Urban Youth Vocational Training in Resettlement Colonies of Delhi, India by Plan Nederland

End term evaluation of Saksham Project â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Urban Youth Vocational Training in Resettlement Colonies of Delhi, India Final Report

Submitted to: Plan India

Acknowledgements This is the final evaluation report of the Saksham Project – Urban Youth Vocational Training in Resettlement Colonies of Delhi, Plan India’s flagship project on Job Oriented Vocational Training (JOVT) supported by Accenture Foundation Inc. Kaarak is delighted to have carried out this exercise which has benefited hugely from the support of several persons who continue to form an important part of this program. The evaluation team also appreciates the facilitation role played by the Plan India’s Saksham Project Team during primary data collection. The team is extremely grateful to Ms. Meena Narula and Mr. Asif Mohammed for supporting the entire evaluation exercise including finalisation of evaluation findings and report. We are especially thankful to Ms. Anamika Sharma, Project Coordinator, for making special efforts for coordinating the data collection at different vocational training centers. Mr. C.P. Arun, Technical Advisor, HES, provided an overall understanding of the organization and Saksham’s place in its HES and provided support while finalisation of data collection tools. We want to express our appreciation to him for providing us with invaluable inputs and feedback. The evaluation team is grateful to Mr. Harshvarshan Sharma, Project Manager, for providing support to the evaluation exercise. We are also grateful to Plan India’s NGO partners, representatives of two technical partners and employers for providing their insights and experiences with the evaluation team. The evaluation team expresses its appreciation for everyone who took out time to give their frank opinions and suggestions on the Saksham project and helped in the successful conduction of this exercise. Finally, this evaluation would not have been possible without the participation of youths and their families, to whom we are especially grateful. The Evaluation Team Kaarak Enterprise Development Services Private Limited, New Delhi

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CONTENTS Acknowledgements .......................................................................................................................................2 CONTENTS..................................................................................................................................................3 List of Figures .......................................................................................................................................4 List of Tables ........................................................................................................................................4 Abbreviations .................................................................................................................................................5 Executive Summary ......................................................................................................................................6 CHAPTER 1 - INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................ 11 Objectives and Scope of Evaluation .............................................................................................. 11 Methodology and Approach............................................................................................................ 12 Limitations.......................................................................................................................................... 15 Report layout...................................................................................................................................... 16 CHAPTER 2: SAKSHAM PROJECT OVERVIEW.......................................................................... 17 About Plan.......................................................................................................................................... 17 About Saksham Project .................................................................................................................... 17 About Accenture – Plan Saksham Project .................................................................................... 17 Specific Objectives ............................................................................................................................ 18 Target beneficiaries and outreach ................................................................................................... 18 Three Party Intervention Model ..................................................................................................... 18 Strategies and Activities .................................................................................................................... 19 Project Management Structure ........................................................................................................ 19 VT Process ......................................................................................................................................... 20 Accenture support in the project .................................................................................................... 23 Monitoring, Evaluation and Reporting .......................................................................................... 23 Achievements ..................................................................................................................................... 23 CHAPTER 3: EVALUATION FINDINGS ........................................................................................ 24 Relevance ............................................................................................................................................ 24 Relevance to national and state context......................................................................................... 24 Relevance to Plan India’s CSP-III .................................................................................................. 25 Relevance to Accenture .................................................................................................................... 25 Relevance to youth and their families ............................................................................................ 25 Effectiveness ...................................................................................................................................... 27 Effectiveness of VT Processes ........................................................................................................ 27 Effectiveness of Project Implementation Strategies.................................................................... 36 Efficiency ............................................................................................................................................ 38 Project Management Structures ...................................................................................................... 38 Management Information System .................................................................................................. 39 Outcomes and Impact ...................................................................................................................... 39 Outcomes: Access to decent employment to poor and socially excluded youths .................. 39 Impact on income ............................................................................................................................. 40 Impact on quality of life ................................................................................................................... 41 CHAPTER 4: GOOD PRACTICES AND LESSONS LEARNED ............................................... 42 Good practices ................................................................................................................................... 42 Lesson learned ................................................................................................................................... 42 CHAPTER 5: RECOMMENDATIONS .............................................................................................. 43

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List of Figures Figure 1: Project Strategies and Activities.................................................................................. 19 Figure 2: Project Organogram................................................................................................... 19 Figure 3: VT Process ................................................................................................................ 20 Figure 4: Reasons for joining VT .............................................................................................. 26 Figure 5: Relevance of soft skill modules .................................................................................. 26 Figure 6: Source of information regarding Saksham training ..................................................... 28 Figure 7: Youth currently pursuing education ........................................................................... 28 Figure 8: Economic category wise distribution of youth............................................................ 29 Figure 9: Youth who took Interest Inventory Test .................................................................... 30 Figure 10: VT course reported by youth ................................................................................... 30 Figure 11: Rating of Enrollment Process by Youth ................................................................... 31 Figure 12: Rating on Course Content ........................................................................................ 31 Figure 13: Youthâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s rating of trainers (per cent) .......................................................................... 32 Figure 14: Youthâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s rating of VT Centre infrastructure ............................................................... 32 Figure 15: Youths reported receiving certificates ....................................................................... 33 Figure 16: Job offered immediately after completion of VT ...................................................... 34 Figure 17: Job Placement Support............................................................................................. 34 Figure 18: Follow-up Support (On-Job) .................................................................................... 35 Figure 19: Youth Trained and Placed (per cent) ........................................................................ 37 Figure 20: Youth who ever attended Alumni Meeting (in percentage) ....................................... 37 Figure 21: Purpose of alumni group .......................................................................................... 38 Figure 22: Change in income levels before and after training .................................................... 40 Figure 23: Any impact on quality of life after VT ...................................................................... 41 Figure 24: Impact on quality of life indicators ........................................................................... 41

List of Tables Table 1: Number of respondents covered in primary survey ..................................................... 13 Table 2 Samples covered-families of youth ............................................................................... 14 Table 3 Qualitative data collection ............................................................................................ 14 Table 4: Target Beneficiaries and Outreach Details ................................................................... 18 Table 5: Three Party Model ...................................................................................................... 18 Table 6: Project Achievements.................................................................................................. 23 Table 7: Status of Objectives .................................................................................................... 24 Table 8: MIS Format Details..................................................................................................... 39

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Abbreviations APL

Above Poverty Line

BPL

Below Poverty Line

CCCD

Child Centered Community Development

CCCDP

Child Centered Community Development Programme

CRS

Customer Relation & Sales

CSP

Country Strategic Plan

Curriculum Vitae

DRA

Direct Recovery Agents

FGD

Focus Group Discussion

FNO

France National Office

GOI

Government of India

GRC

Gender Resource Centre

HES

Household Economic Security

IGNOU

Indira Gandhi National Open University

ITES

Information Technology & Electronic Services

JOVT

Job Oriented Vocational Training Program

KII

Key Informant Interview

MES

Modular Employability Scheme

MIS

Management Information System

NGO

Non-Government Organization

NLNO

Netherlands National Office

NPO

National Program Outline

NSDC

National Skill Development Council

RBM

Result Based Management

Scheduled Caste

SDI-MES

Skill Development institute- Modular Employability scheme

SGSY

Swarnajayanti Gram Swarojgar Yojana

Scheduled Tribe

ToR

Terms of Reference

Training Partner

TRA

Technical Resource Agency

Vocational Training

VTP

Vocational Training Program

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Executive Summary Saksham – An Overview Saksham launched in May 2010 is one of the flagship projects of Plan India and part of Plan India’s Country Strategy Plan III (CSP-III) for 2010-15 which aims to train youth from disadvantaged and marginalized rural and urban communities in market driven Job Oriented Vocational Training (JOVT). The first phase of the project was implemented in seven resettlement colonies/slums of Delhi till July 2013. The target group comprised of youths in the age group of 18 to 25 years. The Accenture funded project ‘Urban Youth Vocational Training in Growing Economics’ was implemented under the umbrella of Saksham Project for two years 2011-12) in two locations in South Delhi viz., Mahipalpur and Munirka. The project had a three-party implementation model which comprise of Plan India, Plan’s NGO partners (Bal Vikas Dhara) and Technical Resource Agency or Training Partner (CAP Foundation). Specific objectives of Accenture funded project:  Youth employability: Enable 600 disadvantaged youth in urban slum areas of Delhi with equitable access to skills and employment.  Test Pilot: Prove efficacy of 3-party model (Plan, Technical Expert Agency and grassroots NGO partner).  Sustainability: Liaise with government to consider scale-up of the project by adopting the 3-party model for national scale; using and improving established infrastructure and modular employment schemes. In the course of implementation, Saksham successfully achieved its target of enrolling and training around 600 youths in JOVT and was able to place more than 75 per cent of these youths in jobs immediately after the trainings. Final evaluation – An Overview As the project completed its first phase, Plan India commissioned a final evaluation to Kaarak as part of the evaluation of the overall Saksham project. The evaluation intends to help Plan India in development of future phase of the project and its skill development theme as part of HES portfolio. Specifically, the evaluation conducted a review and assessment of the progress towards goal, objectives, key outputs and outcomes; project implementation structure, three party model of partnership, implementation processes, management information system. The evaluation objectives included an assessment of the project’s performance against the criteria of relevance, efficiency, effectiveness, and impact of the project on the lives of youth and their families. The evaluation also attempted to document lessons learned and made recommendations accordingly. The evaluation methodology comprised both secondary and primary research methodologies. The primary research included quantitative surveys with trained youths and their families. The qualitative methods included discussions with community (youth and families), NGO partners, TPs, Plan India staff and Employers. The secondary research included review of project documents and other domain specific information.

