Nearly 8.7 crore Indians aged 15 to 29 were outside education, employment and training in 2021, highlighting the scale of the challenge India faces in preparing its young population for the workforce, according to a NITI Aayog report.
The finding is part of ‘Reimagining Skilling for Viksit Bharat@2047’, which examines the country’s education, employment and skilling ecosystem. The report uses data from the 78th round of the National Sample Survey conducted in 2021.
NITI Aayog has divided young people into broad categories covering school education, higher education, formal and informal employment, and those classified as NEET Not in Education, Employment or Training. Women have also been considered as a cross-cutting group in the analysis.
NEET Youth Face Barriers to Skill Development
The report points out that young people outside education and employment can face significant financial barriers to acquiring new skills. Many have already spent resources on their education but lack a regular income to invest in additional training.
NITI Aayog has called for more affordable and subsidised skilling opportunities, along with flexible learning options that can help young people enter employment or pursue self-employment. For those already in the workforce as well as NEET youth, the report recommends greater access to reskilling, self-employment opportunities and courses linked to local employment demand and emerging industries.
Focus Shifts From Training to Employment Outcomes
The report calls for a broader transformation of India’s skilling system, with greater emphasis on whether training actually improves employment prospects. Among its recommendations are stronger industry participation, wider apprenticeship and work-based learning opportunities, and better integration of employability and entrepreneurship skills into formal education.
NITI Aayog has also proposed greater use of short-term courses and micro-credentials, recognition of prior learning and skill-based recruitment. It has called for flexible pathways allowing students and workers to move between academic education, vocational training and employment.
The report also highlights the limited availability of vocational education in schools. It notes that fewer than one in 12 secondary schools currently offer vocational subjects and recommends introducing employability and entrepreneurship skills from Grade 6, along with expanding structured vocational education at the secondary level.
Graduate Unemployment Remains a Concern
The findings come against the backdrop of concerns over the transition of educated young Indians into stable employment. The State of Working India 2026 report by Azim Premji University found that unemployment among graduates aged 15-25 was close to 40%, while the rate among graduates aged 25-29 was around 20%. The report also highlighted the difficulty many graduates face in securing permanent salaried employment soon after completing their studies.
It further pointed to the importance of creating sufficient quality employment as India’s demographic advantage evolves. With the country’s working-age population expected to begin declining after 2030, improving the transition from education to employment will become increasingly important.
Connecting Education With the Job Market
The NITI Aayog report emphasises the need to establish stronger links between education, vocational training and actual labour-market requirements. Rather than treating skilling as a short-term intervention, the report advocates a lifelong learning approach, enabling people to acquire new skills as industries, technologies and employment opportunities change.
It also underlines the role of state governments in tailoring skilling programmes to local economic conditions and emerging employment opportunities. With 8.7 crore young people estimated to be outside education, employment and training, the findings underline the scale of the task facing policymakers as India seeks to harness its demographic potential and move towards the Viksit Bharat@2047 goal.