India sits at the forefront of the new economic paradigm. It is one of the fastest growing economies with GDP growth targeted at 9 per cent. One of the main reasons behind the positive wave of the Indian economic growth emerges from its demographic profile. India’s current population of 1.2 billion is expected to enlarge to 1.8 billion by 2045. The significant aspect of this increase relates to the expansion in the size of its working age (15-64 years) population. The emerging demographic dynamics of the country ensures that it will have one of the youngest populations in the world, with the bulk of the population belonging to the working age category. By the year 2026, 64.8 percent of the Indian population is expected to be in the working age bracket.
Circa 2000, inspite of a demographic advantage the impact of ‘employability’ on the overall demand-supply situation indicates that India could face a huge issue with a shortage of skilled people, that is, engineers (6 lakh), graduates (39 lakh) and vocationally trained personnel graduates (7 lakh) in the next five years.
Today, India is poised at a stage where its status as a break-through economy depends on its focus and attention on building its human capital. The last one year has seen a positive move from the Government with the creation of a dedicated Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship. CII has been working towards creation of a demand-responsive eco-system for Skill Development with a multi-pronged approach.
Linking Skills to Jobs is a collection of perspectives on skill development from the public and the private sectors.