India’s Skill Revolution: Employability soars to 51.3%, global recognition surges

In its January 2024 economic review, the Department of Economic Affairs highlighted the significant potential for integrating skill development into the education curriculum and enhancing the expertise of a substantial portion of the current workforce with skills pertinent to the future. The report underscores the transformative journey in skill development that India has experienced over the past decade.

According to the report released on January 29, 2024, the concerted efforts towards mass skilling since 2014 have started yielding positive outcomes. The employability percentage of both final-year and pre-final-year students has surged from 33.9 per cent in 2014 to 51.3 per cent in 2024, as indicated by the findings from the online Wheebox National Employability Test.

The document also points out notable career-boosting courses for early-stage professionals offered by renowned institutions: Indian School of Business: ISB Professional Certificate in Product Management, IIM Lucknow: IIML Executive Programme in FinTech, Banking & Applied Risk Management and IIT Delhi: IITD Certificate Programme in Data Science & Machine Learning.

The widespread progress in skilling is evident in India’s enhanced standing in WorldSkills Competitions, climbing from 39th place in 2011 to the 11th position in 2022, according to the report.