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Key evaluation findings The evaluation team found that the Accenture funded project helped Plan India in evolving the overall Saksham project in terms of its key objectives as well as the processes. The key evaluation findings are presented as per the evaluation criteria. Relevance Overall, the project is highly relevant to the national and state context and matches with government’s priority to JOVT. The significant allocation of financial resources on government’s programmes as part of National Skills Mission has led to increased number of VT service providers which would demand attention in next phase of implementing the Saksham project. . The Saksham project is very well aligned with the Plan India’s commitment under the CSP III and the overarching focus of HES. The project contributes to the overall commitment made by Plan India and contributes to CSP III’s total target of training 50,000 female youths. The programmatic linkages with other Plan projects and communities could have been stronger. The project was part of and relevant to the Accenture Foundation overall multi-country grant on urban youth’s skill development. The selection of resettlement locations or slums to reach out to youths was relevant and appropriate. The project was highly relevant from the perspective of soft skill building as it laid special focus on English, computers and life skills (including communication). The job placement aspect of the project was relevant to youths looking for immediate jobs. The jobs offered under the project were not relevant to youths who did not want to compromise with work timings, salary levels, distance from home etc. Effectiveness  Effectiveness of VT Processes Enrolment: The overall findings suggest that the enrolment processes were highly effective as the project over achieved the targets. A more relaxed educational criteria might have helped in reaching to the youth belonging most disadvantaged communities in need of immediate jobs. The findings also suggest that all components of the enrolment process (as mentioned in the guidelines) were not uniformly and consistently applied which also indicates that these processes have evolved during the course of project’s execution. VT Delivery: Youths were highly satisfied with the VT delivery including faculty, course content, methodology and infrastructure. The trainers were reported to be very approachable and the methods used were participatory in nature. The led to enhanced participation of the youths and was able to create an enabling learning environment. The course timings and VT centre locations were also found to be appropriate. Some of the challenges and concerns noted include limited infrastructure with regard to drinking water facilities, excessive work load of trainers/centre managers, and lack of specialised trainers (as per modules). Assessment and Certification: The evaluation team has extremely limited information around performance of the assessments process. It is reported that certificates have been issued for all the trained youths, however, a large number of them have not collected them. Some of the reasons cited by youth for not collecting certificates include lack of time, centers being closed when visited and no special requirement of these certificates. Job Placements: The project reported placing 75 per cent of the trained youths immediately after the training. The evaluation survey found that out of the total surveyed 7 Kaarak-Saksham Final Evaluation Report (Draft)

youth 88 per cent youth were offered a job opportunity immediately after completion of VT course of which only 44 per cent accepted the job offer. Youths were highly appreciative of the placement support provided by the TP in which the support in preparation for the interview, information sharing on job openings and support in job application process were recalled as key areas. Overall, only 23 per cent of the total youth surveyed reported to be employed till first six months after the course completion. Around 38 per cent of the surveyed youth (40 per cent females and 35 per cent males) reported to be employed at the time of survey. The main reasons for youths not taking up jobs or leaving jobs were reported as pursuing further education, job not being of interest or expectation, distance between work place and home and low salary levels. The TP mentioned that job market has now become extremely competitive and youth’s expectations with regard to salaries do not match their qualification. The employers expressed their challenge of accommodating employees with work timing issues and with regard to Saksham’s policy to counsel the low performing employees rather than removing her/him from the job. Follow up support: Almost all the placed youths reported on-job support by TP. It appears that NGO involvement has not happened. Youths mentioned that TP is in a better position to provide this support since they provided the placements and understand the work places better. 

Effectiveness of Project Implementation Strategies

Three Party Model: The specific roles and targets of Plan India and the TP was found to be well defined, however, the NGO role in community mobilization and follow up support witnessed some overlap with that of the TP. The partners reported that Plan India was responsive and provided timely support and coordination especially in later half of the project. The project took special measures to facilitate coordination amongst partners; however, few gaps in real time coordination remained. While Plan India’s and TP’s ownership of the project results have been well defined, that was not the case with NGO partner. The stakes and roles of the NGO partner were quite less in comparison to other partner. The NGO mainly looked at community mobilisation which acted as an important but support function in the context of overall VT process. Gender Sensitization of Communities and Employers: The gender sensitisation of the parents and employers seemed to be very effective which is also reflected in the current attitudes of parents and employers and by the number of female youths who participated in the project. Alumni Groups: The alumni groups have not been formed or functioned as per the initial objectives due to low attendance of passed out youths. NGO partners made special efforts to organise regular meetings and interactions between alumni and youth as around 67 per cent of the surveyed youth reported to have attended at least one alumni meeting. It appears that TP is better positioned to hold alumni groups as they were directly responsible for management of VT centres and delivery of training. Efficiency  Project Management Structures At the level of Plan India and the NGO partner, the project management structure was found to be adequate. At the level of the TP, the project was managed by a point person along with a dedicated person taking care of placements which looked sufficient. At the Centre level, the work load on the trainers or Centre manager was reported to be

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excessive. The trainer turnover also impacted the quality of training delivery. The TP had also staffed community mobilisers which overlapped with the NGO partner role. 

Management Information System

The project made significant investments in collecting and storing data around youths being enrolled, trained and placed. The data base was maintained at each centre and compiled at the TP level before submission to Plan India. This investment played a key role in keeping the focus of the project on achieving the targets relating to enrolment and placements. The evaluation team understands that the MIS format underwent a change during the project. Plan India has further worked with Accenture to develop a detailed MIS system as per the three party system which will be implemented in the next phase of the Saksham project. The evaluation team notes that despite this huge effort; this data was not used extensively during project period. Some of the basic principles of the database management, for e.g. giving unique ID to each trainee, were not adopted leading to errors during analysis. Other significant information which the MIS could not capture is related to the screening process, drop outs, attendance and time spent in the employment. Overall, the MIS only served as a list of youths enrolled, trained and placed. Outcomes and Impact  Outcomes: Access to decent employment to poor and socially excluded youths Overall, 73 per cent of the surveyed youth found the VT very useful. The training positively impacted the youth’s personalities and has led to enhanced self-confidence. It certainly exposed the youths to good quality training programme and gave an insight into the opportunities available in service sectors like retail, ITES, etc. The project was able to cover youths from disadvantaged sections in a limited manner which can be attributed to its inclusive approach. The project certainly enhanced the youth’s choices and access to employment in formal sectors, however, it is also noted that significant number of youths did not opt for immediate jobs and are not currently employed. Around 50 per cent of surveyed and placed youths reported earning more than Rs. 8,000 per month. Even though a common practice in India, youths with jobs of monthly income of less than Rs. 8000 cannot be termed as decent as these salaries are below the statutory minimum wage rates set by the state government. 

Impact on income

41 percent of the surveyed youths reported positive changes in income levels after receiving the training in which 26 per cent of the surveyed youths had no previous incomes as they were first time earners. 52 per cent of the surveyed youths did not report any change in income levels as they did not take up jobs. 

Impact on quality of life

73 percent of youth reported to have experienced some positive change in their quality of life after attending the training. 70 per cent of youths reported improvement or some improvement or significant improvement.

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Recommendations Recommendation 1: 

Forge programmatic linkages with other Plan programmes to maximize outreach

Recommendation 2:  Behaviour change of youths. Recommendation 3: 

Use of Result Based Management framework for project management

Recommendation 4: 

Setting-up standard communication protocols

Recommendation 5:  

Review the program strategy in accordance with the current contextual changes Assessing competition in the area of operation Adopt CCCDP implementation strategy.

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CHAPTER 1 - INTRODUCTION Saksham launched in May 2010 is one of the flagship projects of Plan India towards enhancing young people’s access to market driven vocational skills. The project aims to train youth from disadvantaged and marginalized urban communities in market driven Job Oriented Vocational Training (JOVT). The overall Saksham project was implemented in seven resettlement colonies/slums of Delhi: Dwarka, Mahipalpur, Badarpur, Mehrauli, Mangolpuri, Madanpur Khadar and Holambi Kalan. The target group comprised of youths in the age group of 18 to 25 years. A detailed description of project is part of the Project’s Overview presented in Chapter 2. The project, a cluster of three sub-projects1 funded by different donors, had a uniform implementation structure and was implemented between May 2010 and June 2103. The sub-project ‘Urban Youth Vocational Training in Growing Economics’ under the umbrella of Saksham Project was implemented with support from Accenture Foundation. The sub-project was of two years duration (2011-12) and was implemented in two locations in South Delhi viz., Mahipalpur and Munirka. The project had a threeparty implementation model which comprise of Plan India, Plan’s NGO partner (Bal Vikas Dhara) and Technical Resource Agency or Training Partner (CAP Foundation). As the project completed its three years, Plan India commissioned the final evaluation of the project to Kaarak, an advisory and professional services firm based in New Delhi. Kaarak conducted the evaluation of entire Saksham Project including the Accenture funded sub-project and this report presents the findings specifically for the Accenture supported sub-project.

Objectives and Scope of Evaluation2 The evaluation was intended to be a systematic learning exercise to help Plan India in development of the next phase of the project and Plan India’s skill development theme as part of HES portfolio. The specific objectives of the evaluation are as follows:  Review the progress towards goal, objectives, key outputs and outcomes of the Saksham Project as defined in the approved project. 

Review the project implementation structure to understand and document the efficiency of project management structure, three party model of partnership, project implementation processes, management information system, etc. to identify learning and challenges contributing to / hindering the success of the project.



