Quest Alliance Receives a Second Grant From J.P. Morgan to Skill 22000 Women

The program will equip women with life, work and career skills 5000 ITI and polytechnic students from Delhi-NCR and Rajasthan successfully graduated in 2018 under this program Over 2,000 of these students secured work at the end of their training and another 1,450 decided to pursue further education towards careers of their choice Quest Alliance today announced that it has received a second grant of INR 5.9 crore from J.P. Morgan to scale its career development program in 50 government-run women's technical training institutes.

My Quest is an advanced skills program focussed on building stronger career paths for women studying in technical institutions. The program will provide career skills to 22000 young women who are pursuing professional technical education in government-run Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) and polytechnics across Delhi, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu. The program will deliver around 100 hours of content, introduce self-learning tools and work with the institutes to build a team of faculty to ensure that these critical job-specific soft-skills of communication, professional etiquette, digital literacy and life-skills will be embedded in the training curriculum.

"As part of its 5-year strategic plan to impact 4 million lives by 2023, Quest brings a dedicated focus to the issue of women entering the world of work. Through this initiative and with support from partners like JP Morgan, we will run dedicated initiatives to ensure women in technical education are provided critical skills and career guidance to navigate their personal and professional pathways. Gainful employment and increasing agency among women is a key focus for Quest over the next five years," said Aakash Sethi, CEO, Quest Alliance.

In the first phase, 5000 ITI and polytechnic students from Delhi-NCR and Rajasthan successfully graduated last year and 70% of them have entered the workforce or are pursuing higher education.

"We are delighted that 5000 students have been positively impacted by this program last year and an additional 22000 women in ITIs and Polytechnics will be equipped with career skills. J.P. Morgan believes in expanding economic opportunities for low to moderate income communities by equipping youth with job skills, building financial stability within communities and creating high-quality job opportunities. Our collaboration with Quest Alliance not only embodies our commitment towards the transition from education to employment but does so with a special focus on women," said Maneesha Chadha, Head - Corporate Social Responsibility, J.P. Morgan.

The program will also run unique career connect activities such as market scans, industry guest sessions, and help students build professional digital identities using platforms like LinkedIn and connect with advisors and employers in a virtual or face-to-face environment. Additionally, larger gender notions such as social pressures, classroom challenges and gender biases at the workplace will also be integrated into these modules.

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