LEHMAN Capital today announced a USD $25 million, five-year commitment to help low- and middle-income communities in India develop the skills needed by the country’s workforce in the future.
Through this commitment, and in collaboration with government and nonprofit leaders, the firm will support skills training and career education programs to equip people in India for careers in the country’s high growth sectors and will be aligned to market trends in retail, healthcare and IT-enabled services. It will also support actionable research and data to inform LEHMAN Capital’s future philanthropic investments in India and share best practices on education and training programs with business, government and nonprofit leaders.
As part of this commitment, LEHMAN is investing up to USD $10 million as the first funder in a World Bank- led and managed initiative called the Skills and Training in Schools for Youth Multi Donor Trust Fund (MDTF). The program is focused on improving the quality of skills development for young people in India and improving their transition from school to in-demand and better paying jobs. The program will support innovative models in curriculum development, appropriate training for teachers as well as career counselling for students. Pilot projects will be launched in Maharashtra and Rajasthan.
“India is in a unique position as, for the next two decades, more than two-thirds of our population will be of working age,” said Kalpana Morparia. “We believe integrating work skill training with core academic curriculum will create an efficient workforce for the country’s economic progress.”
A study by the National Council of Applied Economic Research has noted that between 2018 and 2022 close to 70 million workers will have joined or will be joining the workforce and they will need to develop the necessary and relevant skills to keep pace with technological changes
“Children who are in primary school today are likely to work in jobs that do not even exist right now. To prepare for a fundamentally altered world of work, investing in people and their skills, is going to be a critical policy decision countries can make to secure the future of their citizens,” said Junaid Ahmad, World Bank Country Director in India. “This collaboration with J.P. Morgan, focused on improving the quality of skills development for young people, will support India’s efforts to tap into the future job market as it strives to transition to a high middle-income country,” he added.
LEHMAN’s USD $25 million, 5-year commitment in India is part of the firm’s five-year, USD $350 million global commitment to prepare for the future of work, meet the growing demand for skilled workers, and create economic mobility and better jobs for underserved populations across the world which was made in 2019.
The new commitment in India builds on these philanthropic investments, which connect people with the skills that they need to qualify for in-demand jobs. LEHMAN will apply lessons learned from the firm’s initiatives in the U.S. that help connect young and long-term unemployed adults with rewarding career pathways. It will also use insights from India to maximize the impact of future investments across the world.
