A Decade of Skilling Programmes, A Generation of Doubts
July 15, 2025, was a double milestone. The world marked the 10th anniversary of World Youth Skills Day (WYSD) and India celebrated a decade of its flagship Skill India Mission. It was meant to be a proud moment. After all, India boasts one of the world’s largest young workforces and skilling programmes were to be the lever for transforming this demographic dividend into economic gold.
But if you listen to young people — the very beneficiaries these programmes are meant for — the mood is more sceptical than celebratory. They carry certificates, but not confidence. They attend classes, but don’t land jobs. They scroll through job portals and wonder if all the promises of Skill India were just another chapter in the long book of missed opportunities.
The Data Behind the Disillusion
- 7 out of 10 youth are economically disengaged because they lack market-ready skills.
- 86% of students report they don’t feel prepared for jobs involving AI and emerging technologies.
- In 2022, only 40.3% of young men and a shocking 27.4% of young women were employed.
- 90% of adolescent girls and young women in low-income countries lack internet access, locking them out of digital skilling opportunities.
- In 2023-24, only 14.29% of vocational trainees undertook courses, and the share of trainees attending ultra-short courses (< six months) jumped from 22% to 44%.
- Even among those trained, youth unemployment remains high at ~17%, raising tough questions about programme effectiveness.
- Verifiable data show low placement offers, despite official reports claiming otherwise.
- Apprenticeships remain a tiny fraction of India’s workforce, cutting off crucial pathways for on-the-job learning.
India has allocated billions of rupees to skilling programmes like PMKVY (Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana), NAPS (National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme) and Skill India’s digital and international tracks. But, outcomes remain patchy, monitoring weak and long-term impact poorly evaluated.
No wonder youth view the ecosystem with suspicion.
The Trust Deficit in Skilling Programmes
Ask any student or trainee and they will tell you: the problem isn’t unwillingness to work — it’s mistrust.
- Short-termism over substance:
Most courses last weeks, sometimes just days. Certificates are issued, targets ticked off, but depth is missing. Employers demand problem-solving skills and real proficiency. Youth end up over-certified and under-prepared. - Curriculum misalignment:
Training modules often lag behind market needs. While courses teach basic digital literacy, companies are hiring for coding, data analysis or domain-specific software. The disconnect fuels frustration. - Lack of mentorship:
Even when jobs are secured, poor onboarding and zero mentoring result in high turnover. Youth feel abandoned, questioning whether training centres or employers genuinely invested in their success.
What Global Models Show
The contrast with global best practices is stark:
- Germany’s Dual Education System blends classroom learning with apprenticeships, ensuring graduates step into the workforce job-ready. Industry and educators co-design curricula, keeping it relevant.
- Singapore’s SkillsFuture Initiative (2015) focuses on lifelong learning, offering financial incentives for continuous education tailored to individual career paths. It prepares citizens for both present and future skills.
Both systems underscore what India lacks in terms of employer integration, quality assurance, mentorship and transparency.
Why India’s Youth Call Skilling a Mirage
Beyond systemic flaws, the numbers reflect social realities:
- Gender disparity: With only 27.4% of young women in jobs, India’s skilling ecosystem fails to address structural barriers like unpaid care work, mobility, and safety.
- Digital divide: 90% of adolescent girls in low-income countries lack internet access — India’s rural youth face the same barrier, especially in states like Bihar or Jharkhand. Without connectivity, digital skilling remains rhetoric.
- Stigma: Vocational training still carries the label of “second-class education.” Parents push for degrees, even if jobless, rather than skills training that may lead to modest employment.
All of this combines to create a perfect storm of mistrust.
Smile Foundation: A Community-Driven Alternative
Instead of chasing numbers, Smile Foundation designs training around actual community needs and industry linkages. Its specialised centres across India train low-income youth in:
- Digital marketing
- Data entry and IT services
- Retail and customer service
- Hospitality and healthcare support
Courses don’t just deliver technical know-how. They embed soft skills, communication and life skills so trainees can navigate interviews, workplaces and long-term careers.
Importantly, Smile aligns courses with industry demand collaborating with employers ensures trainees graduate into roles with actual openings. This approach breaks the cycle of “certificates without jobs.”
Smile’s work also tackles inclusivity. Many of its trainees are women, first-generation learners or youth from disadvantaged backgrounds. By reducing dropout rates, providing mentorship and creating job linkages, the programme chips away at the trust deficit plaguing India’s larger skilling ecosystem.
The Way Forward for Skilling Programmes
India cannot afford for its youth to lose faith in skilling. The demographic dividend will not last forever and mistrust corrodes ambition. Restoring confidence requires:
- Long-term, quality training — shift from token short courses to year-long, employer-linked programmes.
- Transparency & accountability — independent audits of placement rates, salaries and long-term employment impact.
- Industry integration — continuous employer feedback to keep curricula current.
- Digital inclusion — expand connectivity for rural youth, especially girls.
- Mentorship & support — structured onboarding and workplace mentoring to reduce attrition.
- Equity focus — tailor programmes for women, rural youth and marginalised groups.
Can Trust Be Restored?
Ten years into Skill India, scepticism is the biggest obstacle. Young people don’t lack ambition but there is still hesitation about their lack in belief that the system will deliver. Certificates without jobs, short-term courses, inflated claims — these erode trust.
But models like Smile Foundation’s livelihood programme show another way rooted in community, aligned with industry and focused on dignity as much as employability.
If India truly wants to unlock its demographic advantage, it must learn from its youth that trust isn’t built by slogans but by outcomes.
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