116
S
tate
of
I
ndia
’
s
L
ivelihoods
R
eport
2015
More importantly, if the skill challenge
is not met within the next decade, there is
a risk that India may be unable to sustain
growth in non-agricultural output and non-
availability of skilled manpower may result
in machines replacing labour on a large
scale. This in turn will result in declining
employment leaving large numbers among
the increasingly youthful labour force
unemployed.
10
Present education and
employment scenario
Given the scale of the challenge posed by
the rapid economic growth and the rising
share of working age population, the first
dimension of the skill challenge is that the
general education level of India’s labour
force in the age group 15–59 remains
extremely low (Figure 6.4).
Of the labour force of 431million between
the ages 15–59 in 2009–10 nearly 126million
or 29 per cent of the labour force, are not
even literate. An additional 102 million, or
nearly 24 per cent, of the labour force either
has below primary or only primary level of
Source:
Employment and Unemployment Situation
among Social Groups in India, NSS 68th Round (July
2011–June 2012).
Note:
The figure refers to population 15 years and
above.
Doctorate
Programme
Age
19–21
17–18
15–16
6–14 1–8
9–10
11–12
Grade
Masters
Programme
University
(undergraduate) 3–4
years degree
Senior Secondary
Board Exams
Certicate
General Secondary
Board Exams
Certicate
Elementary Education Certicate
Vocational Secondary
Polytechnics
3 yr
Diploma
Engineering
College
Advanced Training
Inst.
Central Training Inst.
Foreign Training Inst.
Scientists
Engineers
Technologists
Technicians
Craftsmen
Workers
without
Specic Skills
Apprentice-
ship 2–4 yrs
Certicate
ITI’s 1–2 yrs
Craftsman
DGET
Certicate
Figure 6.3:
Academic, technical and vocational parallel training structure/system in India: A flow chart
Source:
Indranil Biswas (2008).
Figure 6.4:
Education level of workforce (per
1000)
302
211
166
139
88
13
62
20
Not literate
Primary
Middle
Secondary
Higher secondary
Diploma/Certi cate
Graduate
Post graduate+
10
Santosh Mehrotra, Ankita Gandhi, Bimal K.
Sahoo, 2013, Estimating the Skill Gap on a Realistic
Basis for 2022, IAMR Occasional Paper No. 1/2013,
Institute of Applied Manpower Research, Planning
Commission, Government of India, February 2013.
