{"id":63647,"date":"2026-01-07T19:12:45","date_gmt":"2026-01-07T13:42:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=63647"},"modified":"2026-01-09T13:02:04","modified_gmt":"2026-01-09T07:32:04","slug":"india-skilling-outcomes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/07-01-2026\/india-skilling-outcomes","title":{"rendered":"Rethinking India\u2019s Skilling Outcomes"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS3\/Economy<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Over the last decade, India has built one of the<strong> largest skilling ecosystems<\/strong> in the world, yet skilling has not become a first-choice pathway for most young Indians.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>About<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The India Skills Report 2025 shows that only about <strong>2% of graduates pursue additional skilling certifications <\/strong>after completing degrees.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Between 2015 and 2025<\/strong>, India\u2019s flagship skilling programme, Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY), has trained and certified around 1.40 crore candidates, reflecting serious public investment and policy intent.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img data-dominant-color=\"eff0f0\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"634\" height=\"377\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/01\/image-34.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"not-transparent wp-image-63649\" style=\"--dominant-color: #eff0f0; width:349px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/01\/image-34.png 634w, https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/01\/image-34-300x178.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 634px) 100vw, 634px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>PLFS data show that <\/strong>wage gains from vocational training are modest and inconsistent, offering limited recognition for certified skills and little visible improvement in quality of life.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>In contrast, vocational participation exceeds 70% in Germany and Japan and crosses 90% in South Korea (OECD).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Reasons for not Preferring Skilling<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Legitimacy of Degrees:<\/strong> Degrees indicate long-term mobility, social recognition, and economic credibility.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Skilling does not lead to recognised qualifications and progressive employment thus, participation becomes unaspirational.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Limited reliance on public certifications:<\/strong> Most employers do not treat government skilling certifications as credible hiring benchmarks, preferring internal training systems, referrals, or private platforms.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Uneven impact of apprenticeships:<\/strong> While the National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS) has expanded industry participation, benefits are concentrated among large firms, with MSMEs remaining marginal.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Demand\u2013supply mismatch persists: <\/strong>Skilling remains something industry consumes rather than co-designs, resulting in training that often lags behind evolving labour-market needs.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Key Challenges in the Ecosystem<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Sector skill councils: <\/strong>SSCs are industry-led bodies under the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), mandated to define skill standards, ensure industry relevance, and enhance employability; however, this mandate has not been fully realised.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Certifications from AWS, Google Cloud, or Microsoft work because the certifier\u2019s credibility is at stake.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Until SSCs are held accountable for employability, certification will remain symbolic rather than economic.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Responsibility is Fragmented:<\/strong>&nbsp; Unlike Higher Education or Technical Institutions where reputational risk enforces accountability, the skilling system diffuses responsibility without consequence which has eroded trust.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Weak industry role in curriculum design: <\/strong>Industry faces neither strong incentives nor binding obligations to participate in curriculum development, certification standards, or assessment frameworks.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Without deeper industry ownership, skilling programmes struggle to remain relevant, credible, and scalable.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Way Ahead<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Workplace-embedded skilling as a fast lever: <\/strong>Expanding NAPS and deepening industry integration can rapidly improve job readiness by shifting skill acquisition into real work environments.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Integrating skills with formal education: <\/strong>Embedding skills within degree and diploma pathways enhances credibility, aspiration, and labour-market alignment.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Industry as co-owner, not end-user: <\/strong>Treating industry as a co-designer and co-owner of skilling programmes ensures curriculum relevance and hiring alignment.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Outcome accountability for SSCs: <\/strong>Making Sector Skill Councils answerable for placement and employability outcomes can restore certification credibility.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Conclusion<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>India\u2019s Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER)<\/strong> stands at 28%, but the National Education Policy 2020 aims for it to touch the <strong>50% mark by 2035.&nbsp;<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>For skilling to scale credibly and inclusively, it <strong>must be integrated with formal education systems,<\/strong> not run parallel to them.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Industry-linked, education-embedded skill is essential for <strong>converting India\u2019s demographic strength <\/strong>into sustained economic growth and productivity gains.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/education\/heres-why-worlds-largest-skilling-system-has-delivered-marginal-increase-in-skilled-workforce\/article70456051.ece#:~:text=How%20can%20skilling%20drive%20sustained,pushing%20skilling%20into%20the%20workplace.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>TH<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Context<\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">Over the last decade, India has built one of the largest skilling ecosystems in the world, yet skilling has not become a first-choice pathway for most young Indians.<\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><strong> About <\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">The India Skills Report 2025 shows that only about 2% of graduates pursue additional skilling certifications after completing degrees. <\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">Between 2015 and 2025, India\u2019s flagship skilling programme, Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY), has trained and certified around 1.40 crore candidates, reflecting serious public investment and policy intent. <\/li>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/07-01-2026\/india-skilling-outcomes\" class=\"btn btn-primary btn-sm float-end\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-63647","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63647","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=63647"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63647\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":63709,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63647\/revisions\/63709"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=63647"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=63647"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=63647"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}