To evaluate the relevance, efficiency, effectiveness, and impact of the project on the lives of youth and their families.



Document lessons learned from Saksham (including case studies of target group) to inform Saksham through recommendations.

The term sub-projects is introduced by the Evaluation Team to ensure clarity while referring to different smaller projects. This term was not used by Plan India in any of its documents. 2 Terms of Reference (ToR) of the overall Saksham project evaluation 1

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The scope of the evaluation is as follows: The evaluation process included i) desk literature assessment, and ii) comprehensive field evaluation visits where the Saksham project has been implemented. The study aimed to provide an overview of the outcome and impact of Saksham project on youth employment in the targeted operational areas of the project. The evaluation intended to categorically cull out following outcomes of the project: ď&#x201A;ˇ

End line assessment with similar indicators adopted during baseline survey and do comparative analysis with baseline findings; o Number of students trained ; o Percentage of youth reported a significant rise in income; o Percentage of youth, specially girls, reporting an increase in quality of life; o Percentage of youth engaged in gainful employment (at least during first 6 months of course completion and placement); o Number of alumni groups formed and number of youth enrolled for alumni membership;

Methodology and Approach As per the ToR and the Kaarak proposal, the evaluation involved discussions with all the project stakeholders and participation of the primary target groups, i.e. youths and their families. A brief description of the methodology and approach is provided below: Evaluation Approach Our Approach

ASSESS

Progress of the output against objectives, outcomes and impact.

IDENTIFY

Gaps and areas of improvement in strategy, implementation and management of the program. Strategies and measure to improve development of future phase of the project

RECOMMEND

EFFECTIVENESS EFFICIENCY IMPACT

Evaluation Criteria

Evaluation Approach

Multi-stakeholder Multi-tiered

RELEVANCE

Qualitative & Quantitative Consultative & Participatory

Triangulated Timely

Evaluation Values

Evaluation Methodology The final evaluation comprised of both secondary and primary research methodologies. Primary research 12 Kaarak-Saksham Final Evaluation Report (Draft)

Primary research included quantitative and qualitative research methodologies. Under quantitative methodology, primary surveys were conducted with targeted youths (males and females) and families of youth. The qualitative methods included discussions with community (youth and families), NGO partners, TPs, Plan India staff and Employers. Secondary research Project proposals, annual reports, select review meeting reports, process related documents and other documents were intensively reviewed as part of the evaluation process. 1. Quantitative research The details of the primary survey are as below:

Sampling and coverage of youth group The evaluation team had planned to use stratified random sampling method to cover 20 percent of the trained youths (females and males) across the project locations proportionate to their ratio in the population. According to this plan, Kaarak prepared a list of randomly selected samples from the total list shared by the Plan India. This list was then shared with Plan India to check the availability of the youths for the primary survey. Plan India, with the help of its partners, checked the availability in which a significant number of randomly selected samples were not available. Considering the time constraints, it was then decided to interview youths who were available during the survey period. Based on presentation of preliminary findings, the Plan India and Kaarak agreed to conduct a second round of data collection to cover adequate number of employed youths. The table 1 below represents sampling distribution of the youths surveyed in two rounds as per gender and location. Table 1: Number of respondents covered in primary survey

Location Mahipalpur Munirka Grand Total

TOTAL F M 53 32 16 9 11 0

F 38

Round 1 M T 31 69

F 15

Round 2 M 1

T 85 20 105

F â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Females, M â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Males and T â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Total

Sampling plan for families of youth A similar stratified random sampling was proposed to cover 10 per cent of families within each category of youth group across the six project locations. However, as in case of youths families were covered as per their availability and a total of 78 were covered.

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The table 2 below presents their coverage as per different locations: Table 2 Samples covered-families of youth

Location Mahipalpur

Number of parents/families of youth covered 62

Munirka

Grand Total

2. Qualitative Research The following table 3 presents the details of the qualitative data collection: Table 3 Qualitative data collection

Respondent Youths and their families

 Personal interviews  FGDs

Tools  9  3

Coverage

NGO partner

 Personal interviews

 1 Contact Point  2 Mobilisers

TP or technical resource agencies

 Personal interview

 2 Focal points (One from CAP

Plan India staff

 Personal interviews

and Empower respectively)  1 Trainer (from Empower)  4

Methodological Steps This evaluation exercise was carried out in three key steps. The description of these key steps and activities involved are as follows: Step I: Inception Phase This phase started with an inception meeting on 10th June at Plan India office in which following key aspects were discussed:   

Presentation and overview of the Saksham project by Plan India Scheduling of evaluation visits and interviews Sharing of secondary documents by Plan India

A planning meeting was further organised on 18th June with the following outputs and agenda:  

Plan India’s feedback on data collection tools Scheduling of primary survey and data collection with youths and their families and project partners

Based on the outcome of the discussions, the evaluation team finalised the tool after piloting it in Mahipalpur. The coordination for data collection with Plan India extended to the next phase. The evaluation team also shared the draft report structure, draft evaluation framework and the set of data collection tools with Plan India as part of intermediate deliverables mentioned in the contract.

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Step II: Data collection, collation and analysis phase This phase was conducted in following sub-steps: i. Training of investigators for quantitative data collection: A team of sixteen investigators trained and supervised by Kaarak collected the community level quantitative data. The one-day training was organised on 21st June 2013 at USO House, New Delhi which focused on orienting the investigators on the Saksham project and on application of survey instruments. The training programme included a detailed one hour session on Child Protection Policy of Plan India by Mr. B. Ilango, Technical Advisor (Children Participation). All the investigators and Kaarak team signed the Child Protection Policy of Plan India. ii. Primary data collection: This step comprised of actual data collection using both qualitative and quantitative methodologies. In addition, the evaluation team also used observation method during the evaluation process. a. Quantitative data: The data collection for youths was conducted in two rounds as mentioned in the sampling section above. During round one, i.e. from 22nd-30th June, data was collected through personal interviews in the field and during round two, i.e. from 18th-20th July, data was collected through telephonic interviews. b. Qualitative data: At the level of communities, NGO partners and trainers, qualitative data was collected during field visits. Interviews with Plan India staff was organised in Plan India’s office while the evaluation team visited the offices of TP and employers to interview them. In case of CAP Foundation (the TP), a telephonic interview with the relevant contact person based in Hyderabad was conducted. iii. Data entry, collation and analysis: The data entry was carried out in especially designed MS Access forms by data entry clerks which was then analysed using MS Excel and STATA. As mentioned above, the evaluation team shared the findings of the primary data collection with Plan India on 12th July 2013. Post round two of data collection, the evaluation team conducted an analysis of the entire data set which now forms part of this report. Step III: Report writing and submission of deliverables This phase involved coming together of the evaluation team post data collection and sharing of preliminary findings with Plan India. The evaluation team raised further queries and made additional requests for information to Plan India which was partially attended to. The ToR and evaluation framework was referred to analyse the collected data and the lead evaluators hold the final responsibility of presenting the findings to develop the comprehensive draft and final reports. At the time of writing the report, the evaluation team was informed that the planned stakeholder consultation to cross verify the findings (as mentioned in the ToR) would be carried out later to discuss the final findings of evaluation.

Limitations Some of the key limitations of the evaluation exercise are mentioned below. 

Youth’s availability for primary survey: Many of the youth especially working were not available during primary survey due to variety of reasons. Accordingly, the stratified random sampling could not be used. The convenience sampling

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 



method entails a degree of bias in the results obtained which needs to considered while extrapolating the findings for the entire population. In round 2, the telephonic interviews were conducted to overcome the challenge related to employed youth’s availability. Verification of facts as reported by youths: The evaluation team has presented the facts as reported by youths and these facts have not been verified through documentary evidences. Coverage of efficiency criteria: As financial management or use of financial resources was outside the scope of this evaluation3, the evaluation team could not measure the project’s performance against the evaluation criteria of efficiency appropriately. Availability of project documents: Some of the important project management tools were not available. The notable ones are logical framework, Monitoring and Evaluation plan, annual work plans, Detailed Implementation Plan, etc. Additionally, the documents which were not available includes final reports of the TPs, comprehensive reports of NGO partners, information related vacant periods of Plan India’s project team, minutes of meetings of review meetings amongst others. Consequently, the evaluation team could not carry out trend analysis of project results, progress towards objectives, efficiency of project management structure, performance of three party model amongst others. Time frame allocated to evaluation process: The total time allocated to evaluation was initially two months which was later extended to three months. Considering the scope of work this time frame was found to be inadequate. In this specific context, the evaluation team had to allocate additional resources due to two rounds of primary survey and additional time taken to agree over the key findings.

Report layout The report is divided into 5 chapters. Chapter One: Chapter one presents an overview of the evaluation objective, scope and the approach and methodology. Chapter Two: provides an overview of the Saksham project while detailing out its objectives, target group and outreach, the intervention model and progress towards objectives. Chapter Three: The third chapter is about the findings of the evaluation as per the key evaluation criteria: relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, outcomes and impact. Chapter Four: This chapter lists down the good practices and lessons learned that have come out through the entire project duration. It also consists of narratives of case studies which presents the achievements and processes of the Saksham project. Chapter Five: Finally, chapter five makes recommendations as per the evaluation criteria.

