29-05-2025
Over 250 transpersons complete vocational & IT courses, get certificates
Deena.G, a 22-year-old transman, has completed a training course on baking. He hopes to set up a small unit of his own in hospitals. 'As a nursing student, I see lot of such units offering a way to satisfy hunger of people at a crucial time. It's satisfying to see something I make bring happiness to others,' he said.
Like Deena, 300 others have graduated in various vocational courses offered by Sahodaran, an NGO, CGI, an IT and business consulting firm working to uplift LGBTQIA+ community. They were collecting their certificates at an event in Chennai on Thursday.
The skill development programme, which has seen three batches of 300 transpersons graduate, aims to uplift and empower transgender individuals, while also working to break down social stigma and pave the way for societal acceptance in companies.
Speaking at an event, Rekha Vijayaraman, HR business partner, CGI said, 'There are two types of courses — long term and short term. The short-term courses include baking, perfume making and driving while long term courses include IT related programming languages such as JAVA and others. There are also plans to offer further training in IT-related fields which would be required for their placement.'
Through this course, Sanjana.S, a transwoman, has discovered independence in driving. 'I was able to get my licence and also bought a car. 'When I stop at a tollgate, people ask in awe how I learned. Now, I can go anywhere,' she said.
S. Valarmathi, MD of Tamil Nadu Working Women's Hostel Corporation Limited, urged them to get their transgender identity cards as soon as possible. K.V. Reshma, Joint Director of Rural Projects, Kasturi Prasad and Ramanand Karthigeyan - deputy chairpersons of CGI were also present at the event.
