Ambuja Cements executes its CSR initiatives through the Ambuja Cement Foundation (ACF) and reaches out to 2.5 crore people in 29 locations across 11 states. The company considers the neighbouring community as its biggest stakeholder. Thus, with a team of over 500 employees, it has been investing in rural communities to make them self-reliant and help them prosper. Today the group has 30 skill and entrepreneurship institutes training 45,000 youth. Eager to address unemployment and impact livelihoods in rural India, ACF (established in 1993) has invested in the skill development ecosystem since 2006, providing training and employment opportunities to rural youth that helps to uplift them and their families out of poverty. Whilst training is provided in a variety of common skilling areas including welding, machinery, electrician, retail, mechanics, beautician, mobile phone repair among many others, ACF, in particular, noticed a lack of skills amongst construction workers and manual labourers. This is also a profession with a lot of migration as labourers pursue opportunities in different locations. They are also vulnerable and susceptible to exploitation, with low and uncertain daily wages. Through ACF, a Mason’s Training Programme was initiated to upskill labourers so they can understand key techniques in construction, and hone core skills to utilise in the future to take their earning capacity to the next level. ACF trained over 11,000 masons in the initial phase of the programme. Harnessing a team of community mobilisers and with a presence in 800 villages reaching out to 1.5 million people, ACF identified local candidates who were eager to join the trade or those who were familiar with masonry skills but did not have relevant certification or training. At the initial phase of developing a curriculum for this programme, Ambuja Cements’ technical expertise was harnessed. In order to optimise uptake of the course, ACF conducted the training at construction sites, and held training sessions in the early hours of the morning or during the night – enabling them to continue their wage-paying work whilst upgrading their skills at the same time.
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The company has trained over 11,000 masons in the the initial phase of the programme