Taking India To New Heights

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A small village that most people would have not heard of, there lives a man, Raji Reddy who amidst his struggle has emerged a true hero. Born in Narsingi village of Medak district in Telangana, Raji Reddy hails from a family that not until long ago struggled to make ends meet. Leandra Monteiro speaks to Raji Reddy learning his journey and what he aims to achieve through his training and competitions. His journey so far It all started when I dropped out of the second Year of Degree College as I could not financially manage. After that, for the next 2 and a half year, I worked at a petrol pump and later on, I got a job as a supervisor at a construction site. Following this I got a call from a training center -National Academy of Construction (NAC), which was tied up with Saint Gobain, where I did the training for 3 months and once over I got a placement in Saint Gobain in Hyderabad. At my first placement, I worked for around 5 months as an assistant. My second internal placement was in Mumbai, where again I worked for about 8 months. Here I came across Mr. Emmanuel Gurupnoor, Skill Development Manager, Saint Gobain, Gyproc. He guided me and encouraged me to enroll in the World Skill Competition. I started preparations in May 2018 to compete with 40 members pan India. I went on to win the regional competition and stepped a notch up for the Nationals which again I aced and was honored with a Gold medal. Now, I am eyeing the World Skill Competition in Russia. This is the 45th edition of World Skills the most prestigious skill platform in the world has for the first time there will be representation from India in Gypsum Plastering and Drywall Systems category and I feel honored to be the one to take my country’s name there. Currently, I am undergoing rigorous training in Gyproc Academy at Wada and being helped by 2 trainers. How has Saint Gobain changed your life and inspired you on this journey? I am very thankful to Emmanuel sir for recognizing the spirit in me and inspiring me to work harder. He has always supported me and inspired me to try new things and go ahead in life. My friends and family as well have been a great support mechanism in my journey. Advice for youngsters like yourself to achieve better in life? I would say that no matter the work one is doing they should always be focused. They should also take ownership of the work they are entrusted with. It is their work and they should always strive to complete it to the best of their ability and with full focus. Life will always have disturbances and distractions but one needs to put all this aside and focus on the task at hand. My plan now is to focus and train harder for the upcoming competition in Russia. I am going to give it my all and learn as much as I can. I hope to bring these new skills I learn back to India and help my fellow colleagues and friends as well.