Trained, certified, but still jobless: India’s skilling gap widens

New Delhi/Hubballi: After spending nearly Rs 2 lakh to complete a four-year BTech at one of Bengaluru’s oldest government engineering colleges, Yashvanth L C expected his degree to open the door to employment. But after completing the course in 2024, he found that academic knowledge alone was not enough to meet the requirements of many companies. Recruiters sought practical experience, knowledge of industry-specific software and tools, coding abilities, problem-solving skills and stronger communication skills..Like many engineering graduates, Yashvanth had to undergo additional skill training to secure a job. “After spending four years studying engineering, it is frustrating to be told that we need another course to become employable,” he says..Even as skilling opportunities by the government appear adequate enough, unemployed numbers draw attention to a longstanding question confronting policymakers: why does a significant section of India’s youth remain disconnected from formal pathways to learning, skills and work despite a decade of large-scale government interventions?.The answer is more complex than a simple shortage of training opportunities. Over the past decade, India has dramatically expanded its skilling ecosystem through flagship programmes, vocational education initiatives, Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs), apprenticeships and digital learning platforms. Yet the challenge increasingly appears to lie not in the availability of programmes, but in their accessibility, relevance and ability to translate learning into meaningful and sustainable employment..The Periodic Labour Force Survey 2025, released by the Ministry of Statistics in March this year, estimated that 25% of people aged 15 to 29, and 21% of those aged 15 to 24, were not in employment, education or training. Applied to the estimated youth population of 36.7 crore, this roughly translates to 9.2 crore..NITI Aayog’s latest report, Reimagining Skilling for Viksit Bharat@2047, released in August 2026 estimates that 8.7 crore Indians aged 15 to 29 were not in education, employment or training in 2021..Yashvanth notes that despite his college's strong faculty, a lack of infrastructure meant only 30% of his 2024 batch managed to land a job..Similarly, Raghavendra Joshi, a commerce graduate from Kalaburagi, travelled all the way to Bengaluru to complete a 50-hour accounting programme under the state government-supported skill-training programme Kalike Jothege Kaushalya (KJK) with a hope that the certificate would land him a job as the accounting course was designed as per industry demands..However, the expectations of Bengaluru-based textile, logistics and supply chain and other companies were completely different. “The companies wanted us to know about GST, Tally, Supply Chain Management and other marketing related subjects. And, the salary package was insufficient to survive in a big city,” he says..An official of the Karnataka Skill Development Corporation (KSDC), which implements the KJK programme, said over 66,290 candidates were trained in two phases between 2024 and 2026..“A majority of the placements is in the informal sector so there is no consolidated data of placement,” says the official..He, however, added that a majority of the skill development courses are outdated. “We do consult industry experts and formulate our programmes, workshops and courses accordingly. The courses are being upgraded. But most of the candidates who enroll for these courses are not toppers; the foundation-learning (schooling and college-level learning) of these students is weak and preparing them for industry standards is a bit difficult,” said the officer, requesting anonymity..Karnataka’s Minister for Skill Development, Entrepreneurship and Livelihood Department Dr Sharanprakash R Patil said the limited conversion from certification to job placement was a legacy issue that his government is addressing. .“Earlier, there was no mechanism to monitor how many trained youths were placed in a job. However, today we are ensuring that only those programmes that can assure placement of beneficiaries are approved,” the minister said..The first-ever Karnataka State Skill Development Policy for 2025–2032 with an estimated budget of Rs 4,432.5 crore to train three million youth was introduced with an intent of integrating education and skilling..Responding to allegations that the majority of the skill training centres lack required human resources and infrastructure, Patil said the government is coming up with multiple training centres across the state. “Compared to the rest of India, Karnataka is performing better in skilling its youths and providing them jobs,” he said..According to data provided by the KSDC, the number of youths getting trained under various schemes has decreased considerably in the last five years. The schemes include Chief Minister’s Kaushalya Karnataka Yojane (CMKKY), Kalike Jothege Kaushalya, Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY) and Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana. The data also shows that in the last three years, less than 10% of youths trained under CMKKY have been placed. .