Skills Development for Youth in India: Challenges and Opportunities

This paper reviews the current state of education, skills development, and employment for Indian youth, and considers the challenges facing India’s skills development system. Drawing from the experience of Karnataka, one of India’s most industrially developed states, the paper discusses recent initiatives to facilitate young people’s transition to the world of work. While India has a well-institutionalized system of vocational training, it has not sufficiently prepared its youth with the skills that today’s industries require. Thus, to speed its economic growth and take advantage of its “demographic dividend,” the country has recently embarked on drastic policy reforms to accelerate skills development.