A startling revelation that only around 51.25 per cent of Indian youth is deemed employable has been one of the highlights of the Economic Survey 2023-24.
That essentially comes down to one in every two graduates who are not employable straight out of college. This comes at a time when the Centre has tried to bring down the unemployment numbers, increase apprenticeships, and create jobs in the services and manufacturing sectors.
According to the Economic Survey, in India, 65 per cent of the country's fast-growing population is under 35 years of age, and many of them simply lack the skills required in a modern economy.
However, it is worth noting that the number has risen impressively in the last decade from around 34 per cent to 51.3 per cent.
The Economic Survey mentioned, "Estimates show that about 51.25% of the youth is deemed employable. In other words, about one in two are not yet readily employable, straight out of college. However, it must be noted that the percentage has improved from around 34% to 51.3% in the last decade."
The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneuship's (MSDE) annual report for 2022-23 stated, "As per National Single Sign-On (NSSO), 2011-12 (68th round) report on Status of Education and Vocational Training in India, among persons of age 15-59 years, about 2.2% reported to have received formal vocational training and 8.6% reported to have received non-formal vocational training".
The report also notes the difficulties that lie in the skilling and entrepreneurship scene in India like a low public perception on skilling, an alternative for those not completing their formal academic system, Centre's unmoderated skill development programmes, confusion arising among employers due to the multiplicity in assessment and certification systems, understaffed or untrained faculty, demand-supply mismatch, constraints on mobility between skill and higher education or vocational programmes.
A low coverage of apprenticeship programmes, insufficient skill curriculum, women labour force participation falling, pre-dominant non-farm, employment in the unorganised sector with low productivity but no premium for skilling, non-inclusion of entrepreneurship in formal education system, lack of mentorship and adequate access to financing for start-ups, low motivation for entrepreneurship driven by innovation and a lack of assured wage premium for skilled people are among the other deterrents to skilling and entrepreneurship.
Meanwhile, the Economic Survey highlighted that the Indian economy has to generate nearly 7.85 million jobs annually until 2030 in order to meet the rising workforce demand, especially due to the incentive schemes linked to production to boost domestic manufacturing.
Additionally, the role of gig workers in improving employment has been pointed out by the Economic Survey with their population likely to rise to 23.5 million by 2029-30.
