DEA reports jump in student employability in the past 10-year period

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The employability of students in India has always been a tender spot. In its review of the economy unveiled on January 29, the Department of Economic Affairs (DEA) has stated that there has been considerable rise in the employability of students between the 10-year-period between 2014 and 2024. Mentioning the results of the online Wheebox National Employability Test, the report said, “The employable percentage of final-year and pre-final-year students increased from 33.9% in 2014 to 51.3% in 2024.”

The report also emphasised there is a huge scope to introduce skilling into education curriculum and improving the skill base of a large part of the current workforce and prepare them for skills relevant for the future.

The report has also mentioned how the position of India in WorldSkills Competitions has jumped from 39 in 2011 to 11 in 2022.

“Combined with the rising enrolment in higher education (from 3.2 crore in 2013-14 to 4.1 crore in 2020-21), rising employability implies that India’s young workforce is both expanding and becoming increasingly employable,” the DEA said. In the 15-49-year age group, the country has 50.2% of its male and 41% of female population with schooling of 10 or 10+ years of schooling.

However, the Periodic Labour Force Survey 2022-23 stated that as much as 72.6% of the workers between 15 and 59 years did not receive any formal or informal vocational or technical training.

Emphasising the significance of vocational education in the National Education Policy, 2020, the report stated, “Integration of vocational education with general education and mainstreaming of vocational education have been identified as key reforms in the country’s education system.”

DEA also mentioned the need to raise the ease of acquiring skill for the new generation. It said how the launch of the Skill India Digital platform is trying to build digital public infrastructure for a holistic climate of skilling, education, employment and entrepreneurship in the country.