SKILL DEVELOPMENT FOR YOUTH
Around 35 million people in India have been actively looking for employment at the end of 2021 and were not able to find suitable jobs matching their profile. Nearly 70 to 80% of youngsters who are completing their degrees are facing similar issues on a yearly basis. Unemployment rate in India in June 2023 as per the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy was 7.7%. Whilst most countries saw rise of unemployment in 2020, India's rate exceeded most emerging economies like Bangladesh (5.3%), Mexico (4.7%) and Vietnam (2.3%).
This situation is worse for women. Research done by the International Labour Organization indicates that women in India form merely 19.2% of the labour force. Moreover, 94% of the women workers are in the informal sector and work as daily wage earners - agricultural labourers, construction workers or engaged in home-based employment.
This is critical to note because, gender discrimination tends to be more severe in the informal sector, reflected in the fact that women informal workers receive less than half the male wage rate.
Furthermore, Skill development outcomes for women are also dismal. According to Labour Bureau data from 2013-14, only 3.8 percent of India’s adult women had ever received vocational training during that time. These challenges are acknowledged in the sector and there have been increased efforts at improving this situation by the government and other agencies.
By 2025, 75% of India’s jobs will be skill-based, but only 7% receive any kind of Vocational training. If the status quo does not change, it will stall India’s economic growth, lead to a rise in youth despair, increase the gender divide, and even may result in potential civil unrest.