DISHA

Disha “Ek Mouka” - Making Youth Employable

Moser Baer Trust in partnership with CAP Foundation and USAID has initiated Disha
- a livelihoods programme that is aiming to create 1000 jobs annually in the region. Disha's vision is of creating 'healthy productive young people in the communities that we do business in with special focus on disadvantaged groups.'

A stakeholder dialogue with the neighboring communities and local authorities threw
up livelihoods as the most critical issue facing the region. With this in mind, we first conducted market scans in the region to identify entry level job opportunities and the requisite skill sets required for those, designed curriculum to meet that need which included not only the technical component but also life skills training, basic computer know-how and conversational English.

The technical courses currently being offered are:

 1) Customer Relation & sales
 2) Office Assistant
 3) Hospitality
 4) Call Center Training
 5) Computer Hardware
 6) Desk top Publishing
 7) Information Technology Enabled Service
 8) Microsoft Unlimited Potential

The Project was started in September 2007 has already trained and placed youth from the neighboring communities with very encouraging results.

Disha has proved to be a huge success with 85 per cent placement record (1,250 placements out of the 1,523 trained youth) from 110 villages of NOIDA and Greater NOIDA in various company outlets like McDonald, Pizza Hut, Reliance, ICICI, HDFC, and Lifestyle, etc. in its first phase. These youths have been employed at a salary ranging from Rs3,500-6,500. Few of them have also reached the upper rungs of the ladder with a salary of Rs 7,500 and above, and been awarded as best employees in their respective companies.

To recognize the success of the Phase I candidates of Disha – Ek Mauka, Moser Baer Trust organised a final convocation. MBT has also launched Phase II of Disha – Ek Mauka.

“It is not just about numbers though, our biggest achievement lies in the way we have been able to touch lives and rehabilitate young people who came from the most disadvantaged sections and who are now proud contributors to the well being of their families and respected members of the society.”

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Moser Baer Trust runs a vocational training centre at Kakrala village near its manufacturing plant at NOIDA.` The Centre currently provides training in tailoring
and dress making. Soon we are planning to start courses like Beauty Culture,
Mehandi and Computer Training.

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Self Help Groups of Women

Moser Baer is committed towards empowerment of women apart from providing them opportunities for learning and vocational training. We have facilitated formation of SHGs of women which are being linked up with various Government Schemes and also with garment export houses to generate business for these groups.

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Moser Baer follows ardently the principle of society friendly and environment friendly approach in all its endeavours. Aligning itself with the said principle, it has recently set up a social and environmental enterprise, called ‘Kriti Eco Papers Unit’, in Dehradun, in collaboration with the organization Kriti. It is a paper-recycling unit that is managed professionally and is based on ethical principles of labour and protection of environment with the professional vision of generating work to the people. This unit is being run by women hailing from socially and economically disadvantaged groups, who were trained to operate and run the unit, These women earn a decent income with dignity and ensure fundamental sustenance of their families. The unit is now into the mode of production of paper and paper products from recycled waste

This project has emerged into a positive triple bottom-line impact since it is addressing social, environmental and economic concerns in its area of operation.

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Shaping lives…….

‘Aakar’ (the shape), the Livelihood centre, came into existence with a view to shape up the lives of marginalized women in the operational spheres of Moser Baer Trust & Moser Baer Limited plants. This project evolved with a vision to provide sustainable livelihood to women, as per their capacities and need of the area, all together promoting them towards economic empowerment and self-reliance.

To fulfill its vision, MBT established direct link with the export houses and now acts as a link between them and the workers, thereby, creating conducive work environment by minimizing the involvement of contractors and promoting fair trade. This centre is not confined to providing work only to the women engaged at the centre, but efforts are also for the development of skills of the women engaged with centre. This entails capacity building of the women through trainings on gender sensitization, entrepreneurial skills development, centre management and granting ownership of the centre to them for making it sustainable.

First livelihood centre under the big umbrella of “Aakar”, situated at village Nagla, Noida, was inaugurated by Ms. Nita Puri Trustee and Director- Admin & HR, MBIL on 22nd April 2010. The Gram Panchayat has provided space to run this centre, thereby, making this centre a community owned institution. MBT intends to promote such centres at various locations as per the need of the area in the years to come. MBT would also make efforts for replicating the same model in other areas as well.

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