SYLLABUS
GS-3: Indian Economy and issues relating to Planning, Mobilization of Resources, Growth, Development and Employment.
Context: NITI Aayog recently released a report ‘Reimagining Skilling for Viksit Bharat@2047’ proposing a shift from a training-centric approach towards outcome-oriented, lifelong skilling. It seeks to better align education, skills and employment with changing labour-market requirements.
More on the News
• The report assesses India’s skilling ecosystem across five learner/workforce segments, together covering around 60 crore citizens.
• India has trained over 7.67 crore individuals since 2014–15, while ₹34,000 crore was allocated for skilling-related expenditure across multiple Central Ministries in FY 2025–26.
• The report identifies 8.7 crore youth aged 15–29 years as Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET), highlighting a major untapped segment for skilling and economic participation.
• It proposes five Core Reforms and four System Enablers to create an integrated, flexible and outcome-oriented skilling architecture.
Key Findings: India’s Skilling Challenge
• Large but Uneven Skilling Effort: Despite 7.67 crore people trained since 2014–15, the report identifies persistent gaps between training, employment, earnings and career progression.
• Diverse Labour Market: India’s population of around 145 crore in 2024 included a 65.4-crore labour force; among workers, 58.4% were self-employed, 21.7% regular wage/salaried and 19.8% casual labourers. The report’s population snapshot draws on different datasets and years, broadly spanning 2021–24.
• NEET and Women Face Persistent Barriers: Around 8.7 crore (11%) youth aged 15–29 are NEET, with nearly 88% engaged in domestic duties. Only around 3% of women are in formal jobs, while 71% are either in informal work or the NEET segment.
• Information and Access Gaps: Lack of awareness is a major barrier to skilling; it is among the top three reasons cited by 47% of women, 43% of NEET youth, 36% of higher-education students, 52% of formal workers and 55% of informal workers. Further, 61% of higher-education students aspiring to entrepreneurship are unaware of pathways to pursue it.
• Weak Education–Industry Linkages: Fewer than 1 in 12 secondary schools offer vocational subjects. Fragmentation, degree-centric hiring, limited industry co-ownership and weak portability of learning hinder smoother transitions between education, skilling and work.
NITI Aayog’s Reimagined Skilling Architecture
Five Core Reforms
• Skill Integration in Schools: Introduce General Employability and Entrepreneurship Skills (GEES) from Grades 6–12 and Kaushal Tracks from Grade 9 to mainstream vocational learning.
• Viable PPP/PSE Models in Technical and Higher Education: Promote industry-linked and work-integrated programmes, including Apprenticeship Embedded Degree/Diploma Programmes (AEDP) and flexible earn-while-you-learn models.
• Outcome-Linked, Industry-Backed Programmes: Shift from enrolment and certification towards employment, wage and progression outcomes, aligned with emerging sectors and changing occupational demand.
• Apprenticeship for All: Expand apprenticeships as a mainstream learning-and-earning pathway, including through stronger MSME participation and improved access.
• Guidance and Perception Building: Provide continuous career guidance and counselling while addressing social perceptions and information gaps around vocational pathways.
Four System Enablers
• Digital Lifelong Learning Accounts/Skill Passports: Create portable records of credentials, skills and work experience, enabling learners to carry their learning and work history across institutions and employment.
• Outcome-Based Financing: Link financing increasingly to verified outcomes such as placement, wage gains and retention, rather than merely enrolment or completion.
• Operationalising NCrF: Enable portable and cumulative learning across academic, vocational and work-based pathways, including through Recognition of Prior Learning.
• Skills-First Policies and Infrastructure: Promote skills-based hiring and shared utilisation of training infrastructure through a district-first implementation approach.
Significance for Viksit Bharat
• Outcome-Oriented Human Capital: Shifts the focus from the number trained to employability, career progression and sustainable livelihoods as the primary measures of success.
• Future-Ready Workforce: Better alignment with AI, green transition, EVs and emerging industries can strengthen workforce productivity and India’s competitiveness.
• Inclusive Economic Participation: Targeted pathways for women, NEET youth and informal workers can reduce barriers to productive employment and unlock underutilised human capital.
• Lifelong Learning and Mobility: NCrF, portable credentials and flexible learning pathways can facilitate movement between education, skilling and employment while enabling individuals to re-enter learning throughout their careers.