India’s WorldSkills medals reflect patient investment

Why in news?

India finished 10th at the 48th WorldSkills Competition in Shanghai, winning a record 26 medals, its best-ever performance.

UPSC Relevance – Prelims: WorldSkills Competition, Skill India Mission, PMKVY, PM-SETU, NSQF, NCVET, PM Vishwakarma.

Mains: GS2 – Issues relating to development of Human Resources, Education, Government policies and interventions. GS3 – Inclusive growth, Employment, Demographic dividend.

About WorldSkills Competition

• What: Often called the ‘Olympics of skills’. Held every two years by WorldSkills International. Over 1,400 young people from about 70 countries and regions compete in trades from welding and bakery to robotics and cyber security.
• Age limit: Competitors are generally up to 22 years of age (up to 25 in some advanced skills).
• India’s participation: India became a member in 2007. Teams are selected through IndiaSkills, run by the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) and the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), with district, State, regional and national rounds.
• India’s performance: 10th in Shanghai (2026). The 2026 haul had 6 silvers and 20 Medallions for Excellence. India also competed in 11 skills for the first time.

Skill Development in India – Why It Matters

• Demographic dividend: Around two-thirds of India’s population is of working age, and the median age is under 30. Without skills, this advantage can turn into a burden of unemployed youth.
• Low formal skilling: According to PLFS 2022-23, only about 4% of India’s workforce has received formal vocational training. The figure is far higher in Germany, Japan and South Korea.
• Employability gap: Industry surveys (India Skills Report) find only about half of Indian graduates employable. Employers report a shortage of skilled workers even as educated youth remain unemployed.
• Jobs need: The Economic Survey 2023-24 estimated India needs to create about 78.5 lakh non-farm jobs every year till 2030.
• Manufacturing and Viksit Bharat: Make in India, semiconductors, green energy and electronics all need technicians, not just degree holders.
• Global opportunity: Ageing societies like Japan, Germany and Israel need skilled workers; India has signed migration and mobility agreements with several countries.

Government Initiatives

• Institutions: MSDE (2014); NSDC (2008), a PPP company that funds training providers; Sector Skill Councils led by industry; National Council for Vocational Education and Training (NCVET, 2018) as the regulator.
• Frameworks: National Skills Qualifications Framework (NSQF, 2013) arranges qualifications by levels so that skills are comparable with academic degrees. National Policy on Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (2015).
• Skill India Mission (2015): Includes Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY, now in its 4.0 phase with focus on new-age skills like AI, drones and 3D printing), Jan Shikshan Sansthans and apprenticeship schemes.
• PM-SETU: ₹60,000 crore scheme to upgrade 1,000 government ITIs in a hub-and-spoke model (200 hubs, 800 spokes), with industry partners managing the clusters.
• Apprenticeships and internships: National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (2016), National Apprenticeship Training Scheme, and the PM Internship Scheme (2024) offering internships in top companies.
• PM Vishwakarma (2023): Skilling, toolkits and credit for traditional artisans in 18 trades such as carpenters, potters and blacksmiths.
• Education linkage: NEP 2020 aims to integrate vocational education into school and higher education, so that at least 50% of learners get exposure to vocational education.
• Digital: Skill India Digital Hub (2023), a single platform for courses, certification and jobs.

Challenges

• Social stigma: Vocational work is seen as a ‘second choice’ for those who fail academically. As the article notes, skilling has had no place of honour in Indian public life, unlike toppers’ lists and ranks.
• Weak placement: Audits and parliamentary committees have repeatedly flagged low placement rates and poor tracking of outcomes under schemes like PMKVY. Training is often counted by numbers enrolled, not jobs secured.
• Poor quality of ITIs: Outdated equipment and syllabus, shortage of trained instructors and low seat utilisation in many ITIs.
• Weak industry participation: Industry often prefers to hire rather than train. Apprenticeship numbers remain small compared to the size of the workforce.
• Mismatch: Courses do not match local job demand; rapid technology change (AI, automation) makes skills outdated quickly.
• Informal sector: Nearly 90% of workers are in the informal sector, where skills are learnt on the job and not certified, so they earn less and cannot move up.
• Gender gap: Women’s participation in skilling and technical trades is low; training is often limited to ‘traditional’ roles like tailoring and beauty.
• Fragmentation: Skilling schemes are spread across many ministries, leading to overlap and poor coordination.
• Low wages: Skilled blue-collar jobs often pay poorly and lack social security, so youth do not see skilling as worth the effort.

Committee Recommendations

• Kothari Commission (1964-66): Called for vocationalisation of secondary education, a goal that largely remained unmet.
• Sharada Prasad Committee (2016): Reviewed Sector Skill Councils and found them weak and driven by targets. Recommended restructuring SSCs, stronger quality control, and a single regulator, which led to the creation of NCVET.
• Parliamentary Standing Committee on Labour, Textiles and Skill Development: Has repeatedly recommended better placement tracking, third-party assessment, and closer industry linkage for skilling schemes.

Way Forward

• Give dignity to skills: Celebrate skill champions like academic toppers; the PM meeting WorldSkills winners sends that signal.
• Skill-Ex: As the author argues, treat investment in people (Skill-Ex) as seriously as Capex and Opex. Industry should co-invest in training.
• Dual system: Learn from Germany’s model, where students split time between classroom and workplace. Expand apprenticeships through simpler rules and stipend support.
• Outcome-based funding: Pay training providers based on placement, wages and retention, not just enrolment.
• Modernise ITIs: Implement PM-SETU well, with updated syllabi, trained instructors and real industry management.
• Credit and mobility: Use the National Credit Framework so that students can move between vocational and academic streams without losing years.
• Recognise informal skills: Expand Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) to certify workers who learnt on the job.
• Inclusion: Hostels, stipends and safe transport to bring more women and rural youth into technical trades.
• Future skills: Focus on AI, green jobs, semiconductors and healthcare, while protecting traditional crafts.

Practice MCQ

Q1. Consider the following statements:

1. The WorldSkills Competition is held every two years.
2. The National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) is a statutory body established by an Act of Parliament.
3. The PM-SETU scheme aims to upgrade government Industrial Training Institutes in a hub-and-spoke model.

How many of the statements given above are correct?

(a) Only one     (b) Only two     (c) All three     (d) None

Answer: (b)

Explanation: Statement 2 is incorrect. NSDC is a not-for-profit company set up in 2008 under a public-private partnership model, not a statutory body.

Q2. Consider the following pairs:

Initiative  –  Purpose

1. National Skills Qualifications Framework  –  Organises qualifications by levels of knowledge, skills and aptitude
2. NCVET  –  Regulator for vocational education and training
3. PM Vishwakarma  –  Support for traditional artisans and craftspeople
4. National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme  –  Collateral-free loans to start-ups set up by skilled youth

How many of the pairs given above are correctly matched?

(a) Only one     (b) Only two     (c) Only three     (d) All four

Answer: (c)

Explanation: Pair 4 is incorrect. NAPS promotes apprenticeship training by sharing part of the stipend paid to apprentices with employers.

Mains Practice Question 

Q. “India’s demographic dividend can turn into a demographic burden unless skilling is given the same respect as formal education.” Discuss the challenges facing India’s skill development ecosystem and suggest measures to make it outcome-oriented. (15 marks, 250 words)