Digital skills for school-leavers
100 rural youth in Karur who had completed plus two were trained across five programmes in MS Word, Excel, Adobe Photoshop and Tally.
Digital literacy & IT training
Computer skills, accounting software and data-entry work for rural young people — and the GIS mapping the trust does for government departments.
100
Rural youth in computer training, 2013–14
29
Data-entry operators trained, all placed
274
Village maps digitised, Virudhunagar
20
Young women in government data-entry work
Understanding
What digital literacy & IT training means
What is digital literacy?
Digital literacy is the set of fundamental computer skills and technology competencies that are increasingly required in all sectors of employment and daily life.
This is one of the trust's smaller programmes, and the record is specific rather than sweeping. It began in Dindigul in 2003–04, when Coodu Trust ran computer training followed by paid data-entry work for educated unemployed youth and girls under the Women Development Corporation, Government of Tamil Nadu. Around 20 young women were employed at a time on Below Poverty Line survey data entry, Total Sanitation Campaign computerisation and similar work for state government departments.
In 2013–14 the trust ran five computer skill-enhancement programmes for 100 rural youth in Karur district who had completed plus two, covering MS Word, Excel, Adobe Photoshop and Tally. Accounting with Tally has since been a recurring trade under NULM, RURBAN and the National Rurban Mission, and in 2022–23 the trust trained 29 Data Entry Operators in Karur — all 29 placed — and 29 Field Technicians in Computer Peripherals in Salem, of whom 19 took jobs and 10 became self-employed.
The trust's other information-technology work is geographic. Watershed maps for 479 village panchayats in 14 districts were drawn from Participatory Rural Appraisal data, and the Agricultural Engineering Department of Virudhunagar commissioned the digitisation of 274 village cadastral maps across three taluks — 1,405 square kilometres completed in 100 days on ArcGIS with GPS ground control.
- Basic computer skills
- Tally accounting
- Data entry & survey computerisation
- Computer peripherals & field technician
- GIS & map digitisation
Why this work matters
The challenge on the ground — and our answer
The challenge
Cut off from the digital economy
Rural and marginalised communities are left out of a technology-driven economy, with a widening digital divide between urban and rural India.
Our response
Bring the training to the district
Courses are run at the trust's own training centres in Karur and Tirunelveli and through the district skill missions — 100 rural youth in Karur in 2013–14, and further batches under NULM and the Rurban Mission in Coimbatore, Tirunelveli, Salem and Karur.
The challenge
Jobs now demand digital skills
Technology competencies are increasingly required in all sectors of employment — those without them are shut out of new careers.
Our response
Train for the roles employers advertise
Accounts Assistant using Tally, Data Entry Operator and Field Technician in Computer Peripherals — in 2022–23 all 29 data-entry trainees in Karur were placed, and 19 of the 29 field technicians trained in Salem took jobs.
The challenge
A certificate with no work at the end of it
Computer courses that stop at the certificate leave young people with a skill they have never used on a real job.
Our response
Training that came with the contract
In Dindigul the trust trained educated unemployed young women and then put them on its own government data-entry contracts — Below Poverty Line survey entry and Total Sanitation Campaign computerisation, with around 20 employed at a time.
The challenge
Village records still drawn on paper
Cadastral and watershed maps held only as paper sheets cannot be queried, combined or used for planning at any scale.
Our response
Put the maps into GIS
274 village cadastral maps across the Aruppukottai, Virudhunagar and Kariyappatti taluks — 1,405 square kilometres — were georeferenced, mosaicked and digitised on ArcGIS in 100 days for the Agricultural Engineering Department, as the trust's report puts it, “a stepping stone for e-governance”.
At a glance
The essentials
- Active since
- 2003Computer training and data entry for unemployed youth and girls, Dindigul district
- Key figures
- 100 youth trained, 2013–14Five programmes in Karur in MS Word, Excel, Adobe Photoshop and Tally
- Course curriculum
- Office software, Tally, data entryPlus Field Technician in Computer Peripherals under NULM
- Project portfolio
- 5 documented programmesComputer training, GIS digitisation, skill enhancement, Tally accounting and data entry, 2003–2023
- Most recent delivery
- Data Entry Operator training, Karur29 trained and all 29 placed under NULM, 2022–23
- Delivery model
- Training tied to real workCourses run through district skill missions and the trust's own government data contracts
Track record
Project portfolio, 2003–2023
| Programme | Period | Type | Highlights | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Computer training and data entry for unemployed youth and girls | 2003–2004 | Women Development Corporation, Government of Tamil Nadu | Dindigul district. Training followed by paid work in Below Poverty Line survey data entry and Total Sanitation Campaign computerisation; around 20 educated unemployed girls employed at a time on state department work | Completed |
| GIS mapping and cadastral digitisation | 2006–2009 | Agricultural Engineering Department, Virudhunagar | Watershed maps for 479 village panchayats in 14 districts prepared since 2000; 274 village cadastral maps across the Aruppukottai, Virudhunagar and Kariyappatti taluks covering 1,405 sq km, completed in 100 days on ArcGIS; 421 village maps digitised for the district | Completed |
| Computer skill enhancement | 2013–2014 | Training programme | Five programmes for 100 rural youth in Karur district who had completed plus two — MS Word, Excel, Adobe Photoshop and Tally | Completed |
| Accounts Assistant using Tally (NULM & RURBAN) | 2017–2019 | National scheme | Three batches in Coimbatore and Tirunelveli under NULM (2017–18); one batch of 60 under NULM and one of 40 under RURBAN in Tirunelveli, each of 240 hours (2018–19) | Completed |
| Data Entry Operator and Field Technician – Computer Peripherals (NULM) | 2022–2023 | National scheme | 29 data-entry operators trained in Karur, all 29 placed; 29 field technicians trained in Salem, 19 placed and 10 self-employed | Completed |
Impact
What digital literacy changes
Employment opportunities
All 29 data-entry operators trained in Karur in 2022–23 were placed, and 19 of the 29 field technicians trained in Salem took jobs while 10 became self-employed.
Work for young women
Around 20 educated unemployed girls in Dindigul were employed at a time on survey data entry and scheme computerisation for state government departments.
Public records digitised
274 village cadastral maps covering 1,405 square kilometres of Virudhunagar district were digitised on ArcGIS for the Agricultural Engineering Department.
Get involved
Bridge the digital divide
Support our digital literacy programs to ensure no one is left behind in the digital age. Your contribution helps us provide technology access and training to communities that need it most.