The Himalayan Region presents both challenges and unique opportunities for skill development and building an entrepreneurial culture. Utilisation of mountain specific resources, with focus on women and youth can add high-value products to the mountain economies while opening up new opportunities for skilled employment.
Strengthening skilling and entrepreneurial opportunities on the principles of sustainability and resilience could contribute to harnessing the immense potential of niche mountain products as well as address uncertainties, such as adverse impacts of climate change.
HVT as part of its skill and entrepreneurship development initiatives would like to focus on the below emerging sectors while continuing to support conventional ones.
Promote new age Agri-entrepreneurship culture by reinforcing traditional skills with modern technology
Many of the traditional mountain crops are known to be highly nutritious and are increasingly sought after in the niche markets. For example, mountain buckwheat, millets, legumes, upland rice, and tubers have tremendous potential as ‘health foods’. Similarly, there are immense opportunities in enterprises associated with in organic farming, horticulture, floriculture, forestry, medicinal and aromatic plants, spices, off-season vegetables, production of seeds, organic dye from tea and cardamom, and food processing. Moreover, traditional skills of mountain people in weaving and traditional arts and crafts provides ample opportunities to develop skilled jobs and entrepreneurship opportunities. As the new age farming requires a new mind set, skills and ability to integrate both farm and non-farm livelihood options, there is a need to mobilise the youth engaged in other profession for such entrepreneurship.
Promote sustainable mountain tourism
Tourism has become one of the fastest growing sectors in India, particularly in the Himalayan region. Tourist arrivals in the region are expected to touch 240 million by 2025, which is nearly a 150 percent increase over current arrivals of about 100 million. This sector mainly consists of micro, medium and small enterprises. It provides opportunities for semi-skilled and skilled employment and entrepreneurship to Himalayan youth.
Ecosystem services-based employment opportunities
Sustainable management and use of ecosystem services from Himalayan States presents a huge opportunity for creating employment and support entrepreneurship. Nursery raising, afforestation, eco restoration, use of wood as construction material and new wood-based products provides an opportunity to blend traditional skills with state-of-the-art technological innovations. Also, skilling in assessment of various ecosystem services (most common being biodiversity, water and carbon) and technology for their sustainable management provides opportunities to create an ecosystem services-based skilling and entrepreneurial landscape.
Harness potential of IT enabled services and digital health for employment
There is a huge potential for creation of skilled employment opportunities for the HIMALAYAN REGION youth, who are either pursuing or have completed a graduation degree, by promoting ITES (e.g., setting up BPO or IT services). These ITES could focus on banking, e-commerce, insurance, financial services, healthcare, mobile applications, new age Agri-entrepreneurship, security, storage, telecom and tourism.
Skilling in construction projects
The Government of India is focusing on development of infrastructure in border areas by supporting the creation of major infrastructure in various sectors (e.g., hydropower, road transport, power stations and railways) by public and private sector entities in the Himalayan region. These infrastructure projects have the potential to generate skilled employment opportunities. Skilled construction workers are also a major requirement of projects associated with urban development and renewal such as smart cities, solar energy and public transportation. Formal skill development and certification would expand the career prospects of construction workers and hence it is important to target this segment for skilling and certification by building up their technical knowledge and upgrading their skills.
HVT intends to work on Skill and Entrepreneurship Development through a multipronged approach by targeting entrepreneurs at different levels of the socio-economic pyramid.
We are looking at Partners who share our vision and have the bandwidth and know-how to build capacities in the above areas to strengthen the skill and entrepreneurship landscape in the Himalayan region.
Register As Partners For Change
Register As A Volunteer