As clarified by Plan India

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CHAPTER 2: SAKSHAM PROJECT OVERVIEW About Plan4 Plan envisions a world in which all children realize their full potential in societies that respect people’s rights and dignity. For this purpose Plan works in the areas of child participation, child protection, gender equality and advocacy in 50 developing countries across Africa, Asia and the America. Plan India primarily works with child centered community development (CCCD) approach in approximately 5000 communities in 11 states of India in collaboration with its partner NGOs. Plan India’s country strategy plan (CSP-III) for 2010-15 has recognized Household Economic Security (HES) as a vital element for providing basic rights and needs to the children, adolescents and young people. Within this priority, Plan is engaging with the unprivileged youth and helping them access decent and formal employment with the overall objective of breaking intergenerational cycle of poverty. Plan India is training youths in job oriented vocational, business and life skills training. Plan India has targeted to support 50,000 female youth for employment / selfemployment through skill development by 2015. In this process, Plan India implemented a JOVT project called “Saksham”-Youth Employment Initiative in Resettlement Colonies of Delhi.

About Saksham Project The Saksham project, started in May 2010, targeted select pockets (slums/resettlement colonies) of south Delhi and west Delhi in collaboration with its NGO partners. Saksham’s overall objective is ‘to ensure equitable access to vocational and life skills training which are directly linked with gainful employment opportunities for young girls and boys from the poor families’. In many ways, the project has evolved in last three years with significant changes in the specific objectives; however, the overall goal has remained the same. As already mentioned, the project adopted a three party model for implementation. About Accenture – Plan Saksham Project Accenture supported the Saksham project in two locations, i.e. Munirka and Mahipalpur. The project is the sub-project of the larger Saksham project and was called ‘Urban youth vocational training in growing economies Plan International project- India’. The duration of the project spanned from January 2011 till June 2013. Bal Vikas Dhara (BVD) was the NGO partner while CAP Foundation was the TP. A brief introduction of both the partners in given below: Bal Vikas Dhara (BVD): BVD was established in 1993 and focuses on issues related to women and children. The main focus of the organization had initially been with the Children who engaged in the exploitative labour. Presently the development activities that BVD implements is in the area of environment, health, education and in collective employment etc. all are undertaken according to the local problems and issues. BVD has established links with various national & international NGOs, Government and other agencies and is undertaking consultancy, training and support service. It is associated with Plan India since 2010. The 4

As per www.planindia.org and ToR

17 Kaarak-Saksham Final Evaluation Report (Draft)

NGO is operating in 24 slum clusters in South and South-West Districts of Delhi & Gurgaon. The Saksham project by Plan India had been implemented in Munirka and Mahipalpur by the NGO. CAP Foundation: CAP is a registered trust working as an innovative workforce development initiative in providing solutions to link learning and livelihood for disadvantaged young people and women. CAP Foundation offers academic, vocational and occupational programs through in-school, out-of-school and post-school program interventions. As a partner in the Plan India- Saksham Project, the foundation catered to the vocational training needs of youth in Mahipalpur and Munrika. CAP foundation has engaged with Plan in its CCCD projects and has been associated with Plan it the best employability skills training programme. As a technical agency, CAP foundation was responsible for the following activities- Market scan, community profiling, match the courses with aspirations of the youth, recruitment and training of faculty and providing facilitative skills.

Specific Objectives Specific Objectives of the Accenture funded sub-project   

Youth employability: Enable 600 disadvantaged youth in urban slum areas of Delhi with equitable access to skills and employment. Test Pilot: Prove efficacy of 3-party model (Plan, Technical Expert Agency and grassroots NGO partner). Sustainability: Liaise with government to consider scale-up of the project by adopting the 3-party model for national scale; using and improving established infrastructure and modular employment schemes.

Target beneficiaries and outreach The project specifically disadvantaged youths residing in resettlement colonies/slums of West and South Delhi. The following table presents the specific details about the targeted beneficiaries: Table 4: Target Beneficiaries and Outreach Details

Name of donor

Targeted youths

Age Group

Accenture

600 (50 per cent female)

15-29

Name of the locations Mahipalpur, Munirka

Three Party Intervention Model Plan India adopted a tripartite model in overall Saksham project wherein Plan India, the NGO partners and TP (a vocational training expert agency) jointly implemented the project. This tripartite model was based on the Plan’s previous experience in India wherein community mobilisation for JOVT was seen as a challenge and the TP driven model lacked connection with the grassroots. Plan India included NGO partners in this model in order to strengthen the work at the community level. A brief of the roles of the different partners in this tripartite model as per the project proposal is presented below: Table 5: Three Party Model ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES IN THE THREE PARTY MODEL Plan India NGO partner Technical agency Undertake overall coordination and management of the project.

Youth and community mobilisation

Development of training material

18 Kaarak-Saksham Final Evaluation Report (Draft)

Monitoring, reporting, documentation and review. Technical guidance and quality assurance

Building data base of youth Gender sensitisation Career counselling of youth Parent counselling Post placement follow up

Providing training by experts, conducting assessments and certification. Career counselling Job placements Empower and create youth collectives

Strategies and Activities The project strategies and activities to execute the VT model are presented below in the figure. Figure 1: Project Strategies and Activities

Project Management Structure The project management structure included the team members from the three parties and can be presented below in the figure: Figure 2: Project Organogram5

The diagram as shared by the project team

19 Kaarak-Saksham Final Evaluation Report (Draft)

The project was implemented through the VT Centers and the TPs were primarily responsible for setting up and management of these centers. At the level of TP, the project team included one point person, two trainers at each centre with one trainer acting as Centre Manager and one/two mobilizers. At the level of NGO partner for each location, the project team included one point person and two field mobilizers (one male and one female). The VT centers had a coordination committee that comprised of Center Manager, NGO partners’ representative, field mobilizers and a project coordinator of Plan India who met periodically to discuss issues specific to the centre. As mentioned in the figure above, the project team at Plan India comprised of Project Manager, Project Coordinator under the overall supervision of Senior Program Manager with support from Technical Advisor – HES.

VT Process Saksham immerses best practices from 8 step Vietnam vocational training model which was adapted to meet the requirement of Indian market scenario/context 6. The project developed a standard process up to enrolment which includes detailed guidelines during the course of project execution with the direct project experience on ground7. The overall VT process as mentioned in the guidelines and comprehended by the evaluation team for all the phases is being briefed below: Figure 3: VT Process

ENROLLMENT TRAINING DELIVERY

ASSESSMENT & CERTIFICATION

JOB PLACEMENT

FOLLOW UP

CONTENT DEVELOPMENT

Enrolment

The enrolment process comprised of the five steps as mentioned below8: 1. Mobilization – The NGO partner through its field level mobilisers was primarily responsible for mobilisation of trainees. The mobilisation methods included door to door visits, street plays, and pamphlet distribution. Parents of the youth, especially females, were also sensitized. Saksham alumni were also encouraged to support the NGOs in this activity. As the community mobilisation became a challenge and started impacting the batch sizes, the TPs additionally appointed mobilisers.

Urban Youth Vocational Training in Growing Economies Plan International project in Vietnam & India Executive Summary 7 ‘Youth Enrollment in Vocational training-A guiding document’ as shared by the project team. 8 Ibid

20 Kaarak-Saksham Final Evaluation Report (Draft)

2. Enquiries raised: The Center Manager in collaboration with community mobilisers attended to the queries raised by the interested youths and provided details regarding orientation programme and application process. 3. Orientation and application: The orientation programme focused on courses offered, course structure, job description and career growth. The youths were then encouraged to fill the application form by themselves and it was strictly prohibited for the staff to fill the form on youth’s behalf. The process guidelines also clearly stated that the course selection had to be youth’s independent decision. The process guidelines clearly state rejection of incomplete forms and that the application had to be supported by required documents including youth’s photograph. The centre manager had a central role in this process. 4. Screening: The centre manager took lead in the screening process which included filling a screening interview schedule (to understand the interests and expectations of the youth) and suggesting relevant courses. The parents were also to be counselled regarding their child’s interest and the course selection. 5. Enrolment: After the screening process, the youth was enrolled for the course. Prior to the enrolment the field mobilizers conducted a socio-economic assessment of the family. The centre maintained a range of documents pertaining to the participant’s enrolment and job placement. As an addition to the documents maintained, individual files were also being maintained by the TPs. B.

Content development

The content development exercise included selection of the courses and development of their content to deliver the training programme. 1. Market Scanning: An important part of the project was market scanning exercise carried out by the TP to select courses. CAP Foundation conducted a market scanning exercise which suggested Customer Relations and Sales (CRS), ITES and Retail, Hospitality and Health Care9. 2. Content development: The TPs led the content development exercise after selection of courses. CAP Foundation used the courses from its inventory and has IPR on the content developed. C.

Training delivery a.

VT Centers: The TP established VT Centers to deliver the JOVT. The centre management was in direct control of TP with the support of Plan India and NGOs and centers were established in September 201110. In December 2012, the Munirka closed down while the Mahipalpur centre continued to operate by Empower Pragati. b. Course Duration: The duration of the course was three months and the classes were held 5 days a week for around 6 hours a day. c. Batch size: The average size of one batch was recommended to be 25 – 30 participants (minimum around 20) and approximately two batches were given training per day. Urban Youth Vocational Training in Growing Economies, Annual report – January2011- December 2011, India Field Country Office 10 Urban Youth Vocational Training in Growing Economies, Annual report – January2011- December 2011, India Field Country Office 9

21 Kaarak-Saksham Final Evaluation Report (Draft)

d. Courses offered: The courses offered included CRS, Retail and Hospitality, and ITES (BPO ). Apart from the main course content, life skills, English and ICT were integrated in most of the courses, so not in all? In which not, why?,. In the initial phases, all the identified courses were offered at the VT centers, however, it appears that maximum number of youths were trained in CRS during the project period11. D. 1.

