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SHISHU MANDIR
COMMUNITY
COLLEGE

The Shishu Mandir Community College offers courses in various trades for youth in the community. The training is geared towards employment. The need for the community college came up, because the school could support only a small number. Many villagers asked us, “What about our children?” There was a high dropout rate from schools in the area. We felt that the answer lay in vocational training. 

HOW IT WORKS.

Our Community College is affiliated to ICRDCE (Indian Centre for Development of Community Education). Admission is open to those who may have dropped out of high school or college and/or those who cannot afford to continue their education due to family circumstances or financial constraints. The courses run between 4 to 6 months, are offered free of cost, and supplemented with bus fare, morning refreshment, lunch and 2 sets of stitched uniforms. We include spoken English, life-skills training, theatre workshop and fire safety. All our Community College students are encouraged and supported in completing their school leaving certificate through the National Open School system. We are now also a recognised NIOS centre for Vocational Training, with NIOS Registration No. AVI No. 580039. Our students also get the opportunity to do 12 days of internship and make one industrial visit, which we arrange.

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The most popular courses are the technical trade. While the computer courses seem to offer a higher starting salary, technical trade allows the students to earn secondary income and become self-employed faster. All students are also taught spoken English and basic computer skills. 

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Recently we widened the scope of our training:

  • Our training now extends to the nearby Govt. ITI/Polytechnic in Automobile, Electrical Industrial Automation, and CNC Turning.

  • We also offer Finance & Accounting training with a Tally course to Govt. College Students.

  • ​​We now provide add-on training in Basic Electrical to the girls of Graphic Designing and Office Administration with Advanced Excel.

  • Basic Electrical and Automobile training is also given to all the women who undergo e-Auto Training.

 

COMPUTER

SKILLS

  • OFFICE ADMINISTRATION WITH ADVANCED EXCEL​

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  • GRAPHIC DESIGNING

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TECHNICAL

TRADE

  • TWO-WHEELER REPAIR & SERVICING (ELECTRIC & PETROL)

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  • ELECTRICAL AND RENEWABLE SOLAR ENERGY TECHNICIAN

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  • CNC TURNING AND MACHINE SHOP

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Students choosing a technical trade receive 4-wheeler driving lessons and a license.

SHISHU MANDIR DRIVING SCHOOL

  • THE SHISHU MANDIR DRIVING SCHOOL IS OPEN TO WOMEN AND TRANSGENDERS.

 

  • 25 HOURS OF DRIVING IS OFFERED AND THE PARTICIPANTS ARE SUPPORTED UNTIL THEY EARN A DRIVING LICENSE.

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  • OVER 200 WOMEN, INCLUDING TWO TRANSGENDERED PERSONS, HAVE TRAINED AT THE DRIVING SCHOOL.

OUR IMPACT.

The impact of vocational training is seen very quickly. In as short a period as six months, students leave the course equipped with both skills and a job. We have several small scale industries in our neighbourhood, and we actively network to match the right people with the right job. We take the responsibility of putting them in jobs and a 2 year placement follow-up is also conducted by us. Without exception we see that all our students find employment. 

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With employment comes significant lifestyle changes. Their houses slowly change from a shed with asbestos roofs to concrete houses. Many are able to buy two-wheelers. Socially we are able to keep them from turning to alcoholism and drug abuse, which are often aggravated by the lack of a job and a fear of the future.  

CREATING
ENTREPRENEURS.

Every school student at Shishu Mandir is introduced to a trade and taught to value it. We find that, when the focus is solely academics, we are preparing the child for a job that offers the stability of a monthly salary. If the focus is solely on trade, they become apprentices to someone and remain dependent on an employer. A mix of both is seen to equip them with the confidence and knowledge to venture into their own business. This further supports the community with job creation. We saw the benefits of this during COVID, when job loss was a real problem. Having a skill to put into use gave many of our alumni a back-up earning opportunity and the path to entrepreneurship. 

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