The Skill Hub

With the rise of unemployment and reverse migration to rural and semi-urban communities, A majority of youth have been forced out of education and desired 21st-century skills education due to lack of digital infrastructure and resources. The Skill Hub is trying to close this gap by providing training in design thinking, media, and communications to underserved youth and micro-entrepreneurs. The Skill hubs will also have the digital infrastructure and resources to enable the community to innovate. The mobile app will help them to learn and network. Through this effort, we aim to create an army of entrepreneurs who are self-reliable and self-sustainable. The hubs will be run by the community and for the community.  The Skill Hub aims to break the boundaries of gender, geography, and economic status of underserved people and enables them with the skills required to make their community spirit of entrepreneurship. 

Historically rural and underserved communities have always been denied access to education.  Taking the example of India, which is the youngest country in terms of demographic dividend, there is a huge gap in expected skills and readiness of youth to fill the thriving job market. Even after consistent efforts to bridge the gap by the government and development sector, 23% of youth in India are unemployed. The scenario is not different globally as well. In today's context the much needed 21st-century skills, the job market requires the youth to be industry-ready with the growth of investment in the growing Indian and global markets. The advent of Novel Coronavirus has made the situation much worse, putting a majority of the underserved population out of education with the lack of digital infrastructure.  The 50 % of India's youth which is going to be 20 % of the global youth population deserves a lot of attention to be ready with the skills of the future. With a huge reverse migration to rural and semi-urban areas, entrepreneurship, communication, and 21st-century skills can't be neglected. Lack of local, contextual education is much needed.

The Skill Hubs are learning centers for 21st-century skills. The space will inculcate entrepreneurship, design thinking, media, and communication. Our mission is to set up the Hubs in underserved communities catering to different stakeholders and anyone with a drive to learn how to be a creator. There are 3 aspects: Hard infrastructure, Soft Infrastructure, and Mobile App.

Objectives:

• Train children, youth, and the community in digital and 21st Century Skills and the spirit of Entrepreneurship. 
• Use the power of digital technology to solve challenges
• Self-reliability and self-employment
• Creating job opportunities within communities
• Create leaders and role models of tomorrow
• To serve as mini incubation centers in the community

The Skill hubs will work in a hub and spoke model. The spokes are mobile labs and learning programs which will be implemented at the doorsteps, the hubs will have infrastructures such as smartphones, cameras, laptops, tablets, projectors, printers, and Internet connections provided to solve their challenges and continue their entrepreneurial pursuits.  

A mobile app will be developed to help the community network with their peers and provide access to online courses and resources. 

The vision is to be a self-sustainable model run by the community, for the community

The Skill hub is designed for the youth, micro, and medium entrepreneurs who are deprived of access to the latest technologies and tools which are necessary for the 21st century. Even though there is a huge proliferation of mobile phones and internet connectivity in rural communities across the world and India, There are issues with electricity and digital infrastructure for the underserved. The other challenge is also content, which is not tailored or relevant for them. The advent of Novel Coronavirus has forced a majority of the population out of schools and education. Much attention is needed to get them back to learning as they are going to be the future of the world. 

The Skill Hub aims to bridge the gap of 21st-century skill education. Through our experience and conversations with youth and the communities, we realized there is a huge gap in contextual learning. Also, there is no or limited access to digital infrastructure, tools, and technology. 

We envision the community owning their center. After the initial training and development, the Skill center will be self-sustainable by employing the center’s equipment and peer-to-peer learning methods in the skills they are trained in (within the community). The center will serve as intellectual capital and the infrastructure will act as a mini incubation and networking center while helping innovators realize the true potential of employing the various skillsets in relevance to the current era.  After the initial handholding, supporting them with infrastructure and resources. The community is part of the entire process and we are just want to be the enablers. Committees will be formed to ensure the center sustains itself through various activities. 

Through The Skill hub, the main issue of access to 21st-century learning is solved. The tools, technology, and constant support will help the community to use this to solve their challenges and help them think about entrepreneurial pursuits. The tools and infrastructure provided will also help them in being more effective. Our trained instructors will guide them when they need. The self-sustainable model also ensures that the onus is on the community and reduces the problem of external intervention. The mobile app will help the community to network with their peers and help them to get inspired by other change-makers solving challenges in similar communities. The online courses and resources will make sure the learning never stops.

The Skill Hubs are targeted at the youth and entrepreneurs from underserved communities. The solution will get these sections of the population to make huge strides with their training in 21st-century skills and be part of the digital economy. The readily available technology of smartphones and available devices will reduce the incurred costs. The mobile app will help the community to in continuing learning and sustain. The self-sustainable model of the program makes sure that the recurring costs of the program are low and have the potential to the profitable. Our solution will also reduce inequalities for underserved communities.

We have piloted the program in 2 communities in rural Hyderabad and Bengaluru with our training programs. The pilot was done with 50 youth, micro-entrepreneurs, and farmers in 3 communities. The success of the pilot has taught us a lot in terms of changes and additions to be made for the sustenance of the program. In the coming months, we aim to work with 3 more communities and geographies. we are doing this through partnerships with other organizations that already have a presence in these locations and have access to resources and infrastructure.

There have been many skill development programs in India, But the problem with most of them is they stop at training people, and don't continue with providing support to the stakeholders once the training is over. The unique thing about our solution is that we want to continue supporting the stakeholders with infrastructure and the mobile app which help them to earn a livelihood through The Skill hub. 

