A Rural Self-Employment Training Institute giving rural youth one to six week courses, with food and lodging covered.
Thiruvananthapuram disburses ₹67,325 in small business loans per lakh population. The district trains 99.8 youth per lakh under short-term skilling, behind the typical district. The Rural Self Employment Training Institute prepares rural youth to use credit like this to start their own enterprise.
77% of registered enterprises are in services while 23% are in manufacturing. Only 5% of employment is in small and medium enterprises. 87% of school-age children are enrolled in higher secondary school (classes 9–12).
In Thiruvananthapuram, which ranks 5 of 15 in Kerala for youth opportunity, the overall opportunity score is 57.2 out of 100. It runs ahead of the national picture on self-employed workers at 34.6%. On skilling trainees who get certified at 88.5%, women-owned enterprises at 30.9% and young people in the labour force aged 15 to 29 at 50%, it sits close to the national mark.