World Youth Skills Day was celebrated with gusto and in style across SEDI locations, but at the forefront was SEDI Bhatapara, launching the first ever 'women only' mason training batch, for women who are working as mason laborers or as an MNREGA laborers to develop their skills and provide them with better options for advancement.

Additionally, as part of the festivities Ambuja Foundation signed an MoU with Krishnashray Foundation to launch a new Skill Training Centre in Mathura District of Uttar Pradesh - which will see a total of 1950 youth between the age of 18-34, trained in courses like Beautician, Industrial Computer Accounting and Patient Assistant Courses over a five-year period.

SEDI trainee Varsha Sharma was felicitated as the 'Skill Ambassador of Rajasthan' by Shri. Ashok Chandna - Minister of State in charge of Skill and Employment; Mr. Naveen Jain - Secretary Labor, Employment, Skill & Entrepreneurship & Commissioner, Labor and Employment, Government of Rajasthan; and Dr. Samit Sharma - MD, RSLDC. This honor was given to the best trainee in Rajasthan and Varsha's story is meant to be an inspiration for other youth in the state as she was the only girl in her entire village who turned into an entrepreneur on completion of her training in Documentation Assistance. The effort taken by Ambuja Foundation was highly commended by the Honorable Minister.

Celebrated globally, to raise awareness about the importance of youth skill development especially in the unemployed and unorganized sector, the day aims to showcase 'skills' as a viable career path to achieve better socio-economic conditions for today's youth, and as a means of addressing the challenges of unemployment and under-employment.

Activities across locations included skill exhibition and orientation, activities like sports drama, posters, quizzes and co-curricular programmes. An inspirational lecture was also delivered by Sabyasachi Banerjee from Pantaloons and Sudipto Chakraborty from Technocon Yamaha. A 'Quality Control Lab' was also inaugurated at SEDI Nalagarh by ACL unit head Arun Jhan and Sunil Singhal, AGM - HR, Alkem Laboratories on the same day. Alkem Laboratories is funding the total training cost of 40 trainees and part of admin cost of the centre. Industry representatives from Cipla, Havells, TVS, and Glenmark apart from community were also present wherein the current trainees exhibited their skills by showcasing models and creative arts developed by them. There were also visits from partners, donors and management officials appreciating the work of the skill training centres and motivating trainees to continue to accomplish their goals.