‘Affront to womanhood’: SC orders Rs 12 lakh compensation for woman who was denied job on gender grounds .Programme scrutiny.Whether government programmes are effectively reaching their intended beneficiaries has also attracted scrutiny. Since 2015, the Centre has invested heavily in skill development through initiatives such as the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY). The government says millions of individuals have received training through various schemes. However, official audits have raised concerns about implementation. The Comptroller and Auditor General, in its review of PMKVY, pointed to weaknesses in beneficiary identification, gaps in planning and inconsistencies in the use of labour market data to determine training priorities..The CAG’s performance audit of the scheme’s first three phases, covering 2015 to 2022, which was tabled in the Parliament on December 18, 2025, show that the phases had an outlay of about Rs 14,450 crore and a combined target of 1.32 crore candidates. The audit found that candidates were enrolled without regard to the age, education and work-experience criteria in the guidelines and that no mechanism existed to verify that unemployed youth and school or college dropouts were the ones enrolled. It also found that training by sector and state did not follow skill-gap studies, and that the scheme had no long-term strategy or national skill development plan..On outcomes, CAG found that 23.18 lakh of the 56.14 lakh candidates certified under short-term training and special projects, or 41%, were placed. It said training partners in Kerala submitted incorrect placement documents as proof and the state government recovered Rs 22.33 lakh after the audit pointed this out..A parliamentary standing committee on labour, textiles and skill development, in a report submitted on March 28, 2025, called placement data the real test of the scheme. It noted that against a target of 45 lakh certifications for 2024-25, 19.17 lakh had been achieved by March 3, 2025..Multiple studies have pointed to a broader mismatch between education and employment in India. A study from Institute for Social and Economic Change (ISEC), conducted by Prof Krishna Raj and Sakshi Khaire, states that while India has significantly expanded its skill training, the critical question remains: what happens to young people after they graduate? .“By PMKVY’s own admission the average placement rate between 2015 and 2024 is only about 17%. The experience under PMKVY shows that training and certification cannot be treated as the final measure of success. The relatively low placement rate indicates disconnect between the number of people trained and their transition into employment,” says Sakshi..They argue that the skills ecosystem must shift from a certificate-centric approach to an employment- and productivity-oriented approach. “Industry participation has to begin much earlier, in identifying the skills required, designing courses and providing workplace exposure. Apprenticeships and learn-and-earn models can help bridge the gap between classroom training and actual employment,” says the report..She also points to a trust deficit among the industries over the certificates issued by such government institutes. “India needs stronger pathways connecting schools and colleges with skill centres, employers and apprenticeships. The credibility of certificates also needs to improve so that employers recognise their value. Unfortunately, the majority of the skill training institutes lack quality resources who can train youths to industry requirements,” she says..In Tamil Nadu, the state government launched its flagship skill development programme ‘Naan Mudhalvan’ in 2022, to bridge the gap between academic education and industry requirements. Under the programme, more than 41.38 lakh school and college students across Tamil Nadu have received skill development training. About one lakh teachers have also been trained..“The programme primarily caters to school students from classes 6 to 12 as well as undergraduate and postgraduate students. The skillsets of students are upgraded here and they are made industry-ready,” a senior official said..State government data suggests that about 3.30 lakh students who underwent training have been placed in jobs between 2022-2025. The Tamil Nadu Skill Development Corporation also offers several free courses to learn and upskill, in addition to courses in foreign languages, including Mandarin and Japanese, which helped many land jobs in China and Japan..The government is now planning to introduce Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) in 50 government Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) across the state to equip students with skills needed for job opportunities..In Maharashtra, on the other hand, the statistics for productive and inclusive engagement of the youth remains a cause for concern. The workforce participation rate is 43.4%, with a 29.3% female participation. In terms of labour force participation rate, Maharashtra stands at 64.2%, ahead of the national average of 61.6%. .Placement rates under skilling programmes have been a recurring point of discussion, with policymakers, parliamentary committees and independent researchers questioning whether training is consistently translating into jobs. The government has increasingly argued that placement should not be the sole indicator of success, noting that some trainees move into self-employment, entrepreneurship or further education. Nevertheless, employment outcomes remain the most visible measure by which young people assess the value of a training programme..The larger question facing the country is whether its education, skilling and employment systems are evolving quickly enough to meet the needs of a young population entering an increasingly complex labour market. .Policymakers have increasingly acknowledged that training alone is not sufficient. What matters is whether skills are aligned with industry demand, whether employers recognise and reward those skills, and whether learners can clearly see a pathway from training to stable livelihoods..(With inputs by ETB Sivapriyan in Chennai and Mrityunjay Bose in Mumbai)

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