Career in NGO in India

Non- Government Organisations, popularly known as NGOs, are nonprofit agencies that work towards the welfare of the people and the benefit of the society or a target group in particular.

Numerous agencies such as Breakthrough India, CARE India, Programme on Women’s Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (PWESCR), Aashray, HelpAge India, Smile, Sewa Bharti, Tata Energy Research  Institute (TERI), World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), Action for Autism, Prayas Juvenile Aid Society, UNICEF, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation have found extreme prominence in our country.

A career in NGO in India would more or less mean your contribution towards a range of causes that you actually care about. These could be directed towards protection of human rights, environment, gender empowerment, upliftment of the status of women in the society, health issues and concerns, animal welfare, child development etc.

For a successful career in NGO in India, a person should necessarily possess skills such as:

• A sense of passion towards the cause of the NGO
• Empathetic ability
• Commitment towards the type of work
• Ability to take rational and logical decisions
• Driven by the urge to be the change makers in the society
• Team management
• Ability to negotiate effectively
• Crisis management

During the course of study in the NGO field, students learn about the theoretical as well as practical knowledge about subjects like Rural Project & Planning, Resource Mobilisation & Fund Raising, Social Action & Advocacy, Strategic Management, CSR Practices in Rural Areas, NGO Business Strategy & Organisation, Communication & Training for NGOs, History and Development of Voluntary Organisations, Cooperative Management, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) etc.

Upon completion of graduation, students are eligible to be find employment in the various action programmes that are initiated by the central and the state governments and other international as well as private set ups with their focus areas being on:

• Rural Health
• Rural and Urban Development
• Empowerment and Social Justice
• Women and Child Development
• AIDS Awareness
• Family Planning
• Drug Rehabilitation Centers
• Street Children Education
• Child Abuse Prevention Committee

Candidates can work in the capacity of NGO Managers, Project Coordinators, Research Fellows, NGO Human Resource Managers, NGO Finance Managers, Community Service volunteers etc.

There are various courses that a student can take up in order to work towards a career in NGO in India and these include Certificate in Social Work, Diploma in Personnel Management, Certificate in Rehabilitation Counselling, Post Graduate Certificate/Diploma in Social Welfare Administration, MBA in NGO Management, Post Graduate Certificate in Research Methodology, Master of Philosophy- Social Work, Doctorate of Philosophy in Social Work etc.

Some of the colleges/universities that offer degree, post graduate, certificate as well as diploma courses in NGO management include:

• Amity University
• Jamia Millia Islamia, Delhi
• Lady Irwin College, University of Delhi
• Annamalai University
• Madurai Kamaraj University
• Madras School of Social Work
• Indira Gandhi National Open University