Skill Development

Published on 28 Jan 2025

As per the Skill India report 2023, the employability of young Indians has increased from 46.2% to 50.3%. Despite an increase there is huge scope for improvement, which would be crucial for the future growth of the most populous nation in the world.

Need for skill development in India

• Employability: Enhancing skills makes individuals more employable. As the job market evolves, there is a need for workers with up-to-date skills to meet the demands of various industries.

• Example: As per Skill India report, Applied Mathematics and Data Science has employability of 72% and 57% respectively. Hence these skills could fetch quality jobs.

• Economic Growth: A skilled workforce contributes significantly to economic growth and skilled individuals are more likely to start their own business, which can lead to job creation and overall economic development.

• Example: India is expected to have the largest workforce globally by 2027. Proper skilling could transform them to an important human resource.

• Capture the demographic potential: The positive demographic outlook can be utilized by increasing their capacity through proper skilling.

• Example: 62% of India’s population is between 15 to 59, which is expected to peak by 2036.

• Global Competitiveness: A skilled workforce positions India as a strong competitor in the global market, attracting international businesses and investments.

• Example: Only around 5% of India’s workforce has undergone formal skill training, while it is 96% in South Korea, making the Indian workforce less competitive.

• Technological Advancement: With the rapid advancement of technology, it’s essential for the workforce to acquire digital skills such as IT, AI and other emerging technologies.

• Example: AI is expected to contribute $450 billion to the country's GDP by 2025, hence has the highest scope for employing AI technicians.

• Entrepreneurship: Skilled individuals are more likely to start their own ventures, contributing to innovation and creating job opportunities for others. 

• Facilitate gender parity: Acquiring market-demand skills is the best way to improve the employability of women and push for high salary, high position jobs.

• Example: As per Skill in India reports, the employable women workforce is 53.2% while that of men is 47.8%. This skill driven employability could improve their economic position.

Challenges associated with skill development in India

• Limited access to education and training: Individuals in rural areas face barriers to accessing quality education and training facilities due lack of infrastructure, transportation and resources.

• Example: Despite having awareness regarding the scope of data science and AI, many people cannot access them.

• Quality of training: There may be a lack of qualified trainers and outdated training methodologies.

• Example: In India, more than 80% of the skilling centres are private run, whose quality has been below par.

• Awareness and aspirations: Many individuals may not be aware of the opportunities available or may have aspirations that are not aligned with the available job market demands.

• Example: There is lack of awareness regarding the scope of high employable jobs like Backend development, Data Analysis, QA Automation etc.

• Mismatch of skills: This can lead to high levels of unemployment or underemployment, as individuals may not have the skills required for the available jobs.

• Financial constraints: Many individuals may not be able to afford the cost of skill development programs which can act as a barrier particularly for those from economically disadvantaged backgrounds.

Government initiatives associated with skill development

• Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) 2015: To provide short term training, skilling through ITIs and under the apprenticeship scheme.

• Deen Dayal Upadhyaya-Grameen Kaushal Yojana (DDU-GKY): It aims to skill rural youth who are poor and provide them with jobs having regular monthly wages or above the minimum wages.

• Skill Loan Scheme: Provide institutional credit to individuals for skill development courses.

• SANKALP: Aims to improve short term skill training qualitatively and quantitatively through strengthening institutions, bringing in better market connectivity and inclusion of marginalised sections of society.

• National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS): To provide financial support to establishments undertaking apprenticeship training.

Way Forward

• Industry-academia collaboration: Foster stronger partnerships between educational institutions and industries to align curriculum with the current and future needs of the job market. 

• Quality assurance: Establish and enforce standards for the quality of skill development programs and training institutions.

• Digital literacy: Integrate digital literacy into skill development programs to equip individuals with essential technological skills.

• Financial support and incentives: Offer financial support to individuals pursuing skill development programs particularly those from economically disadvantaged backgrounds.

Thus, developing the capacity of the public through proper skilling is crucial for determining India’s global position, as the nation is on its pursuit to be a $5 trillion economy in near future.

Tags:
Social Justice

Keywords:
Skill Development Employability SANKALP National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme Industry-academia collaboration Skill India report Deen Dayal Upadhyaya-Grameen Kaushal Yojana job creation demographic potential Entrepreneurship Gender parity ed

Syllabus:
General Studies Paper 2

Topics:
Social Justice