Over the last decade, India has created one of the world’s largest skilling architectures. Flagship programmes such as Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) have trained and certified nearly 1.40 crore candidates between 2015 and 2025. Yet, skilling has not emerged as a first-choice aspiration for most young Indians. The disconnect between scale and impact raises a deeper question: why does vocational training still struggle to translate into stable jobs, higher wages, and social mobility?
Scale without aspiration: the paradox of India’s skilling push
Data from the Periodic Labour Force Survey show that wage gains from vocational training remain modest and uneven, especially in the informal sector where most skilled workers are eventually absorbed. Certified skills often receive little recognition, and improvements in quality of life are not always visible.
As a result, skilling is frequently seen as a fallback option rather than a credible pathway to economic security — unlike formal degrees, which continue to dominate social and labour-market signalling.
Higher education targets and the missing skills bridge
India’s Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) in higher education is around 28%. The National Education Policy 2020 sets an ambitious target of 50% by 2035. Achieving this is not possible through traditional academic expansion alone.
Despite sustained investment, only about 4.1% of India’s workforce has received formal vocational training — up only marginally from about 2% a decade ago. In contrast, across OECD countries, roughly 44% of upper-secondary learners are in vocational tracks, rising to nearly 70% in countries such as Austria, Finland, and the Netherlands.
This contrast underlines a structural issue: skilling in India largely exists outside mainstream education, rather than being embedded within degree and diploma pathways.
Industry’s limited role in shaping job-ready skills
Industry stands to gain the most from effective skilling. High attrition, long onboarding cycles, and productivity losses impose tangible costs — with attrition rates of 30–40% common in sectors such as retail, logistics, hospitality, and manufacturing.
Yet, most employers do not use public skilling certifications as hiring benchmarks. Instead, they rely on:
- Internal training programmes
- Referrals and prior experience
- Private certification platforms
The National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS) has expanded apprenticeships, but participation remains uneven, particularly among large firms. Crucially, industry is neither sufficiently incentivised nor obligated to co-design curricula, assessment standards, or certification frameworks at scale.
Why Sector Skill Councils fail to inspire trust
The most serious structural weakness lies with Sector Skill Councils (SSCs). They were envisaged as industry-facing institutions that would:
- Define occupational standards
- Ensure relevance to labour-market demand
- Anchor employability outcomes
In practice, responsibility is fragmented. Training, assessment, certification, and placement are handled by different entities, diluting accountability. Unlike universities or polytechnics, where reputational risk enforces quality, the skilling ecosystem disperses responsibility without consequence.
Employer surveys consistently suggest that SSC certifications have weak signalling value compared to degrees or work experience. By contrast, industry-led certifications — such as those from global technology firms — work because the certifier’s credibility is directly at stake, assessments are graded, and outcomes are transparent.
From welfare intervention to economic institution
India’s skilling challenge is less about intent or funding and more about accountability. Programmes such as PM-SETU, aimed at modernising ITIs, signal a shift towards execution models where industry ownership is built into design.
If skilling is to drive sustained economic growth, three shifts are essential:
- Embedding skills within degree and diploma pathways
- Treating industry as a co-owner, not just a consumer
- Holding SSCs accountable for placement and employability outcomes
Only then can skilling evolve from a fragmented welfare initiative into a pillar of national economic empowerment — enhancing productivity, restoring the dignity of labour, and enabling India to convert its demographic advantage into long-term growth.
What to note for Prelims?
- PMKVY: flagship central skilling scheme
- GER target under NEP 2020: 50% by 2035
- Only ~4.1% of India’s workforce formally vocationally trained
- NAPS promotes apprenticeship-based skilling
What to note for Mains?
- Analyse the disconnect between skilling scale and employability outcomes
- Discuss the role of industry in co-designing skilling ecosystems
- Evaluate the institutional failure of Sector Skill Councils
- Examine how embedding skills in higher education can boost GER and job readiness