Assessment and certification Assessment: Every enrolled youth was to be assessed based on examinations or tests at various levels of the course. In the three months course, trainees were to be assessed every month. While the centre manager was responsible for conducting the tests, the format and questionnaires of the test papers were also monitored by the Plan India staff. This process was overall executed by the TP12. Certification: As per the process document, TPs had to provide certificates to youths within fifteen days of the course completion. CAP Foundation had planned to issue certificates under the community college scheme of IGNOU, however, the situation turned slightly complex after the scheme was rolled back rolled back??. CAP Foundation arranged for certification from other institutions under the SDIMES scheme of government and Edexcel, an international certification organisation. Job placement

The job placement was the primary responsibility of the TPs in which a minimum of 70 per cent was set as the key indicator . The TPs made significant efforts in collaboration with Plan India to ensure placement of the trained candidates. Efforts were made to place the trained youth within one month in a job that best suited her/his calibre. Some of the key activities undertaken were: 1. Pre-placement support: The TPs organised special sessions to assist youth’s interviews by conducting mock interviews. 2. Job Offers: The TPs provided at least three job offers to each candidate as part of the placement process. A youth could avail the best offer from the three offers. In case someone left the job within the first six months, the TPs provided another job offers. 3. Interaction with employers: Empower Pragati made significant efforts to interact with the employers to get their feedback and also conducted a small study in this regard. The study findings were used in course of the project to ensure placements. F.

Follow up support

The NGO partners through their field mobilizers were responsible for the follow up after the placement. Through follow ups they were supposed to help the graduates adjust to the work environment and perform effectively. Counselling with youths as well as their parents was the primary method used in this regard.

The exact number of youths trained by two TPs as per courses is not available with the evaluation team. ‘Youth Enrollment in Vocational training-A guiding document’ as shared by the project team and personal interviews. 11

22 Kaarak-Saksham Final Evaluation Report (Draft)

Accenture support in the project Apart from the financial support, Accenture also provided pro-bono technical support to the project, the key ones are: Key Business Processes – Process documented along with key metrics KPIs/Dashboard for effective monitoring and evaluation: Short Term & Long Term Goals Key messages for effective branding along with a- ‘recruitment survey questionnaire’. A brief study of the Vocational Training scenario in India based on secondary research and Accenture research.  Online mentoring of five youths in association with NLNO in Phase two.

Monitoring, Evaluation and Reporting Plan India led the monitoring, evaluation and reporting components of the project. Monitoring: The Plan India project team was primarily responsible for monitoring which was carried out by field visits, analysing monthly progress reports of partners and holding tripartite quarterly review meetings. Plan India’s project team participated very closely in the project and were very much engaged in day to day management decisions. Evaluation: The planned baseline study and midterm evaluation was not organised. Reporting: Plan India prepared annual and bi-annual reports in participatory mode in consultation with different stakeholders including communities and other two parties.

Achievements The key achievements of the project as against key objective of JOVT are provided in the table below: Table 6: Project Achievements13 Name of the Centre

Current Status (open/Close )

Mahipalpu r

Open

Munirka

Closed

Name of the TRA CAP/ Empowe r CAP TOTAL

Nam e of NGO

Center Startin g Date14

Centre Closin g Date15

BVD

July’11

BVD

Jul’11

Dec’12

No. of Youth Enrolled Girl Boy s s 190 211

Completed Training Boy s 211

No. of Youth Placed Girl Boy s s 131 174

71 129 261 340 601

34 81 165 255 420

Girl s 190

As can be seen from above table, the project reported overachievement of targets. 601 youth were enrolled and trained, of which 70% per cent were reportedly placed.

This information was compiled and provided by Plan India The start & end date are not the actual dates but are as per the agreement. 15 The start & end date are not the actual dates but are as per the agreement. 14

23 Kaarak-Saksham Final Evaluation Report (Draft)

CHAPTER 3: EVALUATION FINDINGS The evaluation findings are presented as per the key evaluation criteria, i.e. relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, outcomes and impact. The section also includes analysis of the primary data collected from youths and their families. Further, a detailed context analysis was conducted by the evaluation team to assess skill development’s eco system at the country and Delhi levels. Skill development, which is now taken up on a mission mode by Government of India (GoI) and different State governments, is one of the largest vocational training initiatives in the world. This context analysis has been presented in Annex 2. As an introduction to the section the status of objectives as mentioned in different proposals is being briefed below: Table 7: Status of Objectives

Objective Comprehensive – as mentioned in the ToR. Enable 600 disadvantaged youth in urban slum areas of Delhi with equitable access to skills and employment. Prove efficacy of 3-party model (Plan, technical expert agency and grassroots NGO partner). Liaise with government to consider scale-up of the project by adopting the 3-party model for national scale, using and improving established infrastructure and modular employment schemes.

Status 601 youths trained; 420 placed. 3 – party model implemented No progress made in this regard.

Relevance The relevance of the project was assessed with regard to the Plan India’s overall objective and strategy as expressed in CSP – III (2011 – 15). This section is accordingly presented in the following three sub-sections: Relevance to national and local context ► Relevance to Plan India’s CSP-III ► Relevance to Accenture initiatives ► Relevance to youth and their families ►

Relevance to national and state context Plan India through its Saksham project was one of the early entrants in the renewed focus of the development sector to fulfil the skill gap in the country. The Government has set ambitious long and short term targets for skilling youth and the targets for current year, i.e. 2012-13 in itself is more than 7 million. There are no state specific targets, however, it is expected that a minimum of 70,000 will need to be covered in Delhi to meet the above mentioned national target16. The GoI has involved more than 15 ministries and has especially set up NSDC to involve private sector. The NSDC and SDI – MES are supporting development and 16Delhi

has 0.01 percent of the country’s population which has been used to calculate the proportionate minimum targets.

24 Kaarak-Saksham Final Evaluation Report (Draft)

delivery of a huge range of VT courses. Empower Pragati, the TP, is one of the investee companies of the NSDC and subsequently Saksham project has directly contributed to the NSDC targets. The VT centers supported by Plan India are also mentioned as NSDC centers. Also, all the Plan NGO partners are running VT courses as part of the Gender Resources Center (GRC) under Mission Convergence scheme of Delhi Government17. There are other governmental, non-governmental and private training providers operating in the project locations. Please refer to Annex 2 for details. Overall, the project is highly relevant to the national and state context and matches with government’s priority to JOVT. However, allocation of significant financial resources by the national and state governments has led to increased number of VT service providers at the local levels adding to the competition to source trainees which the project could not anticipate during the design phase or did not analyse during the execution phase. As the skill development landscape in the country has changed significantly in last few years, this aspect would demand special attention in the next phase of the Saksham project.

Relevance to Plan India’s CSP-III Saksham project is very well aligned with the Plan India’s commitment under CSP III and the overarching focus of HES. The project contributes to the overall commitment made by Plan India and specifically contributes to the target of training 50,000 female youths. As the project was initiated in Plan India communities and involved Plan NGO partners as critical stakeholders in the tripartite model, programmatic linkages with other Plan projects and communities (being covered under CCDP) could have been stronger.

Relevance to Accenture At the global level, Accenture under the ‘Skills to Succeed’ initiative plans to equip people in mature as well as emerging markets with the skills to help them attain employment or entrepreneurship opportunities. Towards this end, Accenture has teamed up with strategic partners worldwide; Plan International being one of them. The support provided by Accenture for the Saksham project holds relevance as it contributes to Accenture’s overall commitment under its flagship initiative and is also in sync with overall goal of Accenture Foundation18.

Relevance to youth and their families The selection of resettlement locations or slums to reach out to youths was relevant and appropriate as youths belonging to poor or socially excluded groups stay in these localities. Baseline studies commissioned by the Plan India (Rajdhani CPU) indicated high unemployment levels in these localities even though youth were well aware of vocational training opportunities. JOVT was clearly highlighted as a need by the communities, particularly youth. The expectations also included the need for better skills (communication, language), decent salary levels (in the jobs offered), diverse courses (accounting, data entry, beautician, etc), distance of the job location from home (many female youths preferred to stay close) and decent work timings. This was also identified during youth consultations undertaken by Plan India and further reiterated by Kaarak’s evaluation findings.

www.missionconvergence.org/grcsk.php accessed on 23 Aug 2013, 11:35:41

18http://www.accenture.com/SiteCollectionDocuments/PDF/Accenture_Development_Partnerships.pdf

25 Kaarak-Saksham Final Evaluation Report (Draft)

Reason for Joining VT 0

Poor economic condition Financial Independence Peer Influence Utilization of Idle Time Job Opportunity Learning Others

Female

Male

Total

Figure 4: Reasons for joining VT

The primary survey conducted as part of evaluation process indicates that amongst the multiple reasons for joining VT, better utilisation of free time was common for males, followed by financial independence and learning. Amongst the females, learning was most common, followed by job opportunity and better utilisation of free time. Youths also cited poor economic condition (12 per cent) and peer influence (10 per cent) as other reasons for joining the VT. The project was highly relevant from the perspective of soft skill building as it laid special focus on English, ICT and life skills (including communication). Based on primary survey findings (Refer to figure 5), most of the youths found these modules quite relevant. Employers too cited the importance of these soft skills since other technical components of the job are anyways part of the induction training. Figure 5: Relevance of soft skill modules

Relevance of Soft Skill Modules 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Female

Male

Communicative English

Female

Male

Female

Life Skills

Highly Relevant

Somewhat Relevant

Not applicable

No Respnse

Male

Computers Irrelevant

Since the project imparted training on few selected trades or courses (mostly CRS), overall relevance was perceived as limited by some sections of youths and their families.

