1. Overview of India’s Skilling Landscape
Over the last decade, India has developed one of the world’s largest skilling ecosystems. Between 2015 and 2025, the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) trained and certified around 1.40 crore candidates, reflecting strong government commitment to skill development. Despite this scale, vocational skilling has not emerged as a preferred pathway for youth, and employability outcomes remain uneven.
Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) data indicate that wage gains from vocational training are modest and inconsistent, especially in informal employment where most trained workers are absorbed. Certification often offers limited recognition and little observable improvement in quality of life.
Without integration into labour markets and educational pathways, large-scale skilling investments fail to translate into meaningful economic or social benefits.
Impacts:
- 1.40 crore candidates trained under PMKVY.
- Wage gains in informal employment remain minimal, limiting economic mobility.
2. Aspirational Gaps in Skilling
India’s Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) in higher education is 28%, whereas the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 aims to raise it to 50% by 2035. Expanding traditional education alone will not achieve this; skilling must be embedded in formal education to enhance employability.
Formal vocational training remains low, with only 4.1% of India’s workforce receiving such training, a marginal improvement from 2% a decade ago (PLFS; World Bank). By contrast, OECD countries report ~44% upper-secondary vocational enrolment, reaching ~70% in Austria, Finland, the Netherlands, Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Slovenia.
The India Skills Report 2025 shows that post-degree skilling is not mainstream among graduates. Meaningful scale requires integration of vocational pathways with higher education curricula.
Embedding skilling alongside education enhances human capital, improves employability, and helps convert demographic potential into economic growth.
3. Industry’s Role in Skill Development
Industry is the largest beneficiary of effective skilling, but participation remains limited. High attrition (30–40% across retail, logistics, hospitality, and manufacturing), long onboarding cycles, and productivity losses impose real costs.
Most employers do not treat public skilling certifications as hiring benchmarks, preferring internal training, referrals, or private platforms (NITI Aayog; World Bank). While the National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS) has increased participation, outcomes are unequal, particularly among large companies.
Industry is rarely incentivised or mandated to contribute to curriculum development, assessment standards, or certification rigour. As long as skilling is consumed rather than co-designed by industry, it will lag behind labour-market needs.
Industry engagement as co-owner of skilling programmes ensures alignment with market realities and enhances the economic utility of certified skills.
Impacts:
- High attrition: 30–40% in key sectors.
- Unequal uptake of NAPS benefits, with limited industry collaboration.
4. Challenges with Sector Skill Councils (SSCs)
SSCs were created to act as industry-facing institutions to define standards, ensure relevance, and anchor employability. They were intended to own the skilling value chain — from demand identification to certification of job readiness.
In practice, responsibility is fragmented: training, assessment, certification, and placement are often handled by different entities. This diffused accountability erodes trust, as employer surveys indicate SSC credentials carry limited signalling value compared to degrees or experience.
Global examples, such as AWS, Google Cloud, and Microsoft certifications, succeed because the certifier’s credibility is at stake, assessments are graded, and employers understand the skill level of candidates. SSCs largely focus on standards creation, without ensuring outcomes.
Without holding SSCs accountable for employability, vocational certifications remain symbolic rather than economically meaningful.
Challenges:
- Fragmented responsibilities weaken trust.
- Certification value limited; employers do not reliably hire against SSC standards.
5. Skilling as a Pillar of Economic Growth
India’s skilling challenge reflects accountability gaps, not lack of funding or intent. Expanding NAPS and embedding skilling into workplace practices can rapidly improve job readiness.
Schemes such as PM-SETU, for modernising ITIs, illustrate execution models where industry ownership and accountability are built into programme design. Embedding skills in degree programmes, making industry co-owners, and holding SSCs accountable for placement outcomes can transform skilling from a fragmented welfare measure into a pillar of national economic empowerment.
Policy Measures / Reforms:
- Integrate skilling in higher education curricula.
- Increase industry participation in programme design and assessment.
- Strengthen SSC accountability for employment outcomes.
- Expand NAPS and modernise ITIs through PM-SETU.
Aligned skilling enhances productivity, dignity of labour, and enables India to convert demographic strength into sustained national growth.
6. Key Statistics
- PMKVY (2015–2025): 1.40 crore candidates trained.
- Workforce with formal vocational training: 4.1% (up from 2%).
- Higher education GER: 28%, NEP 2020 target: 50% by 2035.
- Industry attrition: 30–40% in retail, logistics, hospitality, manufacturing.
7. Conclusion
For skilling to meaningfully contribute to employment and growth:
- Accountability must replace fragmented execution.
- Industry must become co-owner of curriculum, training, and certification.
- SSCs must be answerable for placement outcomes and employability.
Strengthened skilling infrastructure is crucial for productivity, economic growth, and converting India’s demographic dividend into sustained national development.
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