India has a large youth population entering the workforce but lacks employable skills due to shortcomings in the education system. While employers expect graduates to have skills like communication, teamwork and computer skills, these are often absent. There is a mismatch between the demand and supply of skilled labor at different levels. Barriers to improving this situation include inadequate industry linkages from colleges, a lack of aptitude testing, shortage of quality faculty, inflexible curricula, and unclear communication of industry skill requirements. However, initiatives like work-integrated learning programs, increasing industry involvement in curriculum, and training faculty can help bridge the gap between academia and industry.

1. Intro
Indiaas a nationhas the highestnumberof youthinthe world.Nearly35% of the total populationisin
the age groupof 15-21 where theyare in a stage to enterworkplace afterfinishingeducation.Butowing
to the lack of employable skillsandindustry mismatch,manyof themfail toenterthe jobmarket.There
isa needforan educationsystemthatcouldsupplysuitablyskilledgraduatestoworkplaces. However,
the abilityof ourcurrent educationsystemtoachieve thistaskhasalwaysbeeninquestion. Today,the
needfora bettereducationsystem whichcontributestothe processof skill formationinthe graduates
whoplaya vital role in the country’scapital formationismore thaneverbefore.Economistsargue that
as demandforeducational trainingincreases,the systemsneedtomeetthe country’srequirementfor
people withhighlevelsof skill andknowledge.Although,Indiahasaverylarge stock of scientists,
engineers,managementgraduates,we have beenunable toderive full economicbenefitfrom thistalent
base because of the aforementionedreasons.
At entrylevel,employersexpectagraduate to come withcertainskillssuchascommunication,inter-
personal,abilitytospeakEnglish,workasa team, and basiccomputerknowledge.Foratechnical
graduate,functional skillsinthe areaof specializationare amust.But these are absenttoday.
“Our experience came fromthe corporate story,whenwe usedtohire students,”says Mr.Bansal,chief
executiveofficerof educationalservicesproviderPurpleLeap,“Italwaystooksix toeightmonthsforthe
studentstobe readyfor jobs.We realizedthatthe talentneededtobe molded andneeded awayto
make the studentsmore employable.”
Accordingto a surveyconsistingplacementofficersandheadsof institutions,there are twoimportant
areas where the humancapital lacks.The firstisapplicationof skillswhichisamajor challenge.Second,
multiple aspectsof skillsare requiredtoworkina team whichare neitherassessednortaughtat the
engineering/graduatecolleges.The headsof educational institutionshave presentedthe argumentthat
there isa dearth of goodfaculty.So the challenge isreallytogetcapable facultytobringaboutthe
change processinthe institutions.More empoweredfacultyobviouslyimplieshigherlevel
understandingof subjectsbystudents,andtransference of keybehavioral skills –skillsthatneedtobe
builtrightfromthe graduate/professionalcourse education.
WHYTHE GAP?
Demand-supplymismatch-
Low StudentMobilization: The enrolmentinskill instituteslikeITIs,ITCsandpolytechnics,hasremained
relativelylow.Fewerthan3%of the 14 millionstudentsingrades11–12 are enrolledinvocational
education.There isamismatchbetweenthe demandandsupply of laboratdifferentskilllevels.While
there isexcesssupplyof laborwithL3 and L4 skill levels,there isexcessdemandinthe industryfor
people withL1and L2 skills.

