Skill Development/ Employability Enhancement Programs for Marginalized Youth in Kerala

Abstract

Despite completing secondary school education in Kerala, and being literate, many youth from the lower caste community still struggle with finding jobs within the tertiary sector of the economy, which has the highest district employment of 53.9% (district level skill gap for Kerala, pg 195). Some of the reasons include a lack of language fluency (especially in English), a lack of knowledge of professional etiquette, a lack of confidence, a lack of means to build professional connections, and a lack of awareness of opportunities in the job market. Skill development and Employment Enhancement institutions have therefore been implemented by the National government of India in Kerala to overcome these problems and fill the skill gap which exists within the labor market. However, the impact and reach of these programs have not been deeply explored. Thus the objectives of this study are to 1) investigate the impacts of the caste system in Kerala, and the lack of progress it causes for lower caste youth 2) explore the impacts of skill development institutions on the lives of youth from marginalized communities.