JAIPUR: The Rajasthan govt’s Manzil skill-to-employment programme has helped over 16,000 girls secure jobs across the state. Launched as a pilot in six districts in 2019, it expanded to 10 districts in 2023 and is currently being implemented in Ajmer, Alwar, Baran, Bhilwara, Dausa, Dungarpur, Jaipur, Sawai Madhopur, Tonk and Udaipur.Officials said the programme targets girls and young women aged 15–21, both in school and out of school, to build vocational skills, support continued education, delay early marriage and enable entry into safe, paid work. It is implemented with the education department and the Rajasthan Skills and Livelihoods Development Corporation.
Over the past six years, more than 71,000 girls have completed vocational education under Manzil, with around 70% of those placed continuing in their jobs for six months or more, officials said. “While schools were offering skill and vocational training, linking it to jobs was a key gap. This project bridged that gap and helped girls secure employment. Many from remote areas are now working outside their districts, supporting their families and emerging as role models in their villages,” said a senior education department official.The programme’s success has drawn the Union govt’s attention, with the Department of Women and Child Development and Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship considering its adoption at alarger scale. It is also being expanded in Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar by respective state govts.Beneficiaries said the initiative helped them become family breadwinners, with some emerging as the first girls from their villages to work in cities.Deepa Balai of Ugankheda village in Ajmer said she completed a general duty assistant course under the programme and secured a hospital job in Jaipur in January 2023. “Coming from an agricultural family, there was always a financial crunch as my parents had to raise five kids. After I learnt about Manzil, it was a long journey from convincing my parents to send me to Tonk for the training, to working and living alone in Jaipur. I am the first girl ever from my village who works outside in a city,” said Balai.Santosh Bunkar, from Malikpur village in Chomu, Jaipur, comes from a scheduled caste community, where no girl ever stepped outside the home for either education or work. In 2021, she learnt about the programme. “I had to convince my parents for months to take up a skill course, that too in a residential school. After completing the course, I got a job at Indira Gandhi International Airport with a salary of Rs 22,000. The idea of a job and salary all felt like a distant dream, and now living it feels unreal. Looking at me, my parents are allowing my sisters to study too,” she said.
