Skill Impact Bond: Pinki’s story
The Skill Impact Bond launched by the British Asian Trust and a consortium of mission-aligned partners is India's first impact bond for employment. It is a US$14.4 million fund which will benefit 50,000 young people (60% of them women) by equipping them with skills and providing access to wage-employment.
Pinki Kumari, from Brindabanpur, India, grew up as one of five siblings in an impoverished farming family with a total annual family income of INR 36,000 (approximate £339 per year).
Through a friend, Pinki was introduced to the high-quality training provided by the Skill Impact Bond's partner PanIIT Alumni Reach for India Foundation. Her experience was transformative.
*Photo not of Pinki
The two to three month long residential skill training programmes delivered technical skills, often for roles in the fields of automotive, manufacturing, and electronics – labelled by women as aspirational, non-conventional roles. The skill training was followed by assured job placements with rigorous ‘on the job training’ components.
The disciplined schedule of the programme was a little difficult to adjust to initially, but gradually, Pinki understood that the training was preparing her for the world of work and a future ahead for her.
Through the Skill Impact Bond, Pinki gained new skills as an Automotive Machine Operator, she also made friends at the programme who cheered her on, and she stays in touch with. Pinki successfully graduated from the training programme and on becoming certified, took up a job as a Fixed Term Trainee at Texel Q Engineering, near Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu.
Pinki is a few months into the job and hopes to continue there for at least a couple of years. Pinki now earns a salary of INR 11,000 per month (approximately £103) and even after all deductions, makes her the highest earning member in her family. Pinki is now the breadwinner, she’s even purchased a bike on loan for her father, alongside securing other household items for the family and helping to improve the standard of living for her parents and siblings.
