The Bombay Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) will launch a vocational training centre in Kanhe in Mawal taluka on February 29. It has also signed MoUs with three companies who will hire skilled labour from the institute.
According to YMCA, the 23,000 sq.ft. community development centre at Ambewadi in Kanhe village will provide courses on organic farming, bedside nursing, sewing, mehendi, welding, electrical works and tailoring ranging from three months to six months in length.
Paul George, general secretary, Bombay YMCA, said the organisation had carried out a survey to understand available higher educational institutions and job sources near villages. “Many villages are as far as 25 km from schools and colleges, whereas the nearest industrial training centre is 60 km away in Lonavala. We also learned that many local industries were engaged in making spare parts of automobiles and therefore it was beneficial for the people of the nearby villages to become skilled labourers,” he said.
Mr. George said YMCA started the courses in 1991 keeping the youth in focus, with equal courses for women and plans to reach out to 1,400 people every year. The centre will also have sports facilities like table-tennis and basketball, which can be used by the members. “We have also constructed a 55-acre campsite in Nilshi, which is 30 km away from the centre. The visitors can enjoy archery, ziplining, and river rafting at the campsite, surrounded by water on three sides,” he said.
Mr. George said YMCA has signed MoUs with Mahindra Accelo, Mahindra Trucks and Buses Ltd. and Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd. to hire skilled labour from the institute. “These companies will hire the people who learn the skill development courses from the YMCA centre. A pharmaceutical company has also assured of hiring individuals through the centre,” Mr. George said.
The organisation on Wednesday also felicitated two of its members, Sanil Shetty, a Chhatrapati Awardee and commonwealth winner for table tennis, who started his career at YMCA, and Victor Salve, who grew up at the YMCA boys hostel and now designs basketball curriculum for 38 schools in India.
“There is a misconception in people’s mind that YMCA is for a particular community. We have our facilities like hostels, shelters and orphanages in 132 countries and people from all the communities are welcomed to our centres,” Mr. George said.
