Working Paper: 534

Did Skill Development Policies Promote Participation in
 and Benefits from Skill Education? Evidence from
a Nation-wide Survey

Andrea Vincent
D Rajasekhar

 

Abstract

There is considerable emphasis on skill development among youth, including revamping the formal Vocational Education and Training (VET) institutions in the policies of the Indian government. Did these policies promote participation in and benefits from skill education? This question is analysed in this paper with the help of nationwide data from the Periodic Labour Force Survey from the National Sample Survey Organization (NSSO) for the year 2017-2018. The paper finds that even after numerous government policy initiatives, the participation in formal VET in India is around 2% of the population and the labour market outcomes continue to be poor. The paper first discusses the policy interventions of the Government of India in the last two decades to strengthen Vocational Education and Training programmes in the country. An overview of the status of VET in India is then provided in terms of gender-wise participation as well as by type and duration of training. This paper also explores the labour market outcomes of the vocationally trained in terms of workforce participation rate and wages earned. The paper provides some policy suggestions in the concluding section.

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