26 Kaarak-Saksham Final Evaluation Report (Draft)

However, the evaluation team noted that this strategy of having limited number of courses was appropriate especially in the context of available resources and expertise. The job placement aspect of the project was highly relevant to youths looking for immediate jobs. The evaluation findings also suggest that the jobs offered were not relevant to youths who were looking to take up jobs with certain conditions, i.e. related to work timings, salary levels, distance from home etc. Also, many of the youths who undertook the training were pursuing their studies (mostly graduation) through correspondence or distance learning and had enrolled themselves in Saksham program to enhance their skills and thereby utilize their time in a better manner. Since the course had a very clear focus on computer literacy, communicative English and overall personality development, the training was viewed as highly relevant especially in the context of future job prospects. It is for this reason, many of the youths rejected the placement offers or the jobs (in which they were initially employed).

Effectiveness The evaluation team has assessed the effectiveness of the project implementation strategies and processes and the assessment areas are as follows: ď&#x201A;ˇ

ď&#x201A;ˇ

Effectiveness of VT Processes o Enrolment o VT Delivery o Assessment and Certification o Placements and Follow-up Project Implementation Strategies o Partnership: Three Party Model o Gender Sensitization of Communities and Employers o Youth Collectives: Alumni Groups o Capacity Building of NGO Partners (Has not been analysed as there is no progress against this strategy)

Effectiveness of VT Processes Enrolment A. Mobilization and Enquiry Raising: 45 per cent of the surveyed youths got the information about the Saksham project for the first time from NGO/TP staff/community mobilisers and another 50 percent from friends. Please refer to the figure 6. In some cases, neighbours, parents and other family members also provided information to the youths.

27 Kaarak-Saksham Final Evaluation Report (Draft)

50 40 30

20 10

NGO staff/ Comm. Mob. activity

Parents

Other Family Member Female

Friend

Male

Neighbor

Others

Total

Figure 6: Source of information regarding Saksham training

Some of the female youths mentioned GRC also as an important source of information. The community mobilisation strategies were target driven and were successful in achieving the overall enrolment targets. This can also be attributed to existing rapport and outreach of the NGO partners in the project locations, intensive efforts by the TPs/NGOs and counselling of parents of female youths. B. Orientation: The orientation of youth was conducted at the VT centers and the TP staff were reported to be easily approachable and youths were provided with information on the course content. The VT centers answered all the queries of the youths and gave sufficient time to each of the participant. C. Screening: The screening process entailed screening of candidates based on ‘selection criteria’, screening questionnaire’, parent counselling and interest inventory test. C.1 Criteria: Age and Educational Qualification 100 per cent of the youths were in the age group of 18 – 29 and 97 per cent of the youth in the age group 18 - 25 years. Almost 88 per cent of the respondents were either 10th or 12th pass. About 11 per cent of youths had either a graduate or masters level qualification.

Currently Pursuing Education (%) 100 73

80 60

40 20

21 6

39 21

Regular full time Part Time Open School Total Studying Around 75 per cent of the youth course surveyed reported pursuing Female Male Total education largely through part 19 time courses , correspondence or Figure 7: Youth currently pursuing education open schools. 78 per cent of the surveyed youth were unemployed before attending the training in which 87 per cent were females and 65 per cent were males. The project made an assumption that youths not pursuing full time education indicated their need or interest to take up full time jobs. However, this assumption was found to be incorrect as many of the youths especially 19

Part time in the graph includes the respondents pursuing education through correspondence

28 Kaarak-Saksham Final Evaluation Report (Draft)

girls are continuing with their education without taking up jobs as also indicated by project stakeholders during consultations. Disadvantaged youths The project objectives mention that the youth target group shall be ‘disadvantaged’ which has similarity with ‘poor and socially excluded groups’ with the overall objectives. However, the project followed an ‘inclusive approach’20 wherein all the youths residing in the resettlement colonies/slums were treated as potential targets. The project did collect information around the social group in the application form; however, information around economic status Figure 8: Economic category wise distribution of youth was collected only during baseline assessment (carried out as part of enrolment after 40 32 32 32 screening). Also, the social group was not 30 considered as eligibility criteria. In the evaluation survey, 37 per cent of the youth were SC, 14 per cent OBC and 49 per cent from General21 category.

20 10

0 BPL

APL

No Card

Response With regard to economic status, 32 per cent of the youth reported having BPL22 cards, 32 per cent APL cards and another 32 per cent as having none of these cards (Please refer to figure 7). While there are other reasons for not able to possess BPL card despite technically being poor or vice versa, the overall profile of youths as found during primary survey reflected that most of them belonged to poor or lower middle class (as commonly understood) income categories. In few cases, the youths belonged to relatively affluent sections within the resettlement colonies in possession of two wheelers or four wheelers.

C.2 Process: Screening interview to assess willingness to take up job The screening interview (facilitated by an interview schedule) assessed youth’s willingness to take up job immediately upon completion of the training. The screening questionnaire comprised open ended questions around willingness, expected job profile, salary expectation and parent’s view. The evaluation team noted that the format of the screening interview schedule was too subjective for analysis or to be part of the MIS. Also, some of the key expectations of youths, for e.g. preferred job timings and distance from home, were missing. The overall numbers with regard to youths currently in job reflects limitations of the screening exercise, however, in absence of sufficient information (number of youths and centres on whom the interview schedule or process was administered and their results), the evaluation team is unable to comment on the efficacy of this process. Parent’s involvement 20

The project team mentioned this during discussions. This approach is not mentioned or defined in any of the project documents. 21 General category is India is normally not considered as socially excluded in India 22 In Delhi, families with income of Rs. 24,200 per year or less is identified as living below poverty line (BPL) (Source: http://delhi.gov.in/DoIT/DoIT_Planning/ES2012-13/EN/ES_Chapter19.pdf accessed on 23 Aug 2013)

29 Kaarak-Saksham Final Evaluation Report (Draft)

Involving parents during the screening process was part of general protocol for the implementation partner. Post January 2013, the project documented its enrolment guideline document which clearly stated involvement of parents during the screening process as mandatory. The evaluation findings (FGDs with youth and parents consultations with NGO partners) suggest involving parents during the screening process was not that this was not followed especially in case of parents of male youths. Parents of female youths were visited and counselled as part of the community mobilisation process. Interest Inventory Test Around 34 per cent of the youths covered under primary survey reported taking interest inventory test. The information around the number of youths who took this test was also not recorded. It appears that this test lost relevance during the course of project’s execution as only two to three courses were promoted considering its placement potential.

Figure 9: Youth who took Interest Inventory Test

100 77

66 51

60 40

49 34

20 0 Female

Male Yes

Total

D. Enrolment: Figure 10: VT course reported by youth

76 per cent of youth reported to have undertaken CRS, 13 per cent ITES and 6 per cent Retail. Please see the figure 10. The enrolment guidelines mentions conducting a socio economic assessment for each of the youth as part of the enrolment process, however, it seems this was not carried out consistently for all the youths. The uniqueness of Saksham VT courses lies on special emphasis given to ‘communicative English’, ‘life skills’, ‘basic computer literacy’ and ‘job readiness’. The evaluation survey indicates that almost all the youths recalled the modules on basic ICT and communicative English.

90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0

CRS

5 7 6

3 5 4

Retail

Hospitality

Female

Male

16 13 2 0 1

ITES

Total

Overall Enrolment Process The overall findings suggest that the project achieved in the targets of enrolling youth as per the criteria of age and education. The findings suggest that all components of the enrolment process (as mentioned in the guidelines) were not uniformly and consistently applied which also indicates that these processes have evolved during the course of project’s execution.

30 Kaarak-Saksham Final Evaluation Report (Draft)

Others

Figure 11: Rating of Enrollment Process by Youth 80

60 50

40 30

33 26

Male

Female

Mobilization %

0 Female

35 29

Male

Female

Orientation %

7 0 Male

Screening %

Highly Satisfactory

Satisfactory

Unsatisfactory

Do not want to comment

Not applicable

No Response

Female

0 Male

Parent Counseling %

The surveyed youth are largely highly satisfied or satisfied with the enrolment process. Overall, the orientation process received the best ratings. However, a significant proportion did not rate the screening (60 per cent-female & 33 per cent-male) as it was not applicable to them. Similar was the case with parentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s counselling in which 60 per cent of the males and 27 per cent of the females mentioned as not applicable. VT Delivery A. Course Content Overall, 26 percent of the youth were highly satisfied and 66 per cent satisfied with the course content. Around 7 per cent of the youth reported the content to be unsatisfactory. Please refer to Figure 12. Figure 12: Rating on Course Content

80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0

74 60

31 19

26 8

Highly Satisfactory

Satisfactory Female

Unsatisfactory Do not want to comment

Male

Total

31 Kaarak-Saksham Final Evaluation Report (Draft)

The female youths were content with the delivery of English speaking course as it enhanced their communicative skills and built their confidence to a great extent. Youths were largely satisfied with the computer course; however, felt that infrastructure could be better (in terms of number of computers available). Some of the youths also felt that computer course was too basic for IT related jobs. B. Trainers, Training Methodology and Infrastructure Trainers Youth rated the training faculty very highly as more than 50 per cent were highly satisfied. The trainers were very approachable and showed a lot of patience and keenness while answering to queries.

