• thyssenkrupp Elevator will provide opportunities to intern or work at its sites
• Training and mentorship will be offered by employees to about 150 youth
• Supporting underprivileged communities in cities around the world remains a key part of thyssenkrupp Elevator’s mission to make cities the best places to live

After a successful start of the partnership in Columbia and Brazil, urban mobility expert thyssenkrupp Elevator is expanding their support of the global NGO SOS Children’s Villages to Pune, India. Together, they will work with young people to help tackle severe youth unemployment rates. thyssenkrupp and its employees are aiming to provide training to around 150 youth in India in the form of soft and basic skills training, career guidance, entrepreneurship support and real-world work experience. The aim is to help them successfully become employable and independent adults.

Andreas Schierenbeck, CEO of thyssenkrupp Elevator, said: “After the successful kick-off of Project SEED in Colombia and Brazil, I am excited to continue to move forward with the program in India, which aims at training children in the country to make them aware of the importance of social responsibility activities. Our company and people are passionate about this important initiative and besides contributing towards making cities the best possible places to live, Project SEED also aims at social balance and improved quality of life among the youth of India.”

Youth unemployment is a considerable social challenge, and one third of young people worldwide lack access to education, training or a job of any kind. In India, young men and women are looking for jobs but many are not appropriately skilled. Hence, skill development is critical to enhancing the employability of the growing young population and also to gear-up the economy to realise the target of faster and inclusive growth. At the moment, 60% of young people have a job one year after they leave family-based care and 71% make at least satisfactory progress in education. SOS Children’s 2030 Strategy aims to bring both of these numbers above 90% by 2030. This target is often met within villages, and vocational training programs are a crucial part of that success.

About SOS Children’s Villages:

SOS Children’s Villages is the world’s largest non-governmental organisation focused on supporting children without, or at risk of losing, parental care. The non-denominational organisation was founded in 1949 and today has a presence in 135 countries and territories.

SOS Children’s Villages adheres to the principle that every child grows best in a family environment, with loving parents or caregivers, living together with their siblings, in a place they can call home.

SOS Children’s Villages runs more than 2,500 programmes directly reaching more than a million children and adults. It partners with donors, communities, governments and other organisations to reach the children and their families, who need support, thus preventing family breakdown, and it advocates for governments to uphold their obligations with regard to child rights.