Our Story
When does a soldier retire and why is the transition challenging?
Soldiers join the Armed Forces when they are 17-21 years of age. On an average, around 50,000 – 60,000 soldiers retire each year and a large percentage of them are in the age group of just 35 to 45 years. They have given their prime years for the Safety of our Nation, lived in the harshest of conditions and have now hung up their uniforms to join us as Civilians. This transition from Defense to Civil is a very difficult one for many of our Soldiers as they have very little awareness about how to approach the job market, how to adjust with the drastic change in lifestyle and how they can make the most of their skills.
A substantial number of soldiers who enter our Forces belong to Tier 3 downs and below and have little to no awareness about the various job opportunities that are available in the market, presence of online job portals, no guidance on how they can plan their own small business. As a result, many soldiers end up taking jobs that are below their caliber and skill. On the other hand, there are employers who are very willing to employ our soldiers in good positions but don’t know the means to reach out to them. This is what Project Veer aims to achieve – to become a Veteran’s Second Innings Partner by being a bridge in this journey from Defense to Civil.
Our Journey
Beginning of the Journey
After starting his career in IT & computers in late 1980’s, our founder Mr. Dhiraj Dharod had finally managed to register his first company with the Ministry and started his first course for the retiring defense personnel from Indian Army, Air Force and Navy in Mumbai, Maharashtra.
Diversification into other skilling domains
After understanding the needs of a retiring soldier and working with them for almost a decade, we had now diversified to various other domains like Fire Safety, Security, Logistics and Management Studies. Retirees now had a vast basket of courses to choose from which helped them further decide how they wanted to shape their second careers.
Owing to our experience and past feedback, we had received a chance to conduct our resettlement courses within various Indian Army Regimental centers. This helped us get an even better idea into the specializations of various Indian Army Personnel and their requirements.
Family Welfare Centre for Dependents
We started running several courses for the dependents (wives and children) of the Indian Armed Forces Personnel. The first such center was opened within the Indian Naval base in Mumbai. Subsequently several such centers were opened and various training programs conducted.
Our founder, Mr. Dhiraj Dharod was nominated to become a member of the Thane Zilla Sainik Board which comes under the Kendriya Sainik Board, Government of India.
Digital Transformation of all activities
The long due transformation to Digital had now begun to take shape as all our training centers were shut during Covid. We had embarked on a journey to condense over 2 decades of experience into an easy-to-use mobile application. We wanted to transform from an institution providing skilling courses to one which was hand holding and ensuring the successful resettlement of our soldiers. A dedicated HR team, YouTube channel was also formed to support our soldiers.
With Project Veer (An initiative by Veteran Second Innings Foundation), we aim to continue supporting our soldiers in an even larger way along with the support of our fellow citizens and corporates. With the help of CSR Partnerships and support of our fellow citizens, our mission is stronger than ever and we aim to create an even bigger impact for our soldiers and their families.
The 'Dhiraj' Story
It was in the late 1970’s, when a young boy who dreamt of wearing the uniform came to Mumbai for the first time from a remote town of Gujarat. He had come to give his Airmen recruitment exam (to enter the Indian Air Force) at the Cotton Green Air Force Station. To his surprise he had cleared the exam, but destiny had some other plans for him. He was not able to join the Armed Forces due to family reasons.
Years passed by and a few of his friends had joined the Indian Air Force. He kept talking to them about how life in the Armed Forces was and if at all there was any way a civilian could get associated with them. That is when he came across a department in the Ministry of Defense which was responsible for the Resettlement of Ex-servicemen. The government used to sponsor skilling courses for these retiring personnel to help them with their second career transitions. The institutes conducting these courses were mainly owned by retired officers at the time. This was another uphill battle but after years of perseverance and countless trips to Delhi, he was able to register his computer training institute and was given his first batch of 6 students (2 each from Indian Army, Indian Air Force and Indian Navy) in mid 1990’s.
There was no looking back from there. Today, our Founder Mr Dhiraj Dharod over the last 2 decades has successfully worked with over 1,00,000 Soldiers in their career transition journeys. Over the years, he has conducted skilling programs in various sectors like Computers, Fire & Safety, Security, Warehousing, Self-Entrepreneurship, Solar not only for the core Armed Forces (Indian Army, Indian Air Force and Indian Navy) but also for the Paramilitary and Police Forces in multiple states. He has also conducted several programs for the dependents (wives and children of the Soldiers) and for Veer Naris as well. He has conducted skilling programs within several Indian Army Regiments and outside locations across the lengths and breadths of the country like Bombay Engineering Group (BEG) & Centre in Kirkee (Pune), Army Air Defense (AAD) in Gopalpur (Odisha), Artillery Centre (Nashik Road, Camp), Army Service Corps (ASC) Centre & Madras Engineering Group (MEG) & Centre in Bengaluru, 1 Signal Training Centre (1 STC), Jammu and Kashmir (JAK) Rif and Grenadiers Regimental Centre (GRC) in Jabalpur (Madhya Pradesh), EME Centre in Secunderabad, Mahar Regimental Centre (Sagar, MP), Maratha L.I Regimental Centre (Belgaum), Sikh L.I Regimental Centre and Rajput Regimental Centre (Fatehgarh), Brigade of the Guards Regimental Centre (Kamptee), Assam Regimental Centre and 58 Gorkha Training Centre in Shillong. He has also conducted several training programs for the Indian Navy at Navy Nagar, Mumbai and for Paramilitary forces like BSF in Gandhinagar, Coast Guard in Mumbai, CRPF in Trivandrum.
What is Project Veer?
With Project Veer, we are taking an even personalized approach to guide our Ex-servicemen. Dedicated mentors help source jobs for ESM across the country and guide them in their upskilling and resettlement journeys. Our teams are present across country in various Indian Army Regiments where they interact with the retiring soldiers on a regular basis – conduct various skilling programs, guide them for different job and self-employment options, assist them in making their resumes and work tirelessly to smoothen this career transition journey of our soldiers.
Along with this, we also provide educational grants to children of widows and to orphans so they are able to continue with their primary and higher studies. Several skilling and self-employment programs are conducted for the widows and Veer Naris to make them independent in their career journey. Empowered by the compassion and assistance they receive, widows of soldiers can embark on a journey of healing, find renewed hope, and carry forward the legacy of their loved ones with pride. By offering financial support and empowering these families, we honor the sacrifices made by their loved ones in service to the nation.
The people of India have a lot of love and respect for our Soldiers but are often left without a medium to express the same. With Project Veer, we aim to create a better connection between our citizens and our soldiers!
