India is currently facing a unique challenge: despite its vast youth population, a significant skills gap persists, affecting workforce readiness and job market alignment. As of the latest data from the 2023-24 Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS), the unemployment rate among youth aged 15-29 stands at approximately 10.2%, with even higher rates for urban females at 20.1% and urban males at 12.8%. These high rates highlight ongoing issues with employability, especially among graduates, who are often reluctant to accept positions that don’t match their skill level.
This skills mismatch is causing both frictional and structural unemployment, reducing overall productivity and potentially stalling economic growth. India’s efforts to boost labor force participation, especially among women (which rose to 41.7% in 2023-24), are promising but will require stronger vocational training and skill development programs to address these employability challenges. Without immediate action, this talent shortfall could continue to impact GDP growth and per capita income over the coming years.
Therefore, it is essential that as a nation we reign in the skill deficit to boost employment and thus curtail the snowballing of the situation. Around the world, there is an increasing focus on skill development via apprenticeships as a means to prepare youth for the future of work. India’s apprenticeship program aims to expand from 500,000 to a significantly larger 10 million apprentices within a decade, as part of broader efforts to upskill its youthful demographic and address the skills gap in the job market. By 2025, India is projected to supply over 25% of the global workforce, emphasizing the need for skill development and higher participation in vocational training and apprenticeships.
The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has reiterated that this focus on skill-building could lead to remarkable economic growth, potentially pushing India’s GDP from the current $3.5 trillion to $9 trillion by 2030 and reaching as high as $40 trillion by 2047, provided demographic dividends are effectively utilized. India’s government initiatives, like the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY), have already trained millions, and programs like the National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS) continue to grow, supporting a sustainable employment base and GDP growth
“Employment First, College Later”
A high employability ratio is essential for the health of the economy as it leads to the creation of a ‘virtuous cycle’ based on the higher spending power of the individual which boosts the demand for goods and services which in turn, is good for business and the economy in the long run. Therefore one can conclude that the starting point for healthy economic growth revolves around improving employability. Countries across the world have made this connection and are increasingly focusing on skill development and training as a means to improve employability. In India, formal training numbers remain low at less than 2% whereas, in countries such as South Korea, this number encompasses 96% of the population. Similarly, in China the number of people who are formally trained stands at 45%; while in the USA and Germany, it stands at 50-55% and 74% respectively.
It would do well for India to take a cue from South Korea’s policy of “Employment First, College Later” and rely on apprenticeship programs to promote skill development and employability among the youth. Apprenticeships are an excellent way to groom the next generation of workers to develop skills and understand the dynamics of the workplace. The budget 2023-24 has allocated 47 lakh rupees as part of a direct benefit scheme to boost employment/job creation opportunities as part of its National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme. The proposed implementation of a Unified Skill India Digital Platform as mentioned in the budget 2023-24 will also help to channel demand-based formal skilling and connect apprentices with employers including MSMEs.
Busting the common myths around Apprenticeships
We, as a nation, need to acknowledge the elephant in the room and accept that our preconceived notions about apprenticeships are erroneous. Apprenticeships as they now stand are no longer the recourse of the academically weak but rather can emerge as the starting point for all! My research for this article exposed me to a seemingly utopian case study from the UK, where a student left formal education post the completion of grade 10, to associate with a civil engineering apprenticeship program. This level 3 apprenticeship program was equivalent to the A-levels program which she would have otherwise pursued at school. The apprenticeship program provided this young lady with the opportunity to develop key in-demand skills in a plethora of software including AutoCAD, Civils3D, Excel, Inventor, etc. It also inculcated on-the-job interpersonal and time management skills while at the same time keeping her on the path to professional and academic growth and development.
The provisions of NEP 2020 and the NCrF strive to create a similar environment in India, where a student has the flexibility to shift between skill development and academics or both. A student can focus on skill development, acquire on-the-job experience for a few years and then go back to higher education if so inclined. The years invested in skill development will be reflected in the individual’s Academic Bank of Credit (ABC) for higher education which will also include vocational education and training. The credit transfer mechanism by way of multiple entries – multiple exits (MEME) pathways in general & vocational education will enable a student to enter and exit the educational ecosystem, both general and vocational, at any point in time. In such cases due weightage will be given to work experience gained or training undertaken by the learner. We must legitimize qualification modularity between a 3-month certificate, one-year diploma, two-year advanced diploma, and three-year degree. We must popularize skill universities so that apprenticeships need not be the end of the road but just the beginning! They can provide a head start into the world of work and industry.
Massification of Degree Apprenticeship
As a nation, India needs to actively address the issues with respect to employability, quality, and skill development of the workforce if it is to take advantage of our demographic dividend and forge ahead into the future. To achieve this it must devise a tripartite association among youth, academics, and industry. An effective mechanism to achieve this can be through the massification of degree apprenticeships across diverse business sectors to achieve high returns on investment.
UGC released the guidelines for universities to roll out apprenticeship-embedded degree programs sometime around December 2020 to ensure that the competencies, knowledge, and attitude demanded by the industry get embedded into university degrees through apprenticeship linkages. Degree apprenticeship (DA) is an innovation in the talent supply chain that perfectly blends education with skills, enhances youth employability, and makes skill development financially viable through industry-active involvement (stipend and sponsorship). DA creates a unique overlap between the Industrial Training Institutes (ITI), Universities, and companies that are employment exchanges.
Apprenticeship-embedded degree programs can create a viable financing model for higher education through its ‘earning while learning’ model. Combined with other benefits – earning work experience while they are still studying can help in the development of suitable skills making these students job-ready sooner than with traditional degree programs. The creation of an employer financing model for higher education, with the provision of income flow through a stipend, will create a healthy demand-pull for higher education.
Degree Apprenticeships: Future of Learning and Skill Development
In the rapidly changing global economic scenario, there is consensus about the onset of a global recession and a severe talent crunch across industries. In such a situation, apprenticeship programs can emerge as the best recourse to navigating troubled times. Research indicates that apprenticeships benefit businesses the most as they enhance productivity by providing access to highly skilled workers. A blend of on and off-the-job learning ensures that apprentices acquire a mix of all the skills required to cater to the needs of the business. Moreover, apprenticeship programs lead to the creation of a talent pool that can be leveraged further as the economy recovers. This view is further corroborated by the Global Apprenticeship Network (GAN), in their assessment of the future of work, ‘Work Based Learning (WBL) can help reinforce talent pipelines for individual businesses and industries with knock-on effects on the economy”.
Degree Apprenticeship programs can thus emerge as the perfect solution to all our employment issues as they increase employability, lower recruitment and training costs, and boost employee retention. The policy support from the government and keen interest from the industry along with academic support from universities and training centres can help develop apprenticeships into a win-win solution for all–job seekers, employers, and the Nation. We, as individuals need to clear the cobwebs, forgo earlier beliefs and misconceptions and embrace a new kind of learning in the changing world order, for in the words of American billionaire businessman Scott Cook, “The most important skill you need is the ability to learn how to change and grow”.
You might be also interested to read: Bridging the Gap: The Case for Degree-linked Apprenticeships in India
