8.7 Crore Young Indians Out of Education, Employment or Training, Says NITI Aayog Report
India being one of the countries with the largest youth population in the world creates millions of employment opportunities for students every year. However, the transition from education to employment does not follow a straight path. In India, not everyone has the privilege to pursue education or to get employment because of financial constraints. Those who do not have access to education or employment fall under NEET youth - Not in Education, Employment or Training.
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According to a report by NITI Aayog, around 8.7 crore young people as NEET youth (Not in Education, Employment and Training). Students often fall under NEET category because of factors like lack of information and awareness, no training, funding constraints, no guidance and counselling and more. If the NEET youth can overcome these challenges then, they can be an important part of the India’s future workforce.
Why Indians are Falling Under NEET Category?
According to the report, there are several barriers causing Indian youth to fall under NEET category. We will discuss the problems within those barries to help citizens to better understand about skilling.
Lack of Information and Awareness about Skilling Opportunities
The lack of awareness about suitable skilling programmes affects millions of Indians. Based on NITI Aayog's report estimates, around 8.7 crore young people as NEET youth (Not in Education, Employment and Training). For many young people, the bigger challenge is not knowing what to learn, where to learn it and whether a particular programme can actually improve their employment prospects.
Limited Access to Training
There is almost zero exposure to vocational subjects at school level. The NEP 2020 policy stated that by 2025, 50% students would have exposure to vocational subjects and 100% by 2030. The NEP policy also stated that dedicated hours would be allotted for vocational subjects from Class 6, and it is still at the implementation stage. Even when young people are interested in skilling, they may struggle to access suitable programmes because of geographic, infrastructure and delivery constraints.
Funding Constraints
To pursue a skill, affordability always remains as a forever constraint across various segments. NEET youth is constrained because of no income and heavy investments over their education. Many students choose prefer a formal job/income source after graduation to support their families and often end up taking whatever brings in some stable income even if that is low paying.
Lack of Career Guidance and Counselling
Students suffer without any proper guidance in choosing their career. People often choose wrong career without guidance and risk their career with no proper education and jobs. Several citizens fall under NEET category mainly because of no proper guidance and counselling.
Lack of Real-time and Work Experience
The curriculum of education throughout schools, colleges, and skilling institutions has always been theoretical with zero to minimum practical and real time experience also limits the scope of career progression. 36% workers lack in digital skills and 18% are weak in communication as challenges in finding jobs due to weak foundations. Whereas, 34% of students are weak in skills and 18% lack in interview preparation as key pain points while pursuing degrees.
Lack of clear pathways from training to employment
Training does not automatically result in a job. The report argues that skilling programmes need to become more outcome-linked and industry-backed, with employment, progression and livelihoods becoming the key measures of success. Without proper training can also lead students to fall under NEET.
