India’s demographic dividend remains a moot point among economists and analysts. In the next few years, the country will have a relatively large working-age population, aged between 15 and 59 years. By 2035, this youth bulge is expected to reach its peak. How we proceed from here is a matter for debate.
Analysts consider this period of a youth bulge to be a boom, during which the abundance of human capital can be used to fuel the growth of the country. However, the demographic dividend can pose as a threat if proper measures are not taken in time, and can lead to a disastrous impact on our society, and economy overall.
Youth is the driving force in any economy and if trained to its full capacity, can play a vital role in growth of the country. Our infrastructure should be well equipped to handle the sudden young workforce boom.
The question arises whether if our country is armed to reap its demographic dividend. Considering the present scenario, India has an employability problem. While the industry continues to groans about the lack of skilled manpower, we need to assess the situation from ground level and evaluate the existing education and vocational training sectors. Reports reveal that only 2 per cent of India's youth and about 7 per cent of the whole working age population have received vocational training, where 92 per cent constitutes informal workers. Informal employment is poorly paid and has no social security. Moreover, there is a huge gap between wages of regular workers and informal/contract workers.
India's youth today is facing a serious problem in unemployment and underemployment. The causes contribute to dropping out of high school lack of quality education, needing to support one's family at an early age, a lack of information on the job market, and not possessing the basic skills required by employers today. This is the reason why education and vocational training should be the current focus of public debate.
There is a huge disconnect between education and jobs. Our education system is not capable enough to provide the necessary skill-based training that actually matter in the industry. While companies easily recruit white-collar work force (IT engineers, English-speaking people for call centers etc), the industry finds it difficult to train the unskilled population into factory workers so quickly. Such transition requires basic training, which is missing. To reap the benefits of the demographic dividend, we need to start aligning our existing capabilities to the futuristic demands of the young workforce.
On the skill development front, there has been many Government initiatives that provide skill training to the aspiring youth, and now aim to accomplish the 1.5 crore target. This sector has witnessed growth in terms of quantity and quality in the past one year, and if the target of Skill India is continued to be chased with such pace, days are not far when we realise the true potential of our country, make Skill India successful, and become the ‘world capital for skilled manpower’. The Ministry of Skill Development is setting up model skill centres which aim to not only enhance the quality of output but would also increase the existing capacity significantly.
Education and vocational centres are the backbone of our economy, that help turn the youth into employable productive individuals. By making quality education and vocational training accessible to the population, India can produce capable individuals who have a well-defined skilled set in sync to the current demand in the industry.
Education is the most significant instrument of individual self-realisation and democratic empowerment in our times. In a fractured yet increasingly evolving society like India, we need to channelise the young energies in the right direction. This is simply indispensable for social mobility and economic progress of our country.
The writer is Ajay Chhangani, CEO & co-founder of Rise India