The center will get regular updates through training, infrastructure, and other required materials from Think Gudd to sustain the center. Other sustainable features for the center:

• The center will conduct events regularly to promote 21st-century skills and the spirit of entrepreneurship. 
• This center can also be used for other programs being developed over time 
• The equipment at the center can be given for hire. 
• While using the space, we can charge a certain demographic for focused training in chosen skills.

The Skill Hub also supports its stakeholders by connecting them with potential clients through its online platform. Think Gudd aims to start a marketplace, where skill meets business in the rural economy. This will help the stakeholders as well as the businesses to thrive with local talent and at affordable costs. In the long run, The Skill Hub aims to be a self-sustainable model which will be owned and run by communities with minimum intervention from Think Gudd.

In long run, this makes the market change and depend on locally available well-trained talent.

The Skill Hubs will provide state-of-the-art hardware such as smartphones, laptops, cameras, printers, and internet connections in every underserved community. 

Through the technology of a mobile app in regional languages, we will support the training process and skill honing. We will use an activity feature to send them activity/challenge notifications post sessions and also create a database of all their submitted work. This app can also serve the purpose of a portfolio post their training.

• The portal and app will have courses on all the training which can be conducted online and regular updates will be given. 
• Another important feature of the technology integration will be that it will act as a marketplace where the trained youth and community members can market themselves and get business and small and micro-entrepreneurs will be able to post requirements.
• This will also act as an online networking community where different centers from other regions can collaborate, share and learn from each other. 

There is a huge lack of infrastructure and required hardware in the underserved communities, As the costs are too high. This is very important for the underserved communities as this puts them out of the equation of being part of the businesses. 

Mobile apps are not a new thing for the youth, multiple apps provide online training, but there aren't many courses available in the regional languages. Mobile apps are very effective in the learning journey of students and especially youth. As the underserved communities have less or no access to technology, we want to bridge this gap. 

We haven't anticipated any risks for now.

Currently, we have worked with 550 beneficiaries with over 58 skill sessions, 62 communities, and more than 15 organizations. In the next year, we are planning to serve 1500 youth and entrepreneurs. In the next five years, we aim to work with 50,000 beneficiaries. The vision is to set up The Skill Hubs in more than 200 communities in 15 states of India in the next 5 years.

The Skill Hub aims to be a movement by the community and for the community. Our vision is to impact as many communities as possible which are self-sustainable and self-reliable. In the next year, we aim to create an army of innovators who can positively impact their community with their businesses and causes through job creation, entrepreneurship, and their creations. As the model becomes self-sustainable we would like to grow in multiple geographies and ensure the spirit of entrepreneurship continues and sustains in five years we want to be a movement where every underserved community stands on its own and networks with each other for the betterment of its community. 

We try to achieve this through collaboration and the power of technology. As networking is a key element, we want to focus on this aspect by providing platforms where this can be achieved.

We want to look at both the qualitative and quantitative impact of the program.
Some of the parameters are here:

Quantitative: 
Number of beneficiaries
Number of communities
Indirect  beneficiaries
Digital reach through apps and platforms
Geographical reach

Qualitative:
The skills gained
Quality of the training
Impact of the program in the community
Understanding of the challenges and solutions

We are a young team of 3 full-time staff, 10 part-time staff, volunteers, and consultants. We also like to collaborate with organizations that already have staff who can work with us.

As a team, we have a combined experience of over 2 decades in the nonprofit sector. The team comes with diverse experience in media, communications, film-making, project management. 

Running an organization to handle mega projects worth crores of rupees, our team has all the capabilities to run large and remote teams across India. We have designed curriculums and programs on art, media, and creativity for many organizations. We have the best mix of dynamics in various fields to ensure a project sees the light of the day. We are a young team with fresh perspectives and a will to amplify causes that deserve attention.

Established to help amplify impacts, we at Think Gudd believe that we represent the true future of social sector communication. 

We are a young team with fresh perspectives and a will to amplify impact while understanding all media platforms well and giving importance to technology integration. Our experience in the development sector and team-building practices while identifying motivated candidates to take our vision forward has made us confident in creating a networked community of leaders from diverse backgrounds and geographies. Our focus not only lies in teaching skills but also motivates our candidates to take initiatives to disperse knowledge within their peers and communities. 

This will be a huge boost for Think Gudd!
We believe that our alliance supports a worthy cause and that the program will deliver significant value to not only the beneficiaries associated with the program, but also to their communities. We’re excited to partner with you to make this program a reality, leading to substantial benefits in the short and long term.

Through this challenge, we primarily want to learn and grow. We know our idea can make a huge impact on our beneficiaries but we want to make sure that we have thought out every little detail and come up with creative solutions for all the issues we're facing. with the help of digital workforce challenge and grant. After coming up with a comprehensive plan, we would like to start looking for funding opportunities to start implementing the program.

This will not only help us take Gudd's programs forward, but it will also provide us with networking opportunities with like-minded people and a platform that has a wider reach to showcase our work, giving Think Gudd a chance to make a mark in the social sector.

We are majorly working in Service now locations in India especially Bengaluru and Hyderabad and other location in India and for sometime we want to stick to India as our primary geography. Our trainings collaboration with other organizations are based in India.

We want to grow with others and don't wish to reinvent the wheel. Many organizations are doing great work in India and we want to provide our expertise and knowledge to create communities that are self-sustainable and inculcate the spirit of being an entrepreneurship-driven inclusive community and use the power of technology to amplify impacts. 

We already have been working with Navam Innovation Foundation and Agastya International Foundation on various fronts and we would like to bank on their reach and expertise. Not just this but we also want to these organizations to work with each other.