Why in News?
A recent paper by NITI Aayog, titled Reimagining Skilling for Viksit Bharat @2047, has highlighted a growing gap between the education students receive and the skills employers are looking for.
Key Findings
- Only 8.25% of graduates are working in jobs related to their qualifications.
- Around 3.4 crore students are enrolled in undergraduate programmes.
- BA alone accounts for about 1.13 crore students.
- More than 2 crore students are enrolled in BA, BSc and BCom programmes combined.
- Around 80% of learners point to a lack of practical experience and industry exposure.
- 34% of students identify a lack of skills as a major concern. 18% cite inadequate interview preparation.
- Around 1.86 crore applications were received for just 55,000 government posts between November 2024 and July 2025.
Education and Jobs: Where is the Gap?
- The main concern is not simply that graduates are unable to find jobs. It is that many of them do not find jobs where they can actually use what they studied.
- NITI Aayog has pointed out that many higher education courses are still not closely connected with the changing needs of the job market. Students may spend several years completing a degree, but often get limited exposure to the kind of work they will be expected to do after graduation.
Lack of Practical Experience
- Another issue highlighted by the paper is the limited exposure students get to actual workplaces.
- Around 80% of learners identify a lack of practical experience and industry exposure as a major gap in their education. Many students complete their degrees without working on real projects, interacting with employers or getting a proper understanding of workplace requirements.
- At the same time, employers often expect fresh graduates to have at least some practical skills.
- This creates a familiar problem: students need experience to get a job, but getting that first experience itself can be difficult.
- NITI Aayog has suggested that internships and apprenticeships can help address this gap. However, these opportunities need to provide real work experience rather than simply being a formality.
