Medha and Michael & Susan Dell Foundation to Bring Career Services and Employability Education to Disadvantaged Youth Across India

AUSTIN, Texas, Feb. 17, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Medha today announced a new collaboration with the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation to scale its Career Service Centers (CSC) and Employability Education Program to 1,500 students across Northern India. With grant funding and technical support from the Dell family foundation, Medha will open up CSCs in 50 educational institutions across Uttar Pradesh and Bihar in the next two years.

Building on Medha's success improving employment outcomes for over 500 BA, BCom, and BSc students across Lucknow, the support from the foundation will provide for expansion of Medha's program throughout the region and create a scalable, quality-focused model to enhance employability for a large number of underprivileged youth.

"The education system in India focuses on bookish learning, with little or no focus on job- relevant skills. As a result, close to 50 percent of college graduates in India are deemed unemployable by industry¹. Medha addresses this problem at its root cause, supplementing the existing education system with career services, skills training, and on- the-job experience," said Satyam Darmora, Portfolio Lead, Family Economic Stability, India, Michael & Susan Dell Foundation.

Through expanding partnerships with the Department of Higher Education and Technical Education, Medha has been granted access to an unprecedented number of public sector educational institutions and will bring its unique combination of experiential learning and industry exposure to the thousands of students who attend these institutions.

"We believe the current 'skilling paradigm' in India is flawed. It's focused on creating intermediary institutions to bridge the gap between education and employment. Employability skills should instead be incorporated into the education system itself, reducing the need for students to go beyond the gates of their schools/colleges to build the skills required for gainful employment. We are honored to be working with the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation to improve employment outcomes for youth in the region, and we look forward to further collaboration as we work to change the way employability education is imparted in the country," said Christopher Turillo, Co-Founder of Medha.

¹ Aspiring Minds' National Employability Report, 2013

About Medha

Medha improves employment outcomes for youth in India. It delivers a training and internship program to students on campus that connects them with the job market. Since 2011, Medha has trained and placed over 500 students across 10 colleges, worked with 50 leading employers, and built a public-private partnership with the Department of Higher Education. Medha is supported by leading global foundations and corporations and its founders have received numerous awards and recognitions for their work at Medha. Medha is based in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh and is registered as a not-for-profit company in India (Section 25) and the US (501c3). http://medha.org.in

About the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation

Founded in 1999, the central mission of the US-based Michael & Susan Dell Foundation is transforming the lives of children living in urban poverty through better health and education. Since 2006, the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation have invested more than INR 745 crores (USD $120 million) in transforming the lives of children living in urban poverty in India.  In addition to its focus on education and health, the foundation also seeks to increase family economic stability as a prerequisite of progress on either front. http://www.msdf.org  

SOURCE Michael & Susan Dell Foundation

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http://www.msdf.org