2. Inadequate Industry Linkages-
The overall performance of colleges andtheirattractivenesstostudentslargelydependonindustry
linkagesandwhethertheyare able toprovide goodplacementsoncompletionof the graduation.
Despite highindustrydemandforaskilledworkforce,the Indianskill developmentsectorcurrently
suffers frompoorplacementrecordsandlow startingsalaries,indicatinglow qualityandthe lackof
industryrelevance of the skillsimparted.
Absence of Aptitude Tests-
One of the majorcausesfor poor deliveryof trainingisthe lackof pre-assessmentoraptitude tests
before admissionof studentsat colleges. Inthe absence of anyformal testingof the students’scholastic
abilities,the coursesoftenimparttrainingata level thatiseithertoobasicor too advancedtomeetthe
students’requirements.
Shortage of Quality Faculty-
One of the majorchallengesfacedbycollegesandskill institutesisthe lackof goodfaculty.Student-
teacherratiosarray from 9 to 50 dependingoncapacityutilization.The deliveryof skillstothe students
depends,toalarge extent,onthe competenceof the faculty.The lackof industry-facultyinteractionon
course curriculaoftenleadstoirrelevanttrainingmodules.
Curriculuminflexibility-
Outdatedcurriculaor technologycause the syllabus tobecome redundant.Inflexibilityinthe curriculum
wouldnegate the purpose of ademand-drivenskill acquisitionsystemandleadtoexcesssupplyinsome
tradesand excessdemandinothers.
Lack of Clarity on Industry’sSkill Requirements-
The skill institutesdonotappearto clearlyunderstandthe skillrequirementsof the industry.There isno
faculty-industrycollaborationtoensure thatthe skill developmentcourseshelpstudentsimbibe skills
that are importantforperformingthe available jobs.
CollegesandUniversitieshave facedflakinrecentyearsoverinflexible curricula,rote teachingand
learningandlackof experiential learningoutsidethe classroom.Butacademicssayindustry
expectationsare oftenunrealisticandmisguided.
“While the mismatchissue isvalidandimportantandreal,it’smore aboutexpectationsonbothsides,”
saidShanti Jagannathan,senioreducationspecialistatthe AsianDevelopmentBankinManila.
Employers“wanteveryonetocome preparedandready.Employersneedtoinvestintheirown
employees.”
ProfessorNV Varghese,directorof the Centre forPolicyResearchinHigherEducationinNew Delhi,said:
“Industryisexpectingafinishedproductwhocanbe employedanduniversitiescannotprovidethat.You
cannot degenerate universitiestotraininginstitutions. Technologyandskill setsare changingquickly
and youcannot readjustthe universitycurriculumeverytime thathappens.” Indianeedstofocuson
expandingthe non-universitysector,addedVarghese.“Expectingone systemtoprovide everythingis
unrealistic.”

3. Opportunitiesfor bridgingthe gap
Competencydevelopmentinbusinesseducationnow appearstobe the focal pointof curriculacontent,
assessmentandteachingmethod.Someof the best
Bridging the gap through Work IntegratedLearning (WIL)-
InitiativesinWILprograms - such as sandwichyears,workplacements,internshipsandcooperative
education - demonstrate the turningwheel of continuousimprovementinundergraduate students’
educationandincombinationwiththe phenomenalrise of part-time workingmayincrease the real-life
experience.
Bridging the gap through curricula involvement-
Universitiesare nowincreasinglyrecognizingthe value inrecruitingprofessionalsasguestlecturers,
givingstudentsgreaterawarenessof real life workissuestoroundouttheirtheoretical knowledge.Cent
percentindustryinvolvementisnotpossible;atleastfortypercentage of interactionandinvolvementof
industryinthe curriculumsettingswilladdressthe issueof skill mismatchbetweenthe industryand
institutions.
Bridging the gap through genericattributes-
Frameworkforeverygraduate attendinghighereducationshouldbe comprisedof technical
competence anda setof genericattributesincluding,butnotlimitedto: critical thinking,intellectual
curiosity,communicationskills,informationmanagementskillsteamworkingskillsandhighethical
values.
Bridging the gap through train the trainer-
The firstand foremoststepof the institutionsistotrainthe trainer.Manysurveysstronglyarguesthat
the trainer/tutorsare notaware the currentrequirementsof labormarket.Andtheyare notupdating
theirknowledgeandtheirstudents,thisleadstolackof qualitytrainersinthe fieldof education.These
trainersare placedunderindustry-facultyinteractiononcourse contentandthe trainingmodules.
Conclusion
The shortage of appropriatelyskilledlaboracrossmanyindustriesisemergingasa significantand
complex challenge toIndia’sgrowthandfuture.This canbe reducedgraduallybyinitiatingandtaking
vigoroussteps.The bestsolutionistoincrease the collaborationbetweenindustryandacademiato
tackle the skill gapproblem.Diversificationof curriculum, novel courses,optionalpapersbasedon
choice basedcreditsystemandtrainingteachersinlogical thinkingandEnglishaptitudeskillsare
essential tobridge the gap.