Add-on skill courses
A short, well-chosen course can put someone into work within months, or make a degree far more employable than it would otherwise be. A badly chosen one takes a family’s savings and returns a certificate no employer recognises. This service helps students tell the two apart, and arranges the course once the choice is made.
The skills market is where families with the least money are most likely to lose it. A course is advertised outside a bus stand, a fee is quoted with a promise of placement, and a year later the certificate turns out to be worth nothing to any employer.
At the same time, government skill programmes running comparable training at a fraction of the cost go under-enrolled, because families have never heard of them.
The difference between those two outcomes is usually one conversation with somebody who knows the landscape and has no stake in the sale.
You should ask us if
- —Students who want to start earning soon, while continuing to study
- —Degree students who want a practical skill alongside their qualification
- —Class 12 students and graduates looking to become employable quickly
- —Students who have discontinued formal education and want a route back to work
- —Anyone approached by an institute promising a job, who would like it checked first
What we will actually go through with you
Matching a course to real work
Starting from the jobs actually available in and around where the student lives and working backwards to the training that leads to them, rather than starting from whichever course is being sold nearby.
Government and subsidised programmes
Training through national and Karnataka state skill schemes, ITIs, polytechnics and community colleges — recognised, inexpensive and consistently under-used.
Checking whether an institute is genuine
How to verify affiliation and recognition, what to ask before paying, which placement promises are unenforceable, and the warning signs that mean walk away.
What a certificate is actually worth
Which certifications employers in this region recognise, which are decorative, and which need to be paired with something else before they count.
The practical shortlist
Spoken English and communication, computer fundamentals, Tally and accounting, data entry, digital marketing, retail and customer service, healthcare assistance, electrical and automotive trades, tailoring and beauty — assessed on their honest job prospects.
Apprenticeships and internships
Paid apprenticeship schemes and on-the-job training, which frequently beat a classroom course on both cost and outcome.
Studying and earning together
How to fit a course or a part-time job around a degree without either one collapsing, including the combinations we have seen fail.
From asking to acting
Send us a request
Tell us where you are academically and what kind of work you are hoping for.
We understand the constraints
Time available, money available, travel distance, family responsibilities and how soon an income is needed. These decide what is realistic far more than interest does.
A shortlist with the numbers
Three or four courses with honest fees, duration, content and the kind of job each typically leads to, with government and subsidised options listed first.
We arrange the course, and tell you the cost
Once you have chosen, we arrange your place with the partner institute and tell you exactly what it charges. Where the fee is beyond a family’s means, we discuss a concession or sponsorship before you commit to anything.
A check before you pay anyone else
If you are considering an institute you found yourself, send us the details first. We will check what we can and tell you plainly what we find.
A follow-up after you enrol
We check whether the course is delivering what was promised, and if it is not, we help you act while the money can still be recovered.
About add-on skill courses
Do you run these courses yourselves?
No. The training is delivered by partner institutes, and we take no commission from any of them. That independence is the point — it lets us tell you not to pay for something, which an institute selling it never will.
What do these courses cost?
Fees are set by the institute and vary widely with the trade and the duration. We tell you the figure before you commit. Where a student needs the course and the family cannot meet the fee, we arrange a concession, a discount or sponsorship, decided case by case.
An institute is asking for a fee and promising a job. Should I pay?
Send us the details before you pay. A guaranteed job is almost never enforceable, and a large fee taken upfront against a verbal placement promise is the most common pattern in this market. We will check what we can and give you a straight answer.
Can I take a course while I am still in college?
Often yes. Many run in the evenings or at weekends and some are entirely online. Whether it is wise depends on your course load and your travel time, which is what we will work through with you.
Do you help with finding the job afterwards?
You will be helped to prepare — how to approach employers, what a basic CV should contain and what to expect in an interview. We do not place candidates and we make no employment promises.
Anything else, write to connect@shikshasarathifoundation.org.
Students rarely need only one of these
Ask us before you decide, not after
Sending the request costs nothing and commits you to nothing. We will tell you what is involved, and what it costs, before anything is arranged.