Mumbai, Maharashtra (India) : Internationallyawarded and Forbes-listed social enterprise Dexterity Global has announced 1,000 internships for Indian youth. The official announcement was made by Dexterity Global’s Founder and CEO Sharad Vivek Sagar in a public letter on Monday.
The COVID-19 crisis has led to layoffs, pay cuts, and hiring freezes at major Indian companies and multi-national corporations. The1,000 Internships Programmeby Dexterity Global is an emergency response to provide 1,000 young people in India with an internship and training in career readiness. The internship programmeis open to students and graduates of all disciplines.
Dexterity Global was founded in 2008 and has been building servant leaders for India through educational opportunities and training for the last 12 years. Through its educational platforms, the organization connects and trains over 6 million children and youth across different Indian states and students from Dexterity Global have secured over Rs. 46 crores in scholarships from institutions around the world.
In a deeply moving and heartfelt public letter that has already been seen by over 100,000 people and shared by close to a thousand on the internet, Sharad Vivek Sagar, Dexterity Global’s CEO writes, “This is the first generation in the history of our nation that is walking out of college without a job offer or an internship opportunity.”Sharing the pain and agony of students who have lost job offers and are left with no opportunity at the prime of their career, Sagar added, “I have spent the last few weeks speaking with young people from different parts of our country and have come to hear some heartbreaking stories — of interviews cancelled, increments deferred, internships lost, and jobs taken away.”
Outlining a vision to upskill and make Indian youth confident and job-ready in these testing times, Sagar announced, “Today,I am proud to announce that we will provide 1000 internships to our young citizens. Not just that, to each intern, we will provide a dedicated training programme in career readiness and skill building.”
In 2016, Sagar was in national and global news when he became the only Indian to be invited by US President Barack Obama to the White House for a special gathering of young leaders. Sharad Sagar is also the first and only one fromBihar to be listed on the Global Forbes 30 Under 30 list and is frequently invited by eminent institutions as IITs and IIMs to deliver guest lectures on leadership, nation-building and management.For his work and vision, he has received recognition from global organizations as the United Nations, Nobel Peace Center, Rockefeller Foundation, Queen of England, etc. and his public speeches have received millions of the views on the internet. In 2017, a leading Indian media house called him “the Vivekananda of 21st Century”.
In his public letter announcing this major decision, Sharad writes, “Our vision is clear — our young citizens shall have an opportunity in hand, an experience to look forward to and when Fortune 500 companies come hiring in a few months, their work experience at a Forbes Under 30 organization shall make them stronger candidates in a global market. I’m going to fight hard for our young people and make sure that there will be no break on their CV and no brake on their career.”
All 1,000 internships by Dexterity Global will be remote and are being offered in four tracks — Research, Communication, Management and Design.Within 24 hours of the announcement, over 749candidateshad started their applications.More than 104 applications from 19 states and 69 districts have already been submitted.
Internship applications are being accepted at https://www.dexterityglobal.org/1000internships