The goal of Project Manzil is to help adolescent girls achieve their career goals and aspirations.