01
The skills gap
India graduates more young people than ever before. Too few leave with the judgement, communication and practical skill that employers can put to work.
A skills and employability foundation
Practical wisdom, empowering India’s Youth.
Sekhel builds real capability in India’s youth — and connects it to real work. Not another degree. A different kind of institution.
- Merit scholarships
- Rural-first
- Placement-linked
The problem
Ambition is widespread. Opportunity is not.
02
Unseen talent
Ability is distributed evenly. Access is not. Students from small towns and first-generation families are often outside the networks that lead to a first job.
03
Degrees without employability
A certificate records attendance. It does not prove capability. Families invest years and savings in qualifications that do not translate into work.
What Sekhel does
Capability, built and connected.
Three commitments hold the institution together: teach what work requires, fund the people who earn it, and make the introduction to a real job.
01
Skilling
Rigorous, practical training built with employers. The curriculum is designed around the work, not around an exam.
02
Scholarships
A merit test that funds the best, regardless of background. Scholarships are awarded on performance and need, never on connections.
03
Placement
A direct bridge from our classrooms to real jobs. Students are prepared for the transition, and supported through their first year of work.
The Sekhel Test
The front door is merit.
The Sekhel Test is the entry point to every Sekhel programme. It is a written assessment of reasoning, language and practical judgement — the same standard for every applicant, wherever they come from.
Top performers receive full or partial scholarships. Decisions are made by a scholarship committee, on merit and need, and communicated plainly to every applicant.
The test is the only route to a Sekhel scholarship.
- 01
Apply
Share your background and your reason for applying.
- 02
Sit the test
A written assessment of reasoning, language and practical judgement.
- 03
Interview
A short conversation about your goals, your circumstances and your readiness.
- 04
Scholarship
Top performers receive full or partial funding toward their Sekhel programme.
For employers
Hire from Sekhel.
Sekhel students arrive screened, trained and ready to contribute. We build the training backwards from the job, so hiring is less of a guess.
We work with a small number of employers each cohort. Early conversations are welcome.
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Screened for capability
We assess reasoning, communication and work habits, not only marksheets.
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Trained for the role
Training is shaped with employers around the roles you actually need to fill.
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Supported after hiring
A named point of contact through the first year, for employer and graduate alike.
Our ambition
Upskilling India to make it a world powerhouse.
We mean a generation trained to do real work — judged by what it can do, not only by what it can recall. Do that at India’s scale, and the country does not merely join the world economy; it helps set its direction.
Why Sekhel exists
A route, not a promise.
India does not lack talent. It lacks pathways.
Sekhel began with a simple observation: the young people who most need a chance are often the least connected to one. A student in a small town can be every bit as capable as a student in a metro, but capability without a route to work remains potential, not progress.
We started Sekhel to build that route — practical training, honest assessment, and a relationship with employers that leads somewhere real. We are a foundation and a skills institution, not a degree mill.
The work is early, and we are building it deliberately. If you are a student, an educator or an employer who believes capability should matter more than circumstance, we would like to hear from you.
From the founding team, Sekhel