Figure 13: Youth’s rating of trainers (per cent) 70 60

50 40

NGOs partner mentioned that 20 present trainers/ faculty members 10 5 3 0 were good, however overloaded due 0 to multiple tasks of centre Female Male Total management, training delivery as well Highly Satisfactory Satisfactory Unsatisfactory as placements. Some of the partners strongly shared that specialised trainers as per modules are required to enhance the effectiveness of training delivery. Methodology Youths highly appreciated the participatory training methodology which included role plays, lecture methods and interactive sessions as they found it effective in imparting the knowledge and skills. The participatory methodology lead to enhanced participation of the youths and was able to create an enabling learning environment. Infrastructure Overall, the youths and their parents were largely satisfied with the infrastructure at the VT centers. Some of the challenges and concerns reported include lack of adequate number of computers. C. Other aspects Course timing and VT Center location Course timings and location of VT centers was reported as satisfactory by the youths.

Figure 14: Youth’s rating of VT Centre infrastructure

Rating - Infrastructure (%) 100 80 60 40 20 0

60 31

10 Female

67 27

2 Male

Total

Infrastructure Highly Satisfactory

Satisfactory

Unsatisfactory

Quality control measures The quality control measures especially with regard to trainers’ performance and VT centre infrastructure was part of the project level monitoring, evaluation and reporting systems. This was directly undertaken by Plan India in which the monitoring visits, 32 Kaarak-Saksham Final Evaluation Report (Draft)

monthly reports, quarterly review meetings played key roles. However, a systematic mechanism to collect every traineeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s feedback was absent. Assessment and Certification The evaluation team has extremely limited information around assessments as it was not covered during the evaluation survey or in the MIS. During discussions and evaluation exercise, the evaluation team could not gather enough evidence to comment conclusively about this aspect. Around 67 per cent of the youth reported receiving certificates. While certificates have been issued for all the youths who completed training and these certificates are available at the training centers, a large number of youths have not collected them. Some of the reasons cited by youth for not collecting certificates include lack of time, centers being closed when visited and no special requirement of these certificates (as none of the employers ever asked for them). Figure 15: Youths reported receiving certificates

80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0

58 40

27 2

0 Female Yes

Male No

1 Total

No Response

33 Kaarak-Saksham Final Evaluation Report (Draft)

Job Placements and Follow-up A. Job Placement Out of the total surveyed youth, around 88 per cent youth reported to be offered a job opportunity immediately after completion of VT course. However, only 44 per cent accepted the job offer, 52 per cent did not accept the offer while 4 per cent could not clear the interview.

Figure 16: Job offered immediately after completion of VT

Overall, only 23 per cent of the total youth surveyed reported to be employed till first six months. Around 38 per cent of the surveyed youth (40 per cent females and 35 per cent males) reported to be employed at the time of survey.

100

80 60 40 20

Female Yes, by Saksham

Male

Total

Yes, on my own

The main reasons for youths not taking up jobs or leaving jobs were reported as pursuing education, job not being of interest or expectation, distance between work place and home, low salary levels and parents/elders disapproval. The other reasons included work environment related stress, health related problems amongst others. Placement support provided by the TP Youths were highly appreciative of the placement support provided by the TP. It was reported that the TP provided youths with at least three job opportunities. (Please refer to Figure 17). Most of the youth recalled support in preparation for the interview (70 per cent), information sharing on job openings (70 per cent) and support in job application process (43 per cent) as key services provided by the project for job search. Figure 17: Job Placement Support

Job Placement Support (%) 80 70

72 70

67 70

42 44 43

50 40 30 20

3 5 4

10 0 Information on Job openings

Support in application process (CV/ Paperwork)

Support in preparation of Interview

5 2 0

Follow-up with Re-employment the company (upto 3 jobs) post interview

Female

Male

13 12 12

None

2 5 3 Others

Total

Though the NGO was not directly involved in the placement of the youth, they stayed in the loop as they were responsible for the follow up with the youth. They were highly appreciative of the Saksham project in increasing the awareness regarding job 34 Kaarak-Saksham Final Evaluation Report (Draft)

0 No

opportunities in the community. They mentioned that visits of HR officials of the employers was quite beneficial in Mahipalpur and recommended strongly for other locations. The NGO partners felt that low salaries and lack of assessment of the workplace by the TP could be the reasons for youth’s low retention in jobs. The TP mentioned that job market has now become extremely competitive and youth’s expectations with regard to salaries do not match their qualification. The employers expressed their challenge of accommodating employees with work timing issues and preferred employees who were flexible in this aspect. Some of the employers also expressed their dissatisfaction with regard to Saksham’s policy that required them to counsel the low performing employees rather than remove her/him from the job. B. Follow-up Support Around 37 per cent of the total youths surveyed reported on-job support by TP which indicates that the TP provided this support to all the youths who accepted the job offers. It appears that NGO mobilisers were also supposed to be involved in follow up support 23 to the youth, however, this seems to have not taken place. The Saksham process document states of a specific format to be used for follow-up. Youths mentioned that TP is in a better position to provide this support since they provided the placements and are in a better position. Figure 18 depicts the follow-up support received by the youth. Figure 18: Follow-up Support (On-Job)

On-Job Support (%) 70

53 47

50 40 30

7 0

0 Counseling on issues of work pressure and timings

Negotiation with Personal financial employer on management issues (bank a/c opening, investments, etc.)

Female

Further skill enhancement

Male

None

Others

Total

‘Youth Enrollment in Vocational training-A guiding document’ as shared by the project team and personal interviews.

35 Kaarak-Saksham Final Evaluation Report (Draft)

Effectiveness of Project Implementation Strategies The key findings of effectiveness of implementation strategies are as follows: Partnership: Three Party Model The three party model was at the core of Saksham’s implementation strategy. In absence of performance indicators, the evaluation team assessed the design as well as the success factors. A. Role Clarity The roles of each partner was broadly defined and understood by the partners. The roles of Plan India and the TP was found to be well defined, however, the NGO’s role in community mobilization and follow up support witnessed overlap with that of the TPs. The partners reported that Plan India was responsive to their roles and provided timely support and coordination especially in later half of the project. B. Coordination and Communication To facilitate coordination, joint monitoring visits, Centre Coordination Committee (key representatives from NGO, TP and Plan India) meetings, and joint quarterly reviews were the common methods used. The findings suggest that Plan India was the channel through which the coordination and communication happened between the partners which could have led to gap in real time coordination between TP and NGO partners. C. Target Setting and Achievements The targets at the level of Plan India and theTPs were well defined and clear, however, this was absent at the level of NGO partners. Accordingly, NGO partners’ achievements in this project could not be quantified. D. Ownership of the Result Plan India served as a common link between the NGO partner and the TPs. While Plan India’s and theTP’s ownership of the project results have been well defined, that was not the case with NGO partner. As the NGO partner are long term partners of Plan India no separate agreement or MoU was signed with NGO partners as part of this project. Thus, the stakes and roles of NGOs partners were quite less in comparison to other partners. The NGOs mainly looked at community mobilisation which acted as an important but support function in the context of overall VT process.

36 Kaarak-Saksham Final Evaluation Report (Draft)

Gender Sensitization of Communities and Employers The project took a focused approach on gender sensitization of the community, especially targeting parents of female youth. The community mobilisation activity specifically focused on this and took special measures to ensure female youth participation in the project. The data presented in the figure 19 clearly states female youth’s participation almost at par with the males (trained and placed).

Figure 19: Youth Trained and Placed (per cent)

The gender sensitisation of the parents of female youth seems effective as more than 90 of the female youth’s parents mentioned VT training being beneficial for their daughters. This is significant as parent’s attitude was reported as challenge during the course of project implementation.

70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0

Trained

Females

Placed

Males

Plan India conducted a gender sensitization programme for the project partners which was very much appreciated. Create and Empower Youth Collectives: Alumni Groups The proposal set formation of alumni groups as Figure 20: Youth who ever attended Alumni Meeting one of the quantitative indicators in which (in percentage) enrolled membership should have been 250. 80 The NGO partner was primary responsible to 60 establish and manage the alumni groups. 40 However, the alumni groups were not formed 20 0 as against the objective and the NGO partner Female Male Total mentioned alumni’s low attendance to be major challenge in this process. However, the NGO Yes No Not aware partner did make efforts to organise meetings and interactions between alumni and youth part of VT. Around 67 per cent of the surveyed youth reported to have attended at least one alumni meeting (figure 20). 57 per cent of the surveyed youths consider the purpose of alumni groups as a platform for peer learning, sharing of various career options and coordination amongst the students. 8 per cent have reported the group’s purpose as support in job/ new opportunity and guidance for further skill enhancement.

37 Kaarak-Saksham Final Evaluation Report (Draft)

Figure 21: Purpose of alumni group

Purpose of Alumni Group (%) 70

50 40 30 20 10 0

14 3

Support in Job progression / placements

Further Skills Enhancement

Financial support Peer Learning, for enrolment in sharing for further training trouble shooting programme and coordination

Female

Male

0 None

Others

Total

The evaluation team notes that formation of alumni groups was a difficult task to achieve considering the length and subsequent attachment of alumni with the programme. Also, if these alumni groups are compared with other such groups, it appears that the TP is better positioned to hold alumni groups as they were directly responsible for management of the VT centers and delivery of training.

Efficiency The efficiency of the Saksham project is being evaluated primarily with regard to assessment of project management structures and MIS as per the ToR. As the assessment of the financial management was outside the scope of this evaluation, the evaluation team did not access the budgetary and expenditure figures. In absence of annual work plans or detailed implementation plan, the evaluation team could not assess the projectâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s timeliness and their factors.

