An initiative by CAF India to support livelihood opportunities through skill enhancement and vocational training

Present situation

India is expected to be home to a skilled workforce of 500 million by 2022. About 12 million persons are expected to join the workforce every year. The good news is that India has one of the youngest populations in the world, a trend that is expected to continue until 2040. This presents the country with a unique opportunity to complement what an ageing world needs the most and that is a large pool of productive workers.

However, India's labor productivity is much lower than that of other Asian economies. This talent pool our country has needs to be adequately skilled. Skills and knowledge are the driving forces of economic growth and social development for any country.

The accelerated economic growth has increased the demand for skilled manpower, but that has also highlighted the shortage of skilled manpower in the country.

Lack of skills and shortage of suitable employability, including soft skills, are some of the key reasons in finding a suitable candidate for available jobs in the country. India as a country has an advantage when it comes to absolute number of workforce but the industry is facing a crucial shortage of "skilled" and "qualified" manpower.

India has the potential to become a powerhouse with the population set to rise to 1.3 billion by 2020, out of which 60% are in the working age of (15-59 years). Hence, it is all the more imperative to ‘skill India’.

Currently, India lags far behind in imparting skill training as compared to other countries. Only 10% of the total workforce in the country receives some kind of skill training (2% with formal training and 8% with informal training). Further, 80% of the entrants into the workforce do not have the opportunity for skill training.

Realising the skill gap in our country and to empower the marginalized section of the societ, CAF India has launched the Kaushal India campaign.

[1] Skilling India 2.0: Challenges aplenty: Business Standard, Mumbai: 15th July, 2015.
[1] Skill Development in India 2015, FICCI, Pg 16.
[1] National Skill Development Corporation http://www.nsdcindia.org/
[1] Two new schemes to promote skills, employment options: Indian Express, New Delhi: 1st March, 2015.
[1] Labor market performance and the challenges of creating employment in India,” International Labor Organization, 23 June 2011, p.7