Project Management Structures At Plan India level, the project management structure is adequate. The impact of staff turnover on the project could not be assessed as the relevant details are not available. The current project team joined after September 2012 and the position of Senior Manager (who is part of the project team) is still vacant. Plan India reported of making alternate arrangements such as?... At the level of the TP, the project was managed by a point person along with a dedicated person taking care of placements. This looked sufficient. At the Center level, the management was taken up by TP staff termed as Center Manager. The person also doubled up as trainer and local liaising person for exploring placement opportunities. Only two trainers were allocated to each centre which reportedly seemed insufficient?. . At the NGOs level, a point person and two mobilisers were allocated. However, considering that TPs also had to appoint mobilisers, the efficacy of community mobilisers and role overlap was questioned and noticed.

38 Kaarak-Saksham Final Evaluation Report (Draft)

Management Information System The project invested a good amount of time and resources in collecting data with regard to youths being enrolled, trained and placed. The data base was maintained at each centre and compiled at the TP level before submission to Plan India. This investment played a key role in keeping the focus of the project on achieving the targets relating to enrolment and placements. Special efforts were also made to collect the information on the latest status of each of the trained youths. The evaluation team understands that the format underwent a change during the project. Plan India has further worked with Accenture to develop a detailed MIS system as per the three party system, which will be implemented in the next phase. The table below presents the fields in which the data for each of the youth was stored under different formats. Table 8: MIS Format Details Name of the Format/File: Copy of Saksham new batches data revised (Enrolled) S.No Student Name Gender Address Phone No. Name of the Company Salary Designation Evidence of Placement Date of Examination Certifying Agency Exam Attendance Status

The evaluation team notes that although a huge effort was made to collect, store and manage data; this data was not used extensively during project period. Some of the basic principles of the database management, for e.g. giving unique ID to each trainee, was not adopted which can lead to errors while analysing the data. Also, the data stored was not friendly to quick and large scale analysis. Some of the significant information which the MIS could not capture is related to the screening process, drop outs, attendance and time spent in the employment. Overall, the MIS only served the purpose of maintaining a list of youths enrolled, trained and placed. The detailed format developed in collaboration with Accenture may be highly useful in phase 2.

Certificate Issues Status

Outcomes and Impact This section reviews the progress the project made towards its goal and the specified objectives while outlining the key outcomes and impact.

Outcomes: Access to decent employment to poor and socially excluded youths The assessment of project’s outcomes as per the defined objectives is as follows:The project’s outputs in terms of enrolment and training can be termed as highly satisfactory as it meets the requisite numbers. There is no overall data available to determine per cent of the youths who continued in jobs for at least six months. The primary survey indicates that only 23 per cent continued in job for first six months and 38 per cent were in jobs at the time of evaluation survey. This includes youths who might have got jobs from other efforts than the Saksham project. Overall, 73 per cent of the surveyed youth found the VT very useful. The training positively impacted the youth’s personalities and has led to enhanced self-confidence. It

39 Kaarak-Saksham Final Evaluation Report (Draft)

certainly exposed the youths to good quality training programme and gave an insight into the opportunities available in service sectors like retail, ITES, etc. The project certainly enhanced the youthâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s choices and access to employment in formal sectors, however, it is also noted that a significant number of youths did not opt for immediate jobs and are not currently employed. As discussed above, many of them are still pursuing education to enhance their knowledge and skills for better jobs opportunities. More than 50 percent of the surveyed and employed youths reported earning more than Rs. 8000. Even though a common practice in India, the jobs offered to the youths for less than Rs.8,000 cannot be termed as decent as these salaries are below the statutory minimum wage rates set by the state government 24 . Even though the wages are determined by many other factors, it is important that the project reflects on this critical issue as it raises the issue of VTâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s relevance. The evaluation tried to assess the projectâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s impact on income and quality of life of the trained youths as mentioned in the ToR. This sub-section presents the findings accordingly:

Impact on income 41 percent of the surveyed youths reported positive changes in income levels after receiving the training in which 26 per cent of the surveyed youths had no previous incomes as they were first time earners. 52 per cent of the youths did not report any change in income levels as they did not take up jobs. Figure 22: Change in income levels before and after training

Percentage Change in Income level of Youth 60

Number of Youth

50 40 30

20 10 0

7 0

Decrease 50=> 25 => 100 Decrease < Decrease < 100 50

New Job

No Job-Same

No Change 0> Increase 25> Incrase 50> - At same <=25 <=50 Decrease Salary <=100

Percentage change range of Income levels

http://www.phdcci.in/admin/admin_logged/banner_images/1367229054.pdf

40 Kaarak-Saksham Final Evaluation Report (Draft)

5 Increase 100 or More

Impact on quality of life 73 percent of youth reported to have experienced any positive change in their quality of life after attending the training. The evaluation team further assessed the projectâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s impact on the quality of life as per indicators relating to housing condition, sanitation, drinking water, etc. In terms of changes in overall quality of life, 73 per cent of youths (82 per cent females and 60 per cent males) reported improvement or some improvement or significant improvement (please refer to figure 23).

Figure 23: Any impact on quality of life after VT

90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0

82 73 60

40 27 18

Female

Male

Positive Changes reported

However, against the specific indicators, almost 40 to 50 per cent of the youths reported no change. The findings also do not suggest significant difference between the male and female respondents. 60 50 40 30 20 10 0

Significant Improvement

Some Improvement

Improvement

No Improvement (as poor as it was)

Has Gone Down

No Improvement (as good as it was)

Figure 24: Impact on quality of life indicators

41 Kaarak-Saksham Final Evaluation Report (Draft)

Total

No significant Change reported

CHAPTER 4: GOOD PRACTICES AND LESSONS LEARNED Good practices ►

Mobilization efforts made by partner NGOs towards counselling of community members, especially female youths and their parents, have ensured better participation in the VT. Partner NGOs conducted one-on-one interactions and centre based counselling sessions with parents of potential female candidates. These efforts have been effective in convincing parents as well as female youths, who otherwise were reluctant, to join the course.

►

Gender sensitization training helped in building the capacities of Saksham project staff i.e. both partner NGOs as well as TP. Through the training, the Saksham staff (trainers, mobilizers, etc) was sensitized on the concept of gender and its related issues. This helped in planning mobilization activities and interventions related to female youth’s participation more effectively.

►

Considering JOVT was not a specialized domain of work for Plan India at the time of project start, the three party model helped Plan in leveraging on competency of TPs, the specialized training agencies.

Lessons learned The project offers significant lessons learned for similar interventions for skill development. These are listed below: ►

Clarity in roles and division of responsibilities are critical to the success of a three party model. It is important that all the stakeholders share a similar understanding of the project, have clarity about their roles and scope of work. Standard protocols are required with regard to communication and roles.

►

As the Project offers vocational training, it creates an expectation among youth that they will be placed post training. Project experience shows that the youth is not merely satisfied with getting a job offer. Salary levels, work timings and distance from home (especially in case of girls) are also key criteria that a youth considers while accepting a job offer.

►

Special efforts are required to set up formal systems in a service delivery mode to ensure proper functioning of alumni networks.

42 Kaarak-Saksham Final Evaluation Report (Draft)

CHAPTER 5: RECOMMENDATIONS Based on the findings from the evaluation, the evaluation team recommends the following that may help Plan India to strengthen the Saksham program. Recommendation 1: Forge programmatic linkages with other Plan programmes to maximize outreach It is recommended that certain aspects of the Saksham project can be linked with other Plan projects that are already being executed in the same work area and with existing partners. For instance, as the first step toward identification of beneficiaries, Plan India can include families and youth identified under other projects, for e.g. child sponsorship programme, as primary intended target group for Saksham project instead of reaching out to community at large. This may help to organize mobilization efforts in a more systematic and efficient and ensure greater ownership by the NGO partners. Recommendation 2: Behaviour change of youths It is recommended that a rigorous behaviour assessment be conducted amongst the youths to understand factors related to retention in jobs and efforts be made to make the youth view the programme’s holistic aspect of ‘career building’ rather than the unidimensional approach of ‘employment provision’. Recommendation 3: Use of Result Based Management framework for project management It is recommended to develop, implement and maintain performance management and measurement systems i.e. Result Based Management (RBM) framework, in accordance with the need of the project. The framework should clearly define the results matrix, monitoring and evaluation plan and risk mitigation strategy. This will help in taking timely corrective actions, and managing the project, resulting in maximizing the achievements and sustaining the improvement. Recommendation 4: Setting-up standard communication protocols It is recommended to develop standardized communication protocols for both internal (members of three party model) as well as external stakeholders (employees and community). This will help to ensure enhanced coordination, monitoring and reporting within the project. Recommendation 5: Review the program strategy in accordance with the current contextual changes As stated in the relevance section and given the macro scenario, it is recommended that Plan India reviews its current program implementation strategy after considering the contextual changes to strengthen its way forward in the domain of JOVT. Assessing competition in the area of operation: It is recommended that Plan India undertakes an assessment of training facilities providing JOVT courses. Such competition analysis will enable Plan India to determine feasibility of operating independent VT centers at the planning stage. ► Adopt CCCDP implementation strategy: Plan India may consider applying CCCDP implementation strategy for undertaking vocational training projects for ►

43 Kaarak-Saksham Final Evaluation Report (Draft)

youth under this project. Plan India under this operational model may take up the role of linking the identified youth with already existing training structures instituted by Government as well as private institutions. Therefore, Plan India may consider supporting youth through counselling and linking them to existing VT centres along with thorough follow up support.

44 Kaarak-Saksham Final Evaluation Report (Draft)